Princess Ben

Princess Ben Summary [Courtesy of powells.com]: Benevolence is not your typical princess and Princess Ben is certainly not your typical fairy tale. With her parents lost to unknown assassins, Princess Ben ends up under the thumb of the conniving Queen Sophia, who is intent on marrying her off to the first available “specimen of imbecilic manhood.” Starved and miserable, locked in the castles highest tower, Ben stumbles upon a mysterious enchanted room. So begins her secret education in the magical arts: mastering an obstinate flying broomstick, furtively emptying the castle pantries, setting her hair on fire . . . But Bens private adventures are soon overwhelmed by a mortal threat facing the castle and indeed the entire country. Can Princess Ben save her kingdom from annihilation and herself from permanent enslavement?

Review: all right Princess Ben...what to say...this book was completely up and down for me. There were parts where I was thoroughly enjoying myself and others where I was bored. The beginning (as mentioned before) was intriguing and captivating but the second chapter throws you into something different and into a boring explanation of her country. It starts exciting then gets boring. Much of the first part of the book (the book is divided into four parts that Ben taglines wittily) was boring to me. All she did was whine and eat and behave like a childish little brat whose pride got the best of their rationality. The second part, where she finally finds magic, was fun and interesting. She could actually do something besides whine! Then the third part was decent, nothing amazing, but certainly not too boring. The final part was…all right, again a mix of good and bad. It was good up until the ending, which was rushed and had a distinct air (I believe) of duex de machina.(A term used in Greek theatre that meant that a solution to the problem came just miraclously [or about that definiton])

The characters in Princess Ben were fairly fleshed out. Ben was a typical teenage girl, who just happened to be the crown princess. She won’t tolerate being told what to do (especially when she doesn’t want to do it in the first place), she eats away her problems and grief, and she has spouts of irrationality that stubbornness blocks everything else out. Queen Sophia is a powerful ruler and strict care-taker but ultimately, knows what she’s doing. Florian...was very Prince Charming like, a bit too much for my taste. He and Ben hated each other for the whole third and fourth part of the book and then at the end of the fourth part, he suddenly loves her.

The ending really did it for me. It all seems to happily ever after. Suddenly out of nowhere the problem is resolved in a moment’s notice. The conflict that has been happening the entire book. Out of nowhere life was practically perfect for Princess Ben and her kingdom. It didn’t seem real and seemed completely rushed to me.

The concept is amazing, by the way, just I don’t think Catherine Murdock did a good job executing it. It could’ve been great, instead it sort of just looks like a big mess.

Rating: 2.5/5 it wasn’t terrible for sure...but the book was too much of a rollercoaster and the ending was too rushed. Concept gets five stars though, and Ben is a solid 4 (her narrative voice could use a little work). Overall the book was slightly enjoyable.

Reviews from the pros:

“Murdock's first venture into fantasy offers a fairy tale with several twists and surprises, and readers will be drawn into the world and moods that she creates.” –school Library Journal

“The wild adventure, intricately imagined setting, memorable characters, and romance will charm readers, especially fans of Gail Carson Levine’s Fairest (2006).”-Booklist, starred review


~She Who Reads A Lot