Malva is the princess of Galnicia, destined to marry the Prince of Andemark. Or so her parents think. On the eve of her wedding, she escapes at dead of night from under her parents' noses, little realising that she is letting herself in for a life of peril and adventure, including being shipwrecked in a huge storm and captured as part of a harem. Hugely visual, the book tells of the wonder of frozen steppes and oriental palaces, of sailing ships and treasure islands. This is a book of drama, magic and excitement, where challenges have to be overcome, friendships cemented and hearts broken.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
'Gorgeous, full-blown French epic' The Times 'Danger, love and adventure ... a riveting read' Sunday Express 'An energetic pageturner in a fine storytelling tradition with enough action and emotion to put wind in its sails and a weepy ending.' Sunday Times
About the Author
Anne-Laure Bondoux was born in 1971, in the outskirts of Paris. Whilst studying for a degree in modern literature, she set up writing workshops for children with learning difficulties, which were awarded a national prize in 1995, from the Fondation de France. In September 1996 she started work at Bayard Press to work on a fiction magazine for 9-12 year olds. She left in 2000 to pursue her writing career, and won the Prix Sorciere (also won by Celia Rees).
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love!,
This review is from: Princess and the Captain (Paperback)
I don't really know what the others were talking about, but i loved this book.
I will admit that the beginning starts off a little slow, but a few chapters into it and i absolutely fell in love with it, ****Spoiler**** its a story about a girl who runs away, then upon her way she is tricked and tried to be killed, but survives. then she travels with a small group only to be captured again. But then is saved on the verge of her death. the group that saved her sets out to bring her home but is then brought to a small island type thing. they have to pass the test there in order to leave.. the test are hard, but they make it through. and the end, i cried, it isn't a fairytale ending, but it was good to have a little different type of things.. I thought it was a very very good book. I'm a 14 year-old girl, and i loved this book (:
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Don't be fooled by the bad start!,
By Skylark (Australia) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Princess and the Captain (Paperback)
When I read the first few chapters of this book, I was groaning internally. A beautiful princess, running away from a horrid arranged marriage? I've never seen *this* before! (Not.) The characters seemed about as stereotyped as you could get, and the plot seemed doomed to mediocrity.
But don't let the beginning fool you! I kept reading, and was glad I did because it got much better after the first few chapters. Suddenly the mind-numbing predictability of the story became replaced with riveting adventures, incidents and wonderful settings! In fact, I would compare the middle of this book strongly to 'The Voyage of the Dawntreader', or 'Gulliver's Travels'. It was actually pretty good, without too many stereotypes! The ending was unexpected and not such a happy ending, but I found it refreshing. Basically, the worst part of this book was the characterisation, which was rather atrocious at points. The villain copped most of it, I'm afraid, but there were other poorly-written ones in there as well. BUT... I've seen worse, and the plot was action-filled and exciting! In short, it's a pretty good book once you get past the start, and I wouldn't rush to discount it too quickly. The characterisation drags it down, but I think the plot makes up for it.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Ruined By Stock Characters and Unoriginal Plot,
By Elle Reads "Elle" (IL, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Princess and the Captain (Paperback)
I could have easily overlooked an unoriginal plot, if it wasn't for the weak characterization. You start out with this princess who is treated oh so horribly by her father and mother--he's cold, she's distant. The main character decides she must run away, cut her hair, and stowaway on a ship. But--suprise of suprises--the ship is captured by pirates. Now the handsome ship captain must save her, but she doesn't want to be rescued because she wants to be "free" and blah blah blah. Oh and not to mention, it has a depressing ending. YAY!
All of the characters are so terribly unoriginal and predictable. I'm not one who is usually very picky about reading a plot that seems familiar, but this was just too much. The only reason I gave this two stars is because I think this author has potential, if she could develop her characters better and make them more likeable and interesting. I don't know, maybe something was lost in translation.
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