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Palace of Mirrors | 
 enlarge | Author: Margaret Peterson Haddix
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Category: Book
List Price: $16.99
Buy New: $9.25
You Save: $7.74 (46%)
New (34) Used (7) from $9.25
Avg. Customer Rating:  30 reviews
Sales Rank: 14931
Media: Hardcover
Reading Level: Young Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.1
ISBN: 1416939156
EAN: 9781416939153
ASIN: 1416939156
Publication Date: September 30, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW COPY, NO UGLY REMAINDER MARKS.
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Product Description
"Somewhere in the world I have a tiara in a little box. It is not safe for me to wear it...It is not safe for me even to tell anyone who I really am. But I know -- I have always known."Cecilia knows that she is not just another peasant girl; she is actually the true princess, in hiding until the evil forces that killed her parents are vanquished. A commoner named Desmia is on the throne as a decoy. As she gets older, Cecilia finds it harder to study statesmanship and palace protocol secretly at night and then pretend that she has nothing on her mind other than scrubbing the gruel stains out of her best apron by day. Cecilia knows that it is time to take charge. Along with her best friend, Harper, she flees to the capital city, determined to reclaim her throne and face the danger head on. When Harper and Cecilia reach the famed Palace of Mirrors, they discover complications: Princess Desmia believes an entirely different version of the story. Acclaimed author Margaret Peterson Haddix returns to the charmed world of Just Ella, where a princess-in-hiding and a pretender to the throne discover that nothing is as it appears.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 25 more reviews...
 Interesting version of the Prince and the Pauper November 20, 2008
This novel is very much an updated version of the Prince and the Pauper, wherein the Princess is really living the life of the Pauper. As fairy tales go the author is very clever in adapting her style and the flow of her writing to be very modern. I have always like the modernization of fairy tales like the Once Upon a Time Series and this novel fits in well with this genre of novels.
Solid but unremarkable November 19, 2008
While the book is definitely charming, with the cheek of a fractured fairytale and the congeniality of an Enid Blyton fable, it is a mostly forgettable read.
The book has a sweet, Disney-esque message, one unexpected plot twist, and a lovable heroine. However, this novel lacks the charisma and wit of Just Ella, Haddix's previous novel. At times the the plot twists seem forced, and the characters seem one-dimensional and lacking in depth.
A large part of the reason I wanted to read this book was because of its setting in the fascinating world of Just Ella. However, this aspect of the story did not shine through in the plot, nor did Ella's cameo.
An amusing through occasionally lackluster read.
 A Princess Mystery November 19, 2008
This was a cute, quick read. The story progresses at a great pace. There are plenty of details, but things still progress fast enough so that you don't get board. It was a mystery novel, but not scarey at all. It left me excited to see what would happen next, but I was never worried or dreaded the next events.
Cecilia is the main character. Nanny and Sir Steven raise her in a small village. Harper is her best friend, a charming character himself. They tell Cecilia she is the true princess. They also tell 12 other girls they are the true princess. One of them is acting as the true princess (Desmia), and the others were raised like Cecilia in a small village. We read through several plot twists and discover along with Cecilia who really is the true princess.
This would be a great read for a girl teenager. The vocabulary and sentence structure is simple enough to make it readable for young minds.
Re-live your childhood dreams over November 19, 2008
Palace of Mirrors brings me back to a time when I was just a kid and dreamed of meeting Prince Charming and being a princess. The story start out a tad bit slow and then it got interesting. There are so many possibilities for the ending but the author went with the obvious one to have everyone living happily after. I won't reveal it here but it was pretty obvious a little further in.
The plot makes for an interesting one and appeals to people of all ages. Everyone knows what it is like to want something more out of life. The character development is great and reads very fast and simple.
Overall, it was a very good book and is packed with a lot of adventure that it is worth it to give it a go, no matter how old you are.
Nice Stand Alone Book November 12, 2008
This is a second in a series written about Princesses.
I have previously only known Haddix through her "Hidden" series. She seems to be a serial writer so there is some familiarity in each story.
In this story, it appears there is a girl who is living in poverty to protect her true idenity. As she is now forteen, she is constantly trying to balance her safety and her knowledge that one day she will rule over the land she is being kept safe from. Desmia lives in her place as a decoy for the entire country until she can be replaced by a grown, less targeted Cecilia.
Cecilia and her friend, Harper, take off to the capital city to find out why she is no longer safe in her tiny little village. When she confronts the Princess, Cecilia is led on an adventure she least expects.
I enjoyed the story, Cecilia has learned well from her lessons with her tutor and protector, Sir Stephan, perhaps more so than she will ever appreciate. I also really enjoyed how Haddix did not water down the amount of squaller that the peasants lived in in this midevil era story. The contrast between the castle where the false Prince lives and the cottage where Cecilia spent her formative years was quite nice.
It is an enjoyable story for not just its target audience of 8-15 year old girls.
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