Sunday, October 14, 2012

The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald

I read this book in a book club and there was one big thing I noticed.  Usually, people either really like this book or they loathe it (nobody in our group of girls ages 12-14 loved it).  The book follows the adventures of an 8 year old princess named Irene and a 12 year old miner boy named Curdie who both live on an imaginary mountain.  The mountain happens to also house goblins, in hollowed out caves inside of it.  While the princess and her nurse Lootie are out walking, they encounter one of the odd creatures and are saved by Curdie.  I can't tell you anymore without ruining the plot, but it involves goblins, stone clogs, an invisible thread, and Irene's grandmother.  From this description, one might wonder why not love the book, well, the plot isn't the whole picture.  You see Irene and Curdie, particularity Irene, aren't very believable characters.  Both of them are often too polite.  I have no objections to being polite, but Nobody is this polite.  Their politeness often gets annoying.  Also Irene, when not acting polite, often acts snotty and spoiled towards her nurse Lottie, who obviously loves her very much.  She also constantly cries.  That does get annoying.  But, if you can get over that, you will probably like this book.  I recommended The Princess and the Goblin for girls ages 6-12.  It is 262 pages long.  Happy Reading, NNY'er

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