The Goose Girl (Books of Bayern)
by Shannon Hale is on sale today as an Amazon Kindle Daily Deal for only $1.99. This has been on sale before but it definitely worth the price if you don't own it yet. SurLaLune loves some Shannon Hale, one of the authors who retells fairy tales so creatively and also chooses lesser known ones at times, too. Goose Girl and Maid Maleen, to be sure, as well as Rapunzel and Jack and the Beanstalk.Book description:
Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee, Crown Princess of Kildenree, spends the
first years of her life under her aunt's guidance learning to
communicate with animals. As she grows up Ani develops the skills of
animal speech, but is never comfortable speaking with people, so when
her silver-tongued lady-in-waiting leads a mutiny during Ani's journey
to be married in a foreign land, Ani is helpless and cannot persuade
anyone to assist her. Becoming a goose girl for the king, Ani
eventually uses her own special, nearly magical powers to find her way
to her true destiny. Shannon Hale has woven an incredible, original and
magical tale of a girl who must find her own unusual talents before she
can become queen of the people she has made her own.
Look out for the other books in this series: Enna Burning, River Secrets, and Forest Born!
I have just finished reading Goose Girl (this morning, in fact!) and I cannot recommend it enough. The characters are likeable, the world she has built is sensual, and the story is handled so creatively - I wondered how she'd tackle the talking horse head, and it's done very well (I won't say any more!) I thought she created fantastically strong female characters who develop in a noticeable and realistic way, which is so great to see. I look forward to reading more of her books.
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