“PRINCESS OF THE SILVER WOODS (Twelve Dancing Princesses),” by Jessica Day George, Bloomsbury USA Children’s, Dec. 11, 2012, Hardcover, $16.99 (ages 12 and up)
In 2009, Jessica Day George introduced the world twelve sisters with a serious dancing problem in “Princess of the Midnight Ball.” The retelling of “The Twelve Dancing Princesses” gained an immediate following. Jessica followed up that success with “Princess of Glass,” which followed one of the twelve sisters, Poppy, and her experiences within the “Cinderella” fairy tale.
This week, Jessica introduced a third look at the family of dancing sisters in “Princess of the Silver Woods.
Petunia is the youngest of King Gregor’s 12 daughters. She was barely a toddler when she first visited the King Under Stone’s palace. Now, she’s grown into a determined young woman. When Petunia is invited to visit the Grand Duchess Volenskaya at her Westfalian estate, the young princess jumps at the chance.
But to get to the estate, Petunia must pass through a forest that’s been having problems with two-legged wolves as of late. Petunia’s carriage is attacked and she’s taken captive by the bandit-wolves, only to find out there’s more to them than meets the eye.
Could it be that the elderly woman she regards almost as a grandmother could be a wolf in sheep’s clothing?
“Princess of the Silver Woods” is a fine follow-up to Jessica’s previous books, however, I would recommend rereading the first two books before taking this one on. There’s a lot here that ties back to the other books, and if it’s been a while since you read them, you may find yourself a little lost.
Aside from that, fans of the series will quickly find themselves swept away in this Red Riding Hood meets Robin Hood fairy tale. Petunia is a likeable character that may seem a little slow on the uptake at first, but makes up for it as the story develops.
A lot of elements have to come together for this book to work, and by and large they do. There were a few times things felt a bit too convenient, though they were usually smaller elements that didn’t distract too much from the whole.
“Princess of the Silver Woods” is a fast and addictive read. Expect to feel the need to read the whole thing in one sitting.
