Customer Reviews

The Thirteenth Princess

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
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My 9 year old, who is a strong and voracious reader thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It has a strong storyline and interesting characters that really hold the child's attention. Her older teen sisters read and enjoyed the book too. This is one of those novels that you're thrilled to stumble upon because it is entertaining and very well written with classic good vs evil conflicts unlike so many of the dumbed-down, bizarre children's novels that are in the market today. Kudos to the author on a book well written.

The Thirteenth Princess is a captivating rethinking of The Twelve Dancing Princesses tale. Zahler skillfully combines the old fairy tale with new material to make the story seem fresh. Think you know the tale of The Twelve Dancing Princesses? Well, think again.

From the get go, this novel held my attention with its flowing writing and detailed scenery. I could easily picture this breathtaking world that Zahler has created. The plot flowed along at a nice even pace with plenty of interesting characters sprinkled in. Zita is not your average servant, she is actually the 13th daughter of the King who in a fit of rage banished her to live with the servants. Upon her seventh birthday, Zita uncovers the secret truth behind her birthday.

Zita is a lively character filled with curiosity and love. She loves the servants, her new found sisters, and even had an appreciation for the father that banished her. To paraphrase a few characters, she has the best of both worlds. She understands what it means to be a servant, yet has the possibly to truly be a princess. In contrast to Zita are her twelve sisters. While the whole of them play a significant role in the overall plot, I found it very hard to distinguish each from one another. I am sure that every single one of them having a name that begins with "A" does not help much. I applaud Zahler for attempting to give each of the twelve sisters a certain characteristic to help identify them, but in the end, this did not help me too much. Many of them just blend into the background, never to be heard from again.

While Zita's world is fully explored, the world of the twelve dancing princesses does not get the same treatment. The novel focuses mainly on Zita, her life, and her attempt to rescue her sisters. Personally, I enjoyed Zahler's descriptions; however, I wish there had been more. The discovery of this world and its happenings take place later in the novel, and seem almost rushed.

Although, I wish a few things had been a bit different, this is a highly enjoyable tale for the fairy tale lovers of all ages. Zahler offers readers a unique take on a sometimes otherwise flat fairy tale. This is a wonderful novel for middle school readers, and for those who enjoy reads with a pinch of magic, love, and discovery.

In this retelling of the classic tale, "The Twelve Dancing Princesses," Diane Zahler imagines a king who is increasingly angry with his wife for giving him daughters. When she dies in childbirth bearing a thirteenth daughter, he banishes the newborn to the castle kitchens in his rage. At seven, sort-of servant Zita learns she is sister to the princesses and daughter to the king. She doesn't bemoan her lot, but she does sneak around behind her father's back befriending her lovely older siblings. Happily, the older girls are very willing to take her under their wings. Zita also befriends a stable boy named Breckin whose brother is a soldier (aha!).

It isn't until she is older that Zita begins to worry that her sisters might be under a spell. For one thing, the twelve princesses don't understand themselves why whenever suitors come to call, they are unable to speak. Thus they all remain unmarried. Then Zita's sisters begin to appear weary and sickly, and their shoes start turning up with the soles worn through every morning.

With Breckin's assistance, Zita investigates her sisters' troubles; she also discovers a helpful witch living in hiding in the woods. (The king has banned magic from the kingdom, or so he thinks.) But someone is watching Zita, and she still hasn't figured out who is behind the malevolent spells. She even worries that the king himself has done this terrible thing to his daughters. Of course, our heroine eventually discovers the truth and saves her sisters.

Zahler's personable retelling offers readers a nice build-up of suspense. I like the author's vision of a castle on a lake, which starts out as a romantic gift along the lines of the Taj Majal and then literally gets moldy. Zita is an appealing main character and first-person narrator, while Breckin and the witch Babette bring freshness to the plot. Breckin further provides Zita with a younger, parallel version of the story's key romance. In fact, even the king has a romance, since the tragic history of his great love for the deceased queen influences the plot in many ways. About the only detail I found distracting was the ease with which Zita and Breckin learned to become invisible. Otherwise, The Thirteenth Princess is a hopeful and magical reinvention of the story of the twelve dancing princesses--plus one.

