the warrior princess of pennyroyal academy

Those who survive to graduate become major or minor characters in fairy tales. Absence of racial markers implies the human cast is all white.Įngaging (if familiar) premise and settings, strong casting, and classic overall arc-all spoiled by an irremediably dismal finish.Ĭhainani works an elaborate sea change akin to Gregory Maguire’s Wicked (1995), though he leaves the waters muddied.Įvery four years, two children, one regarded as particularly nice and the other particularly nasty, are snatched from the village of Gavaldon by the shadowy School Master to attend the divided titular school. Letdowns galore, perhaps most particularly the undermining of Basil’s heretofore delightfully subversive questioning of gender roles.

Along with losing track of important characters and laying out battle choreography so that there’s always time for long chats in the middle of frantic action, the author summarily wraps up multiple plotlines with what can be described as anticlimaxes at best. She brings them flying back to Pennyroyal-where all of her friends have somehow conveniently regathered-just in time to help repel a swarm of witches. Evie herself goes off to reunite with her dragon foster parents and sister. Although he puts his young questers through a long trek replete with narrow escapes from vicious goblins, surly trolls, annoyingly gregarious unicorns, and really scary witches, the author suddenly discards that quest and sends everyone in different directions to take care of personal business. When three giants suddenly lay siege to Pennyroyal, student princesses Evie and Basil (yes, Basil), along with other allies of both genders, set out to bargain for a certain giant-beguiling magic harp currently owned by Rumpelstiltskin.

Larson makes a strong bid to close out this above-average trilogy with a flourish, then blows it by phoning in the whole climax. Sudden assaults by hungry giants and an army of witches prompt a final desperate quest to save the vocational school for knightly knights and battle princesses.

The warrior princess of pennyroyal academy