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Princess Ben Catherine Gilbert Murdock 9780618959716 Books

Download As PDF : Princess Ben Catherine Gilbert Murdock 9780618959716 Books

Princess Ben Catherine Gilbert Murdock 9780618959716 Books

I have to say that this book was not what I expected. But I am very pleasantly surprised. This story is really about a girl who loses everything she holds dear and has to survive. It is about her changes and growth as she becomes a strong woman, capable of leading her people. If you want a romantic book where the prince comes and rescues the princess, this is not it. There is romance, but not a lot. There is also bits of humor in this book as well as a mystery. The villains are not necessarily who one suspects.
I recommend this book to people who love books filled with magic and with a heroine who does not need a prince to rescue, but instead rescues herself and her kingdom.


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Princess Ben Catherine Gilbert Murdock 9780618959716 Books Reviews

This book is so cleverly written-- I loved the writing style. Lots of subtle humor. Strong and unique characters-- not your typical princess. Or prince. Fantastic and fun diologue. A delight to read. I'd reccomend it to all who enjoy fairy tales. Especially fans of Levine's Ella Enchanted.
This book was recommended in BookPage through my library. It states, "...Ben learns that 'whatever you radiate comes right back at you'-something that's central to the positive changes in her relationship with Queen Sophia, and her ultimate ability to solve problems for herself and the kingdom." Isn't this what we are looking for in our own children? I think this was a good addition to our home library. I highly recommend this book for young girls in their tween years.
Great read!
The story is engaging, well-written, has a coherent plot-line and most interestingly enough an unorthodox heroine-not because she is masculine or crude or some such but because she in fact exemplifies the problems that every day girls find themselves with obesity. Nor is she a paragon of beauty or mature beyond her years. The heroine is credible not particularly strong and yet enrapturing in her minutiae of flaws. The story is written in the most beautiful prose that bring to mind the medieval age all without using abstruse grandiloquence, and unlike other YA novels this one is fit for all the ages. The traditional parameters of a fairytale are met and yet the author manages to fashion more than two dimensional caricatures out of her characters to the point that they develop depth and the perspective of the story is not written in black and white (unlike HP novels). I must commend the author for such well thought out work that never interposes the audience to guess the consequent events allowing a nice air of mystery.

As for the heroine herself, while never slender she does stop eating compulsively and at the end it is noted that she eats only to satiate her hunger and retains a better shape. Truthfully if this story were to be historically accurate then her chubbiness were to be exalted! It wasn't until the 1920s that a more slender form became ideal and then the 60s brought the anorexic look. In our modern society where we live in excess and healthy food is expensive to be slender is ideal. At that time fraught with peril and hunger to be chubby was to be beautiful, sexy and curvaceous (since most were skinny due to scurvy and hunger). It meant you had wealth and status. Though it is understandable that this story is fiction and not trying to be historically accurate even though trying to remind us of that time long past. I think the author wanted to subtly discuss our weight and eating problems or make her heroine more credible. In any case she demonstrates a credible example of compulsive eating disorder where the heroine eats to sate her emotional disturbance and not just her literal hunger, and when the heroine is more emotionally stable she realizes this mistake and stops but does not become superficial or anorexic. The story is quite surprising.

In short quite engaging, I highly recommend!

-Dani.

Amend forgot to mention that first 5 pages are boring and that I nearly gave up on the book. Keep reading past it!
If you've enjoyed books by Gail Carson Levine (e.g. "Ella Enchanted", "Fairest"), Shannon Hale's "The Goose Girl" and its sequels, and Mercedes Lackey's 500 Kingdoms series, you'll be glad to add this to your collection. I'm looking forward to reading more from Catherine Murdock.

Princess Ben is human -- meaning she makes mistakes, she isn't always very nice (though never cruel), she has vices and she isn't a perfect little adult age 15. Such a relief! I'm a "grown-up" (supposedly) graduate student, and I'm not (usually) embarrassed to admit my lesiure reading isn't exactly scholarly. Many similar stories make me sad that if I'm not already perfect, I must really be the evil step-sister instead.
First off, I must share my favorite line(s) from this book that sent me into fits of giggles

With that, I hurled the slipper at him, not caring if I caused his decapitation. (I did not.) Marshaling what little dignity I yet possessed, I stomped down the corridor -- challenging indeed with one shoe -- and around the corner. I lay awake for hours. The prince had no right, not one, to indict me so, and if I had held the slightest hope of the book's assistance, I would have climbed at once to my wizard room for a spell with which to punish him. Death, perhaps, or humiliation. A croaking frog would be nice, particularly a frog that retained Florian's dark eyes. I should keep it in a box and poke it occasionally with a stick; that would be satisfying indeed.

Princess Ben is one of the most well thought-out and intellectually relevant books that I have ever read in today's time! Princess Benevolent has quite a year and must learn how to live up to her name. I earnestly can see where a reader can grow along with Ben, learning some difficult lessons that we especially today wish to ignore. Through this book I can see many a young, teenager, or older girl grow more into herself and what she will someday be. I feel like I learned somethings about myself through this book. All around a fabulous story, with twisting plots and turns I did not expect. The first section was a little droll, and I was waiting for excitement. Well the excitement came! and that build-up had been proper and necessary. I strongly encourage anyone to read this book. Buy it for your tween and teenage gals and let them go on the adventure. Goodness me, go on it yourself!
I have to say that this book was not what I expected. But I am very pleasantly surprised. This story is really about a girl who loses everything she holds dear and has to survive. It is about her changes and growth as she becomes a strong woman, capable of leading her people. If you want a romantic book where the prince comes and rescues the princess, this is not it. There is romance, but not a lot. There is also bits of humor in this book as well as a mystery. The villains are not necessarily who one suspects.
I recommend this book to people who love books filled with magic and with a heroine who does not need a prince to rescue, but instead rescues herself and her kingdom.