Note for Worried Parents: The book mentions the king's "dalliances" in his younger years and makes reference to unwed mothers among the castle servants. Some readers may also be bothered by the king's rejection of his youngest daughter, though this is later softened a bit.

Zita, the heroine of this novel, is the youngest of thirteen princesses, and the only redhead among twelve blondes. Her mother died giving birth to Zita after growing increasingly sickly with each successive pregnancy. The king had insisted his wife keep trying for a son, but with each new daughter, his despondency increased. Finally, when Zita was born and her mother died, in a fit of rage he consigned Zita to the servant quarters, not wanting to be reminded of his lost wife and his shattered dreams of a male heir.

Zita doesn't learn her history until she is seven, and it is not until she is eleven that she manages to piece together the entire history of her sisters' births and her own. Soon after, she is determined to find a way to get around her father's decree that she is not to associate with her sisters. They have been afraid to take any initiative to connect with Zita themselves, but they are happy to welcome her among them when she successfully figures out a way to be with them. She sneaks into their bedroom by means of a never-used dumbwaiter that leads from the basement of the castle to the highest reaches and connects with their room. Because Zita is spending time with her sisters, she is close at hand when their health begins to falter. They are exhausted all the time, and Zita notices that every night their shoes are worn out. Zita is determined to discover what is going on and ultimately only Zita stands between her sisters and slow death from a magical curse.

Zita is a lively, three-dimensional character with whom I very much enjoyed spending time. She is a strong, determined, loving, generous girl and a good role model in many ways for the young girls who will read her story.

The entire book is beautifully written. The language has a fairy-tale feel while still being easy to follow for modern kids. The setting is clearly described so that images of Zita's castle both inside and out, the mysterious woods near the castle, and the magical world in which the twelve princesses dance all spring vividly to mind. Though only a couple of the twelve princesses, all of whose names begin with "A", stand out, this was not an issue for me personally. There are a great many lesser characters in the book, and I believe the author made a sound decision to keep some of them in the background so that Zita could constantly hold center stage.

All in all, this is a quick, fun read which I highly recommend for middle-grade girls.

I have to say that my favorite fairy tale of all time is The Twelve Dancing Princesses and when I saw that there was a retelling I just had to have it. I am totally enchanted with this version, I loved Zita, I loved her spunk and passion. She was the Cinderella of this story and proved a delightful heroine who grew and loved as much as she could. I love all the interspersed love stories as I am a romantic at heart, and I hope that Ms. Zahler writes more, because I was definitely left with an appetite to read another tale. I especially loved the descriptions of the settings, illusions, and people... made me feel like I knew the place and was a part of it. Thanks for a fun read.

Zita is the youngest of thirteen sisters, and a daughter of the king. But the king had always wanted a son. So, when Zita's mother died in her childbirth, the king blamed Zita and banished her to the servants' quarters. But when Zita learns of her heritage, she begins to form relationships with her sisters. Then suddenly, the elder twelve princesses fall ill, and Zita must discover the truth behind her sisters' failing health before they waste away.

Based on the Grimm's tale of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, Zahler gives her own twist to the magical fairy tale. Zita is an enchanting character, good natured and craving love from her family. Zita's confidants are the stable boy Breckin and a hospitable witch, hidden in the woods. Even with a familiarity with the original tale, it's easy to get caught up in the suspense and mystery of the story.

Zahler is an incredibly talented writer, weaving a wonderful tale of magic, love, and courage. A beautiful story with charming characters and plenty of heart, this fantastic story can be enjoyed by young and old alike. Don't miss this captivating fairy tale.

