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The Palace Chronicles #2
Palace of Mirrors
"Somewhere in the world I have a tiara in a little box. It is not safe for me to wear it... It is not safe for me even to tell anyone who I really am. But I know—I have always known."
Cecilia knows that she is not just another peasant girl; she is actually the true princess, in hiding until the evil forces that killed her parents are vanquished. A commoner named Desmia is on the throne as a decoy.
As she gets older, Cecilia finds it harder to study statesmanship and palace protocol secretly at night and then pretend that she has nothing on her mind other than scrubbing the gruel stains out of her best apron by day.
Cecilia knows that it is time to take charge. Along with her best friend, Harper, she flees to the capital city, determined to reclaim her throne and face the danger head on.
When Harper and Cecilia reach the famed Palace of Mirrors, they discover complications: Princess Desmia believes an entirely different version of the story.
Acclaimed author Margaret Peterson Haddix returns to the charmed world of Just Ella, where a princess-in-hiding and a pretender to the throne discover that nothing is as it appears.
Cecilia knows that she is not just another peasant girl; she is actually the true princess, in hiding until the evil forces that killed her parents are vanquished. A commoner named Desmia is on the throne as a decoy.
As she gets older, Cecilia finds it harder to study statesmanship and palace protocol secretly at night and then pretend that she has nothing on her mind other than scrubbing the gruel stains out of her best apron by day.
Cecilia knows that it is time to take charge. Along with her best friend, Harper, she flees to the capital city, determined to reclaim her throne and face the danger head on.
When Harper and Cecilia reach the famed Palace of Mirrors, they discover complications: Princess Desmia believes an entirely different version of the story.
Acclaimed author Margaret Peterson Haddix returns to the charmed world of Just Ella, where a princess-in-hiding and a pretender to the throne discover that nothing is as it appears.
297 pages, Hardcover
First published September 30, 2008
140 people are currently reading
5937 people want to read
About the author
Margaret Peterson Haddix
130 books6,344 followersMargaret Peterson Haddix grew up on a farm near Washington Court House, Ohio. She graduated from Miami University (of Ohio) with degrees in English/journalism, English/creative writing and history. Before her first book was published, she worked as a newspaper copy editor in Fort Wayne, Indiana; a newspaper reporter in Indianapolis; and a community college instructor and freelance writer in Danville, Illinois.
She has since written more than 25 books for kids and teens, including Running Out of Time; Don’t You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey; Leaving Fishers; Just Ella; Turnabout; Takeoffs and Landings; The Girl with 500 Middle Names; Because of Anya; Escape from Memory; Say What?; The House on the Gulf; Double Identity; Dexter the Tough; Uprising; Palace of Mirrors; Claim to Fame; the Shadow Children series; and the Missing series. She also wrote Into the Gauntlet, the tenth book in the 39 Clues series. Her books have been honored with New York Times bestseller status, the International Reading Association’s Children’s Book Award; American Library Association Best Book and Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers notations; and more than a dozen state reader’s choice awards.
Haddix and her husband, Doug, now live in Columbus, Ohio, with their two children.
She has since written more than 25 books for kids and teens, including Running Out of Time; Don’t You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey; Leaving Fishers; Just Ella; Turnabout; Takeoffs and Landings; The Girl with 500 Middle Names; Because of Anya; Escape from Memory; Say What?; The House on the Gulf; Double Identity; Dexter the Tough; Uprising; Palace of Mirrors; Claim to Fame; the Shadow Children series; and the Missing series. She also wrote Into the Gauntlet, the tenth book in the 39 Clues series. Her books have been honored with New York Times bestseller status, the International Reading Association’s Children’s Book Award; American Library Association Best Book and Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers notations; and more than a dozen state reader’s choice awards.
Haddix and her husband, Doug, now live in Columbus, Ohio, with their two children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 867 reviews
August 21, 2008
I spent so much of this book writing rude comments in the margins, which I have to be pretty frustrated to do. But - the levels of stupid reached by the main character... it's not Bella Swan, but she's pretty stupid.
