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Carrie Bowman booktalks The False Prince at our library
event for middle school readers. |
Are you familiar with the Ascendance Trilogy, by Jennifer Nielsen? I picked up the first book,
The False Prince, this winter and could not put it down.
Treachery, daring action, suspense, and (in spite of all that) decency
keep the story moving at a fast pace. Four orphan boys are snatched by
Carthyan regent, Bevin Connor, who has devised a desperate
plan to save Carthya from neighboring kingdoms eager for war. Sage, a
reckless and arrogant boy, Roden, strong and conniving, and Tobias,
intelligent and loyal, at first form an alliance—until they realize the
nature of Connor’s plan. He intends to train
the boys in the manners and style of a gentleman, as well as in the art
of sword fighting, in just two weeks! May the best boy win…and
survive. Connor is cruel and devious. He cannot afford to let the
losers live and betray his plan. The nature of the
dangerous game is gradually revealed to the boys, and to the reader:
the winner will have the honor of impersonating Prince Jaron, who is
missing and thought to be dead. The entire royal family—Jaron’s
family—has been murdered and a reappearance of the missing
Prince is the only way to save Carthya. Who will be crowned as Prince
Jaron? Can Connor’s deception succeed as planned? Check out
The False Prince to find out. No spoilers here, except that I grabbed the second book,
The Runaway King, and took it on the road with me. What a super
audio book for a road trip! It is an equally exciting story of treason,
alliances, and false betrayal, as each of the characters becomes more
complex and the clock is ticking toward war
in Carthya. I can hardly wait for the third book,
The Shadow Throne, due out in March 2014. This thrilling new series is not one, but two Sweet Summer Reads so far!
-Review by Carrie Bowman, teen librarian at KCLS
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