Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Goose Girl {Review}

Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
1332982

If we don't tell strange stories, when something strange happens we won't believe it.”

This was a re-read- the book was on sale on my Kindle, and I happened to have a Amazon gift card, therefore resulting in my purchase.

The reason Shannon Hale is one of my favorite authors is because she weaves words in a way that is different and mesmerizing. Her stories are so imaginative, yet they follow the basic rules of a fairytale.

Goose Girl is about a princess named Anidori. Anidori has a special gift- she can speak to animals, especially her horse, Falda, and the swans in the pond. When Anidori grows older, her mother sends her off to the kingdom of Bayern. She wants to force Ani to marry the crown prince in order to create peace between their kingdoms.

Ani reluctantly agrees to go- along with a few guards and her lady in waiting, Selia. They begin to make the long trek to Bayern on horseback, stopping every night to rest in the tents. Ani can’t help but feel a bit uneasy about some of the guards, and after she is almost certain one of them tried to drown her in the river, she isn’t sure who she should trust.

On the way there, Ani overhears her Selia and guards. They are planning to kill Ani so Selia can pose as the princess in her place and take over the throne. Before they can carry out their plans, Ani flees the forest and stumbles upon a woman and her son. She stays with them for a while and then makes her way to Bayern in disguise.

“But when she turned her back to the lights, she saw that the night was so dark...She could not see the stars. The world felt as high as the depthless night sky and deeper than she could know. She understood, suddenly and keenly, that she was too small to run away, and she sat on the damp ground and cried.”

Ani becomes a goose girl for the king, and soon finds that she can talk to geese almost as easily as talking to swans. She discovers that she loves working with the geese, and befriends a girl named Enna. Just as she becomes comfortable with her new life, she overhears that Selia has been spreading false rumors that Kildenree {Ani’s home kingdom} is planning to attack Bayern in order to start a war. Ani must confess to the king who she really is before it’s too late- the only problem is that Selia is surrounded by many guards, who also want to kill her.
This book is a fairytale, but it is so action packed and full of surprising twists that you will not be able to put it down. The ending is definitely something you will not see coming. Also- for the girls out there that want a little bit of romance, Ani falls in love with the prince’s guard, Geric.

“Geric," she called.
He turned back around.
"What kind of flowers were they?"
"I don't rightly know," he said. He made faltering gestures with his hands, forming their size and shape from the air. "They were yellow, and smallish, and had lots of petals."
"Thank you," she said. "They were beautiful.”

To conclude this fairly short- and long overdue review, I would just like to say: read this book. Hale’s story of betrayal, love, magic, and finding the power inside yourself will stay with you long after you shut the pages.

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