My favorite moment coming when Cecelia has a long paragraph of back and forth thinking - should she head towards the home of the knight who has protected and educated her all her life? where, as she explicitly says, she will feel safe? (keep in mind, this is LESS THAN AN HOUR after armed men on horseback stormed her house and would have captured or killed her had she not snuck out to tell her best friend her secret identity - because, you see, she was SO SCARED FOR HER LIFE SHE WANTED TO EXPLAIN WHY SHE MIGHT TURN UP DEAD SOON.) Or should she head towards the capital, where she has never been before, with only her friend to help her, so she can inform Princess Desmia that she, Cecelia, is here to take her rightful throne and Desmia can go away now?
So, logically, she decides to be noble and go to the capital to SAVE DESMIA FROM THE DANGERS OF PRETENDING TO BE THE PRINCESS.
OH MY GOD MARGARET PETERSON HADDIX. THE GIRL IS SUPPOSED TO BE 14 AND WELL EDUCATED. NOT A COMPLETE MORON.
The entitlement complex just WAFTING off the page made the book hard to stomach, but I bulled through because I wanted to see how it connected to her earlier Cinderella retooling, Just Ella, which I just might retroactively subtract a star from, because it somehow spawned this.
Well, Ella shows up, having braved a long journey across enemy territory to join her fiancee because she missed him (and, of course, because she must have known that peace between the two countries would never come about unless SHE was there to make it happen), at which point she immediately became BFF with Princess Desmia, who quickly told Ella all her secrets and fears. So Ella then helps convince Cecelia and Desmia that they should work together, despite the fact that they are, technically, competing for the same throne.
Oh, right, did I mention the 11 other girls who all claim to be the TRUE PRINCESS?!
And, finally, it turns out that none of them are the TRUE PRINCESS, because the TRUE PRINCESS died when the king and queen were murdered. So in the three days it took her to die, the queen - INSTEAD OF, I DON'T KNOW, SEEKING MEDICAL ATTENTION OR WHATEVER - adopted THIRTEEN INFANTS and sent all of them off with loyal knights, telling ALL THIRTEEN KNIGHTS that they were caring for the TRUE PRINCESS. BECAUSE THAT COULD NOT IN ANY WAY COME BACK TO BITE THE ENTIRE COUNTRY COLLECTIVELY ON THE ASS.
THE MORE I THINK ABOUT THIS BOOK THE ANGRIER I GET.
And then the book ends with ALL THIRTEEN PRINCESSES RULING THE COUNTRY. TOGETHER. THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH CAPITAL LETTERS IN THE WORLD FOR THIS BOOK.
THIRTEEN FOURTEEN YEAR OLD PRINCESSES IN CHARGE OF A COUNTRY THAT WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF A BLOODY WAR. BUT IT'S ALL OKAY NOW.
This book sucked.
My favorite moment coming when Cecelia has a long paragraph of back and forth thinking - should she head towards the home of the knight who has protected and educated her all her life? where, as she explicitly says, she will feel safe? (keep in mind, this is LESS THAN AN HOUR after armed men on horseback stormed her house and would have captured or killed her had she not snuck out to tell her best friend her secret identity - because, you see, she was SO SCARED FOR HER LIFE SHE WANTED TO EXPLAIN WHY SHE MIGHT TURN UP DEAD SOON.) Or should she head towards the capital, where she has never been before, with only her friend to help her, so she can inform Princess Desmia that she, Cecelia, is here to take her rightful throne and Desmia can go away now?
So, logically, she decides to be noble and go to the capital to SAVE DESMIA FROM THE DANGERS OF PRETENDING TO BE THE PRINCESS.
OH MY GOD MARGARET PETERSON HADDIX. THE GIRL IS SUPPOSED TO BE 14 AND WELL EDUCATED. NOT A COMPLETE MORON.
