Fairest

written by Gail Carson Levine

Scholastic Inc., 2006

Genre: Children's Fiction; fantasy

Reading level: Ages 8-10

326 pages

Fairest is a book about a young chambermaid named Aza that works with her adoptive parents in their inn. She isn't the prettiest in a kingdom where everyone is obsessed how pretty certain people are, and she's constantly thinking about how people are looking at her and how they're mean to her. However, she has a beautiful singing voice, one of the best in the kingdom, and singing is a huge part of the kingdom life as well. As she grows up she meets a lot of wonderful, and not so wonderful people at the inn, which end up playing big roles in her life. At one point as Aza is singing she gets the hiccups and realizes that with her throat and stomach she can change her voice and make it seem like it's coming from anywhere she wants, she calls it illusing and while it is an amazing gift it ends up getting her in trouble. One day a duchess, who only stays at the inn because she likes Aza's family cat, needs Aza to come with her to the King's wedding because her servant is ill. Aza, while nervous because of how people will look at her, is also excited to see what some people have described as the new "common" queen who Aza feels a connection with because she's not royalty and apparently not extremely pretty. So she accompanies the duchess to the castle and they watch the ceremony and are introduced to the new queen, who seems very nice but much prettier than Aza had previously hear, and the prince and the king. The morning after the wedding, Aza has a chance to wander the castle and ends up helping the prince, with her beautiful singing voice, in winning and singing a game, and a bond is formed between them. Soon after she leaves the game Aza runs into the queen and they begin talking and she shows the queen how she can "illuse", by the end of their conversation, they are somewhat friends and the queen asks her to be her lady in waiting, Aza seeing the benefit for her family agrees. Also realizing that she will be able to spend more time with the prince. Later that day, Aza joins basically everyone at the centaur showing, it's very exciting until the King gets hit by an iron ring, in the head. Everyone freaks out, but the King is alive, just barely. The queen especially is scared but only really because she is scared there will be no one to love her. Later, as Aza comforts the queen and they prepare for a healing singing for the King, the queen asks Aza to illuse for her at the singing so no one will know she can't sing. Aza at first protests, but the queen threatens her and her family (really showing her true self) and Aza must concede, and agrees to sing for her, forever. As Aza helps the queen get ready for the singing she noticed a hand mirror on the table, and as she catches her reflection in it, she realizes that the mirror makes her look beautiful. She's excited and intrigued, but soon has to leave it. Aza and the queen make it through the healing singing without being caught and Aza gets to know the prince even better. Slowly the queen starts to make changes, changes that no one likes. She gets rid of the king's council because they bore her. She gets rid of the birds, because they poop on her. She gets rid of the cook, because she plays a joke on her. Soon people are talking about a rebellion against the queen, all the while the king isn't improving, and Aza and the Prince's relationship deepens with a kiss. At the next sing someone trips and knocks something over as Aza is illusing and the queen is found out. She bans singing, people are outraged, and they believer her when she says that it was Aza's idea to raise her own status and get money, even the prince believes the queen over her, and one of the subjects suggests that because of her talents and looks she must be part ogre. They all leave the room to discuss what should be done. While they're gone Aza takes the mirror in her hand and swallows the beauty potion on the queen's vanity and she becomes pretty, however the change only convinces the people more that she has ogre powers and Aza is thrown in prison. She quickly escapes with the help of a guard named Uju, who turns out to be hired by the queen to kill her. However, she ends up saving his life and he helps her to the gnome caverns where she can hide out. One of the gnomes she met at the inn is there and ends up helping her and convinces her that she is not part ogre, but part gnome based on what he observes. She is delighted, and as the kingdom is tricked into thinking she is dead she sings for the gnomes and makes friends with them. Then one day she is poisoned by the queen disguised as a gnome and in some magical way her "spirit" leaves her body and ends up with Skulni, the mirror keeper, inside the queen's magic mirror. He explains to her that he has been keeping the queen pretty and advising her as to what to do so that in the end she will be dead and he can leave the mirror. Aza hoping to help gets the queen's attention and tries to convince her what's going on. The queen doesn't listen and Aza, finding strength in singing, destroys the mirror. She wakes back up in her body in the gnome caverns with her gnome friend and the prince by her side. She's overjoyed but still worrying for the plans already in place to kill the queen and her friends. After a couple days of resting Aza and the prince head back to the kingdom where Aza convinces the now, not so pretty queen, to visit the king again and stop hiding, as soon as she does the king quickly becomes better. Aza, though still not trusted by the people in the castle is allowed to plead her case to the king, who says that she is not at fault. He exiles the queen and himself and puts the prince in power. Soon after there's a big singing party and the Prince and Aza are married.

I would recommend this book to any child who likes to read, who likes fantasy princess books, and a child who liked the book Ella Enchanted by the same author.

I feel the main problem that could result from this book would be that a child who reads this book may be worried about whether they are pretty enough, which is already a problem in this society.

I really enjoyed Ella Enchanted so i was really excited to read this book. I found it fast paced, unique, and exciting. I really liked the twists and turns, and the pure imagination of it all. Basically, I loved it.

My rating: 4 out of 5