Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George

Emily's Comments: I’ve always been a fan of fairy tales. They are usually rough on the main character, putting them in impossible situations battling evil magical queens or ogres, but there is always a happy ending if you just hang in there with the protagonist. That’s why I loved Jessica Day George’s Princess of the Midnight Ball, a retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses.

A queen desperate to have a child and stop a war makes a deal with the King Under Stone, a very evil dude who leaves in a very creepy palace deep within the Earth. The King agrees to grant the queen’s requests. In return, a curse is placed on the twelve princesses who must enter the underworld every night to dance with King Under Stone’s sons. They are forbidden to tell anyone about the curse, and their strange behavior raises questions throughout the kingdom.

Galen Werner, a solider who has recently returned home from fighting in the war, begins working in the Royal gardens where he meets the princesses. Galen vows to help the princess and discover their secret…all he needs is a little magic and a whole lot of bravery.

While on the outside it sounds like your typical fairy tale retelling, the brilliance of the story resides in the hero. Our young, male, adventurer of a protagonists knits! And he’s very good at it! Knitting is not a usual skill one finds in male characters in young adult literature…or any literature for that matter. If you’re looking for a light-hearted adventure story, with a little romance mixed in, consider Princess of the Midnight Ball. Check Status at GPL