Tuesday Talk: Princess series

Tomorrow is Tell a Fairy Tale Day (worldwide observance for those who care).  Since I love fairy tales and fairy tale retellings, I figured I would honor the observance with a recommendation.  The Twelve Dancing Princesses is one of my favorite fairy tales, so I decided to talk about Jessica Day George's Princess trilogy.  Besides being fun fairy tale retellings,  this series is completely clean.  In other words, even younger girls can enjoy them without their mother's having to worry.  The third book does have a little bit of swearing, but nothing horrible.  The first book, Princess of the Midnight Ball, follows pretty closely the story of the Twelve Dancing Princesses.  Of course Jessica put her own spin on it and beefed it up a bit, but I thought it was wonderfully done.  The characters are lots of fun.  They are likable and vulnerable at the same time.  The second book, Princess of Glass, follows one of the younger sisters from the first book, Poppy.  It takes place after their curse is lifted and is a loose retelling of Cinderella.  It definitely takes on a life of its own.  I definitely enjoyed following Poppy on her own adventure to a foreign land.  The third book, Princess of the Silver Woods, ties up the story for the twelve daughters of King George.  Unlike the second installment, which was more of a spin-off and could stand alone, the third book circles back to the original curse.  The daughters learn that their troubles are far from over, but they are determined to end it once and for all.  This book follows the youngest daughter, Petunia, as she travels to visit a family friend.  It is a mishmash of Red Riding Hood and Robin Hood.  I thought the final story was lots of fun.  I only wish Jessica would write more fairy tale princess retellings.  The ending was pretty conclusive for this lot of characters, but I wish she would pick other characters to visit.  The last time I asked her about it, she said she was done with this series, but a girl can hope she will revisit fairy tale princess land, right?  She did mention she has a couple more ideas for stories, so hopefully she will write and publish them.  I just think her books are so much fun and think that everyone should give them a try.  Happy reading!