Raising the Griffin

by Melissa Wyatt

What’s it really like to be a prince? To his horror, British schoolboy Alex Varenhoff finds out when the monarchy is restored in the tiny country of Rovenia.

“To see, to do, to prevail.” The motto of Rovenia stands for bravery and honor. But none of this matters to Alex Varenhoff. Though he was always aware of his tie to the ancient monarchy, Rovenia tossed out the Varenhoff dynasty long ago, when the Communists took over. But Rovenia now finds itself in need of the leadership of a king.

Alex must leave home in England and assume his role in Rovenia as . . . prince? He’s thrust into a life he was never raised for. Alex hates pomp and circumstance, and the hordes of screaming girls that wait everywhere. And this new life is dangerous, for there are Rovenians who oppose the monarchy. Becoming a true prince presents Alex with a heartbreaking challenge far beyond anything he ever expected, one of the greatest challenges that any Varenhoff has ever had to face.


From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Young Adult, Family, Teen, Fiction, Romance

288 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 13, 2004

Reviews

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is looked-over, maybe because of the cover. It is a less funny Princess Diaries with a boy protagonist. I really enjoyed it.

[Lady Aquitaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly not sure what to say about this one, since I feel like there's a pretty good book inside, struggling to escape from a mediocre-to-poor one. Alex is spectacularly, ridiculously, mind-bogglingly stupid for so much of this, but then the twist two thirds of the way through makes it very hard to be mad at him after all. The most interesting character was, in my opinion, deBatz, and the subject matter here is heavy and thought-provoking enough that I think this could have been much improved by focusing more closely on him, possibly in third person, and by reframing the whole thing as a novel for adults, not teenagers. There were some interesting thoughts in here about duty and service and the purpose of royalty in the modern world, and it is certainly easy to see the difficulties associated with being thrust so suddenly into the public eye. (At times it even reminded me of my own experiences in being related to a college administrator--a much smaller scale, of course, but the overall principle is similar.) But Alex just did too much whining about how hard his life was, and I just did too much grinding of teeth at how stupid he was being, for this book to really be good, and the last third or so wasn't enough to save it. (Shifting the target age range would have also allowed this to be longer, which I think would have been wise--I'm much more curious to see how he copes with the problems facing him at the end of the novel than I was about anything else in the whole book!) Anyway, TL;DR: sadly could have been much better, but at least deBatz is awesome.

P.S. First, it's bad enough that Isabelle is little more than a red flag in lipstick and stiletto heels, but I don't recall ever being told how old she actually is compared to Alex. Is she significantly older, as I kind of thought was implied? If so, then she's quite possibly a straight-up predator, depending on Rovenia's age of consent, and at very least super creepy. This was not really addressed, however. Second, I realized that I have not given enough credit to Sophy or Basric, both of whom are solid people who deserve better. Thanks, guys!

[Ann Valdez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did not want the book to end. I thought it was a great book. I wish there were a sequel.

[grosbeak · Rating 3 out of 5]

A perfectly ok YA novel of its period.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

The people of Rovenia, a former province of the Soviet Union, have voted to restore the monarchy as a tie to their past. For Alex, he must suddenly accept the role fo prince and heir, something he nver thought would happen. Now he is whisked off from his life in England to rovenia , a land he only knows from his grandfather's stories. How will he ever be accepted for who he is, in a role he never wanted?

[Caitlín K · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first time I read this I really liked it, and I still think the main storyline is good, and it's a book both boys a girls can enjoy.
But upon reading it a second time I notice all the plot holes. A lot of plot holes. Characters come in and have no point in being there, things happen with no explanation. I don't know, maybe I just grew up since the first reading of it.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am surprised this was shelved in the Juvenile section of my library. It is definitely suited for a more mature audience. Not what I expected at all--I definitely wouldn't let a child read this due to the sexual references. It was interesting enough to keep me reading, but I didn't like it that much.

[Cecelia · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting.