SPOIL-FREE SUMMARY
Cecelia is just an orphan who is raised by her nanny in a little village in the country. At least that's what everyone thinks. But she knows better. Sir Stephen, a knight comes and teaches her all the time, teaching her how to be a princess. Him and her nanny have told the story to her often, about how her parents were killed, but before they died, they huddled her off with their most trusted knight. When Cecelia's life is put at risk, she leaves home with her best friend, Harper, to claim the throne. But getting an audience with the fake princess Desmia, is harder than she thought.
OUR CAST OF CHARACTERS
Cecelia dreams of taking the throne. She imagines a life where she can finally be treated as she deserves to be and to have power to affect change in her country. When she is ridiculed and mocked for her poor appearance, she vows revenge.
Harper is Cecelia's best friend who she grew up with. He is forced by his mom to play the harp everyday. Harper is blunt and bold, often telling Cecelia what she needs to hear, even when she doesn't want to hear it. And although he acts tough, he is actually quite sensitive, often withdrawing from Cecelia when she hurts his feelings, or saying something sarcastic to hide his pain.
Desmia is the fake princess, or maybe the real one. She is timid and fearful, admitting she cannot trust anyone in her life. Not her nanny, and not Lord Throckmorton.
Ella Brown is from the neighboring kingdom. She is here with her fiance to negotiate peace and end the war with her home country. Ella is also training to be a doctor. She is Desmia's only confidant and eventually earns the respect and friendship of Cecelia.
PACING
The pacing goes back in forth. In the beginning, it reminded me of a Gail Carson Levine book, setting the tone and informing the reader all about the main character's history and personality. It actually takes eight chapters for Cecelia to leave home.
From there it picks up. Although I wouldn't say it's an action novel. As parts of the book are sneaking around, looking for a way into the palace, or hoping to be rescued. But it's full of drama and mystery that keep the story going.
THEME-SPOILERS
A large theme is that of deserving. Cecelia feels so entitled to be a princess that it often causes her to rise to anger and jealousy. She is envious of Desmia to the point where it engulfs her, and her desire for revenge at being mistreated is referred to multiple times. She views this same attribute in the other girls that she meets and it wakes her up to the truth: she isn't entitled to anything.
Another theme is the idol of chasing perfection, believing you will happy once you get something better than what you have. Cecelia believes that once she is princess, she will have the perfect life. She doesn't imagine any of the problems that Desmia tells her of. Even at the end of the book, she realizes nothing was what it seemed. She learns to be content with who she is, and the life she is living.
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
Through the first half of the story, we learn that Cecelia feels she deserves more than what she has, being that she is a princess. But this evolves into anger and a strong desire on revenge on those who have wronged her. She is actually quite selfish. But because she has to go through many trials, and shows genuine worry and love for Harper, it doesn't overwhelm the reader and keep us from liking her. We may see her selfishness, but we also see it comes from her naivete and mistreatment and through new revelations, she must learn and change.
HARPER & CECELIA
One of my favorite aspects of the book is their relationship. This isn't a romance story with adventure, it's an adventure story with hints throughout the story that the two have romantic feelings for each other. It isn't flowery and dramatic, but very down to earth. Cecelia recounts how they grew up together, and have always been best friends. But now that they are teenagers, she feels their relationship is changing.
When Cecelia is selfish and bratty, Harper calls her out. He balances her well, and although he loves her, he doesn't indulge her bad behavior or ignore it. There were many scenes were they had problems communicating, which I'm sure most couple's can relate to. Haddix shines in this aspect of her reading. Just as Ella's relationship with Jed was real, rather than dramatic and exaggerated, in “Just Ella”.
She easily portrays couples as two imperfect individuals, who need to learn to understand and love each other better. There is no perfect couple, perfect ending, or perfect life. I admire this refreshing honesty in a culture of narcissism and hedonism, where we are told that we deserve the best and we are perfect the way we are.
EXPLICIT CONTENT-SPOILERS
Desmia's life is threatened by her so called adviser. Men are shown in a sad state, having been tortured.
CONCLUSION
Haddix creates an original twist on “the hidden princess” idea with characters that develop and face their own flaws. The story is decently paced and the romance between Harper and Cecelia is sweet and innocent. I give “Palace of Mirrors” four stars.
What do you think? Did you read this book? Agree or disagree with me on any points? Please let me know!
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