The entitlement complex just WAFTING off the page made the book hard to stomach, but I bulled through because I wanted to see how it connected to her earlier Cinderella retooling, Just Ella, which I just might retroactively subtract a star from, because it somehow spawned this.
Well, Ella shows up, having braved a long journey across enemy territory to join her fiancee because she missed him (and, of course, because she must have known that peace between the two countries would never come about unless SHE was there to make it happen), at which point she immediately became BFF with Princess Desmia, who quickly told Ella all her secrets and fears. So Ella then helps convince Cecelia and Desmia that they should work together, despite the fact that they are, technically, competing for the same throne.
Oh, right, did I mention the 11 other girls who all claim to be the TRUE PRINCESS?!
And, finally, it turns out that none of them are the TRUE PRINCESS, because the TRUE PRINCESS died when the king and queen were murdered. So in the three days it took her to die, the queen - INSTEAD OF, I DON'T KNOW, SEEKING MEDICAL ATTENTION OR WHATEVER - adopted THIRTEEN INFANTS and sent all of them off with loyal knights, telling ALL THIRTEEN KNIGHTS that they were caring for the TRUE PRINCESS. BECAUSE THAT COULD NOT IN ANY WAY COME BACK TO BITE THE ENTIRE COUNTRY COLLECTIVELY ON THE ASS.
THE MORE I THINK ABOUT THIS BOOK THE ANGRIER I GET.
And then the book ends with ALL THIRTEEN PRINCESSES RULING THE COUNTRY. TOGETHER. THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH CAPITAL LETTERS IN THE WORLD FOR THIS BOOK.
THIRTEEN FOURTEEN YEAR OLD PRINCESSES IN CHARGE OF A COUNTRY THAT WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF A BLOODY WAR. BUT IT'S ALL OKAY NOW.
This book sucked.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 19, 2011
Wow!
Well my favorite part was Harper, to be honest. I'll get to him in a second.
Writing style--4/5. Really good. Every now and then I got a little distracted because Cecilia would discuss something to the reader for a couple pages and I would get bored. But I was still very impressed.
Age choice--2/5. Cecilia was fourteen. Fourteen! Seriously! Just the way she acted and thought, the stuff that happened to her, it all spoke sixteen to me. She was one of the most ME characters I've ever read, not sure what that says about me, and I guess I'm only fourteen too. So hmmmm...
Ending--2/5 While I hadn't contrived the exact ending, I knew it would be something a little too easy. And it was. I had at least a dozen reasons of why the solution wouldn't work. Couldn't come up with a better alternative, however.
Cecilia and Harper's ending was great though... :)
Dialogue--5/5 No complaints whatsoever, which was great, actually kind of impressed. Conversations felt normal and non-contrived, with the ease of real life friends. I am jealous. :)
Character developement--3/5 Conflicted here. I didn't really feel like I knew the characters well enough to predict actions for anyone except Harper and Cecilia, but for an MC she was pretty average, with the exception of her high values. Relatable, but not exactly remarkable. My type of person in real life, not so much in a book.
But then, personality was not relevant to the plot, and it was made up for in story. Not sure where to go with this.
BUT!
Cecilia set it up beautifully for Harper.
My huge highlight of the story.
Harper/Harper-and-Cecilia-relationship--7/5 (here I am, rating a character all over again). He just made me happy. I like a guy that can be comfortable around girls, that can hold himself back, that has high moral standards, and kisses the girl at the end but NOT BEFORE. Maybe I'm very anti-kissing or something, but it made me so totally happy that they didn't kiss until they knew they were in love. YES!
Recommended for: anyone who likes a princess story, a happy ending, a girl main character that actually acts like a girl!, an easy read, or no action but some excitement.
Well my favorite part was Harper, to be honest. I'll get to him in a second.
Writing style--4/5. Really good. Every now and then I got a little distracted because Cecilia would discuss something to the reader for a couple pages and I would get bored. But I was still very impressed.
