Janice Sperry's Rebel Princess

Middle school and young adult fiction are not usually my cup of tea and I seldom read them unless our book group has chosen one of that genre for the month. (Then sometimes I simply skip the book!) I volunteered to read Janice Sperry's new book out of curiosity. Her first effort, the Candy Cane Princess, was delightful and I wondered if she had inherited her mother's talent for storytelling. Jennie Hansen has long been one of my favorite authors and yes, Janice apparently did inherit that marvelous talent for putting words together to amuse, amaze and enthrall.

Janice has a fun voice. She constantly surprised me with a clever turn of phrase. I found myself thinking time and again, "I would never have thought of that! What an imagination!" I loved Raven, the princess who did not want to be a princess and definitely did not want to be bejeweled.

The "living" house was a fun innovation that added endless possibilities to the story and Janice took great advantage of that. I kept wondering what would happen next and it was always a surprise. I did miss the foreshadowing of the rat on page two which turned out to be a huge part of this enchanting story.

The descriptions of scenes are vivid and detailed so you are visually in the middle of the action. My mind never wandered and I was never allowed to "leave the dream" as I read, which says a lot for Janice's storytelling prowess.

Apparently I have been out of the fairy tale mode too long  (my youngest grandchildren are into Cars and Tinkerbell) as Janice constantly surprised me with fairy tale references that fit perfectly with the story.

I highly recommend this delightful book to all ages. My eight year old granddaughter would have enjoyed it at age six, and will love it even more now. My older grandchildren will find it a fun read, but I think my book group would appreciate the clever dialogue and surprising turns this story takes even more than the younger set. Published by Sweetwater Books, an Imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc. Springville Utah.