The Two Princesses of Bamarre

The Two Princesses of Bamarre - Gail Carson Levine Like many people of my generation, I grew up around fairy tales. Between Disney animated fare, multiple literary treasuries, and probably some other things...yeah, I was a bit surrounded by the likes of Cinderella and Snow White. Gail Carson Levine's "The Two Princesses of Bamarre" is a fairy tale, but it's not based on a classic story, like the now-infamous "Ella Enchanted" (also by Levine) was. The writing is pretty good, although there were a few awkward, George Lucas-esque moments of dialogue, such as, "He almost smiled when he said it, and he almost never almost smiles." Equally troubling, if not more so, were some rather gruesome moments, which are especially inappropriate for a juvenile novel. The ending was also slightly weird. For those who love tales about princesses and ogres, this might be worth a read; otherwise, I'd suggest "Dave at Night," a historical fiction work by the same author that I read several years ago and loved.