Age choice--2/5. Cecilia was fourteen. Fourteen! Seriously! Just the way she acted and thought, the stuff that happened to her, it all spoke sixteen to me. She was one of the most ME characters I've ever read, not sure what that says about me, and I guess I'm only fourteen too. So hmmmm...
Ending--2/5 While I hadn't contrived the exact ending, I knew it would be something a little too easy. And it was. I had at least a dozen reasons of why the solution wouldn't work. Couldn't come up with a better alternative, however.
Cecilia and Harper's ending was great though... :)
Dialogue--5/5 No complaints whatsoever, which was great, actually kind of impressed. Conversations felt normal and non-contrived, with the ease of real life friends. I am jealous. :)
Character developement--3/5 Conflicted here. I didn't really feel like I knew the characters well enough to predict actions for anyone except Harper and Cecilia, but for an MC she was pretty average, with the exception of her high values. Relatable, but not exactly remarkable. My type of person in real life, not so much in a book.
But then, personality was not relevant to the plot, and it was made up for in story. Not sure where to go with this.
BUT!
Cecilia set it up beautifully for Harper.
My huge highlight of the story.
Harper/Harper-and-Cecilia-relationship--7/5 (here I am, rating a character all over again). He just made me happy. I like a guy that can be comfortable around girls, that can hold himself back, that has high moral standards, and kisses the girl at the end but NOT BEFORE. Maybe I'm very anti-kissing or something, but it made me so totally happy that they didn't kiss until they knew they were in love. YES!
Recommended for: anyone who likes a princess story, a happy ending, a girl main character that actually acts like a girl!, an easy read, or no action but some excitement.
April 21, 2013
Well, this is disappointing.
She's 14, and I'm younger, but even I could have done better.
HONESTLY.
She was supposed to be educated for God's sakes. Not a complete moron.
Did she honestly think that Desmia would just step down from the throne and say, "Oh, you're the real princess, and I'm fake. Well, now you're here, I guess I'll go now and abandon all the riches and food and starve to death outside the castle! (wide smile)"
NO, BITCH, JUST NO.
Her good friend, Harper, decides to help her to get her "throne".
And what does she do to thank him?
She CONSTANTLY complains about everything and anything.
She is SO FULL OF HERSELF.
Just because you're born royal, or that's what she believes, does not mean you're smart and right about everything.
And the ending, Haddix obviously tried to make it a happy ending.
13 girls, that all have a different "strength" and if they work together, they will be perfect.
But it has no reality, not even an ounce.
Sure, all 13 princesses are educated and all that.
But the court people or whatever will NEVER let them rule the throne.
You know why?
Because people are greedy, and they are not going to let 13 orphans rule the country. Nu-uh. Not over their dead body.
In reality, they will throw out the all the girls and rule over the country themselves or kill each other and see who gets the throne.
I only gave it 2 stars because of Harper.
As far as I'm concerned, Cecilia does not deserve him.
Not over my dead body.
She's 14, and I'm younger, but even I could have done better.
HONESTLY.
She was supposed to be educated for God's sakes. Not a complete moron.
Did she honestly think that Desmia would just step down from the throne and say, "Oh, you're the real princess, and I'm fake. Well, now you're here, I guess I'll go now and abandon all the riches and food and starve to death outside the castle! (wide smile)"
NO, BITCH, JUST NO.
Her good friend, Harper, decides to help her to get her "throne".
And what does she do to thank him?
She CONSTANTLY complains about everything and anything.
She is SO FULL OF HERSELF.
Just because you're born royal, or that's what she believes, does not mean you're smart and right about everything.
And the ending, Haddix obviously tried to make it a happy ending.
13 girls, that all have a different "strength" and if they work together, they will be perfect.
But it has no reality, not even an ounce.
Sure, all 13 princesses are educated and all that.
But the court people or whatever will NEVER let them rule the throne.
You know why?
Because people are greedy, and they are not going to let 13 orphans rule the country. Nu-uh. Not over their dead body.
