False Princess

False Princess
By Eilis O'Neal
Egemont USA, 2011. 319 pgs. Teen fiction

The narrator of this book has been raised in luxury--after all, she's a princess. However, one day, she is called in before the king and queen, informed that she is not the princess. The true princess was hidden away at birth after a prophecy that she might be murdered before her sixteenth birthday. So, both the true princess and the false were placed under spells and they were switched. Now that the unfulfilled danger has passed, it's time for them to be switched back. So Sinda, armed with a new name and not much else, is removed from the castle and sent to a remote village to live with an aunt who doesn't want her. While there, though, she finds that she has magic of her own, and as she sets out to find her place in the world, she stumbles upon a secret that could destroy the entire kingdom.

This book, part fantasy, part adventure, with a touch of romance thrown in for good measure, is a good choice for fans of Shannon Hale or Kristin Cashore. Sinda isn't quite as strong a character as those authors' heroines--it maybe takes her a little longer to find herself--but that coming-of-age is woven into a story that will appeal to many readers.

Four stars.