Lives up to expectations, two thumbs up, If i could I would rate this with more stars but it only allowed 5. I Would want every young girl from ages 9 on to read it, AWESOME book

"The Twelve Dancing Princesses" has always been one of my favorite fairy tales, and to me it's a mystery why Disney hasn't latched on to this one, too. For princess-crazed little girls, it has not one, not two, but 12 beautiful young women, all with fabulous wardrobes --- and all those shoes!

Just to recap for those of you who haven't picked up THE RED FAIRY BOOK lately: the original story, collected by the Brothers Grimm, is about 12 royal sisters who all sleep together in the same locked room. They claim to sleep soundly each night, but every morning they come out looking exhausted, and their slippers are worn through as if they had been dancing all night. The king offers a daughter's hand in marriage to anyone who discovers their secret. A clever soldier, helped by a witch's invisibility cloak, secretly follows the sisters through a trap door and into an enchanted world, where the young women dance all night long with handsome young men. The soldier secretly collects evidence of their travels (a silver branch, a golden cup) and presents it to the king, who offers his eldest daughter's hand in marriage when the girls finally confess.

Diane Zahler, a longtime fan of fairy tales, remains faithful to these original bones while leaving her own, more modern stamp on the story. Her kingdom is a darker, sadder place than the one in the Grimms' tale; here the girls' father is a cruel, angry man, driven to a life of bitterness and disappointment after his wife fails 13 times to give him a male heir, finally dying as she gives birth to their 13th daughter. That's right --- 13. But there's a reason we've never heard of this 13th princess before. She's been banished from her sisters' chambers, relegated to a life of servitude because she reminds her father too much of his late wife and her failings.

But when Zita (the only sister whose name does not start with "A") discovers her parentage at the opening of the novel, she's thrilled that she finally has a family; when her sisters claim her as one of their own, Zita is overcome with the unfamiliar new emotions of love and belonging. That's why she grows so concerned when, seemingly overnight, her older sisters grow increasingly wan and weary, becoming ever duller companions to the prospective husbands their father brings home for their review.

Zita, advised by her new friends --- the stable boy, the witch and the soldier --- vows to get to the bottom of the mystery. She discovers that, although she might not share her sisters' traditional beauty, she does have skills and a beauty of her own, one that might save her sisters, her family, and magic itself.

Zahler's debut novel is a faithful but creative retelling of the original fairy tale, one that will appeal both to purists and revisionists. Zita is an appealing, bold character; her narration simultaneously preserves the old-fashioned narrative feeling of the classic fairy tales and also offers insights into her own vulnerabilities and strengths. At times, her voice sounds much older than her 12 years, but the fairy tale setting somehow makes her maturity and formality convincing. THE THIRTEENTH PRINCESS brings modern sensibilities and a feminist spin to the classic story without diminishing its original charm and enchantment. Let's hope Zahler considers retelling other often-overlooked tales for new generations of fairy tale fans.

A truly enchanting and refreshing book for young readers. I bought this book for my nieces, but I loved reading it, too!

The Thirteenth Princess by Diane Zahler is a retelling of the 12 Dancing Princesses (and yes, this is probably the fifth retelling of this tale that I've read, I can't get enough). In this retelling the star is Zita, the thirteenth princess who was raised as a servant after her mother died during her childbirth. Zita has to solve the mystery of her sister's illness and has a little romance on the side as she grows up.

I loved this retelling. It was sweet and romantic (in a way that was very appropriate for young readers) and full of magic. Zita made for a fantastic heroine who orchestrates the rescue with the help of a few friends. I also liked that the author took out the creepy part of the story (the rescuer being able to marry any princess) and just gave us a soldier whom had a mutual affection for the oldest sister. This is an easy and quick read.

Appropriateness: This is a book that can be enjoyed by readers of all ages.. There is a bit of a romance between Zita and Brekin which is sweet and innocent. The lexile is 850 putting it on a sixth grade reading level making it a great book for middle school readers and advanced older elementary students.