In reality, they will throw out the all the girls and rule over the country themselves or kill each other and see who gets the throne.
I only gave it 2 stars because of Harper.
As far as I'm concerned, Cecilia does not deserve him.
Not over my dead body.
October 30, 2013
What would you do if you always grew up as a princess in hiding? Then, what would you do if suddenly, there is a twist to it that nobody expected? How would react if everything you were told was only partially right?
In “The Palace of Mirrors” by Margaret Peterson Haddix, Cecilia has grown up always believing she was the one true princess. Her parents, the king and queen, were killed in a betrayal. The queen lived long enough to send her baby daughter into hiding, until the murderers were brought to justice. In the mean time, there was a fake princess, a decoy, placed on the throne, whose name was Desmia. Cecelia was sent to live in a very small town as a poor, orphaned girl. She lived with her nanny and did all the chores of a normal girl, so that no one would suspect anything.
Every night, her teacher and personal knight, Sir Stephen, would come and give her books to study. On one unsuspicious afternoon, Cecilia and her best friend, Harper were going down to the little pond like they did every day to fish. As Cecelia and Harper are strolling down the beaten down path, Cecilia notices a shadow following them. Sir Stephen had always taught her to be on the lookout, to be cautious, because if anything happened to her, the kingdom would crumble, for the fact that the only princess living in the castle, was a fake. She was not the true ruler! As Cecilia gets very suspicious of the following shadow, as it could be someone after her. Then the unexpected happens, and instead of what she was expecting, a maniac wielding a knife, a huge dog gets thrown at her, knocking her down. That night, the leather lock on their door, was sliced by a knife while they weren’t looking. Nanny just claims that it was worn through, but Cecilia knows what really happened.
For fear of her life, she runs to Harper’s house in the middle of the night to recruit him to travel to the palace and warn Desmia. As she tells him that she is the one true princess, instead of being his comical self about it, he is unusually serious about it. He agrees to go with her, and to have a cover to get into the palace, he brings his unloved harp that his mother has made him play so that he wouldn’t have to go to war like his father. The strange thing is, he has always wanted to be a soldier like his dad. Anyway, as they split off to collect supplies, Nanny calls for Cecilia. Cecilia finds out that a group of men on horseback surrounded the house, looking for her. Nanny encourages her to go to the kingdom, and gives her some rations to last until they get there.
As they try to get to the palace, they have a long hard journey, including thorns and stubborn guards. As they reach the palace and complete their portion of the music contest, Cecilia quickly passes by Desmia and tells her, “ I am the true princess. I am here to relieve you of your dangerous duty.” Nobody expects what happens next. Desmia gets extremely angry and locks her in a tower. If you really want to find out why she locked her up when Cecilia was trying to relieve her of getting potentially killed, read “The Palace of Mirrors”, by Margaret Peterson Haddix.
If you really want a sneak peek at why she throws her in a tower, I will give you one line that Desmia says (more like sneers). “You are not the true princess. I am!!"
In “The Palace of Mirrors” by Margaret Peterson Haddix, Cecilia has grown up always believing she was the one true princess. Her parents, the king and queen, were killed in a betrayal. The queen lived long enough to send her baby daughter into hiding, until the murderers were brought to justice. In the mean time, there was a fake princess, a decoy, placed on the throne, whose name was Desmia. Cecelia was sent to live in a very small town as a poor, orphaned girl. She lived with her nanny and did all the chores of a normal girl, so that no one would suspect anything.
Every night, her teacher and personal knight, Sir Stephen, would come and give her books to study. On one unsuspicious afternoon, Cecilia and her best friend, Harper were going down to the little pond like they did every day to fish. As Cecelia and Harper are strolling down the beaten down path, Cecilia notices a shadow following them. Sir Stephen had always taught her to be on the lookout, to be cautious, because if anything happened to her, the kingdom would crumble, for the fact that the only princess living in the castle, was a fake. She was not the true ruler! As Cecilia gets very suspicious of the following shadow, as it could be someone after her. Then the unexpected happens, and instead of what she was expecting, a maniac wielding a knife, a huge dog gets thrown at her, knocking her down. That night, the leather lock on their door, was sliced by a knife while they weren’t looking. Nanny just claims that it was worn through, but Cecilia knows what really happened.
For fear of her life, she runs to Harper’s house in the middle of the night to recruit him to travel to the palace and warn Desmia. As she tells him that she is the one true princess, instead of being his comical self about it, he is unusually serious about it. He agrees to go with her, and to have a cover to get into the palace, he brings his unloved harp that his mother has made him play so that he wouldn’t have to go to war like his father. The strange thing is, he has always wanted to be a soldier like his dad. Anyway, as they split off to collect supplies, Nanny calls for Cecilia. Cecilia finds out that a group of men on horseback surrounded the house, looking for her. Nanny encourages her to go to the kingdom, and gives her some rations to last until they get there.
As they try to get to the palace, they have a long hard journey, including thorns and stubborn guards. As they reach the palace and complete their portion of the music contest, Cecilia quickly passes by Desmia and tells her, “ I am the true princess. I am here to relieve you of your dangerous duty.” Nobody expects what happens next. Desmia gets extremely angry and locks her in a tower. If you really want to find out why she locked her up when Cecilia was trying to relieve her of getting potentially killed, read “The Palace of Mirrors”, by Margaret Peterson Haddix.
If you really want a sneak peek at why she throws her in a tower, I will give you one line that Desmia says (more like sneers). “You are not the true princess. I am!!"
November 25, 2023
This book was pretty good, overall. The twist @ the ending was LONG awaited, lemme tell you. 3.75 stars...
August 14, 2020
Palace of Mirrors was a sweet break from true high fantasy. On the younger side of YA, this book follows Cecilia, a girl who has been raised believing that she is the true princess of her kingdom. When her home is attacked, Cecilia and her best friend Harper go to the capital in hopes of claiming Cecilia's throne. The dialog was cute, and the character interactions were sweet. There was a decent twist ending, and moments of humor. Palace of Mirrors is a three star book because it wasn't anything extraordinary. No character had real motivation, and the situations they got themselves into were rather ridiculous. Overall, this book was a fun, quick, read, and something I would have enjoyed much more as a younger reader.
March 17, 2014
Picked this up at a B&N while waiting for others to finish shopping. I only finished a little over 50 pages but by then I was into the story, so I put a hold on it at the library. Going back to the world of Just Ella was nice and she even pops up in this story as well. It reminded me of when I was still a new reader and that was nice.
Cecilia can be a bit self-important but then again she is the 'true princess.' She is good if flawed but I didn’t dislike her at all. Cecilia does learn and grow a good deal by the end of the book. She and her friend (or maybe something more) are both ideal for the journey and scheme they have to undertake.
The best part I would have to say is the surprises and how it was predictably a happy ending but not the way I expected it to be. Now that I’ve said this I feel a tad guilty because those who read it in the future will now not be as surprised as I was just because I said they would be.
In any case it’s still a great read. Perfect for pre-teens.
Cecilia can be a bit self-important but then again she is the 'true princess.' She is good if flawed but I didn’t dislike her at all. Cecilia does learn and grow a good deal by the end of the book. She and her friend (or maybe something more) are both ideal for the journey and scheme they have to undertake.
The best part I would have to say is the surprises and how it was predictably a happy ending but not the way I expected it to be. Now that I’ve said this I feel a tad guilty because those who read it in the future will now not be as surprised as I was just because I said they would be.
In any case it’s still a great read. Perfect for pre-teens.
March 26, 2018
I put off reading this book for a long time because I didn’t really like Just Ella, but I shouldn’t have. It was really good. Though Harper’s name threw me, as it’s the name of the little girl who lives next door to me and this Harper is a 14-year-old boy. Love this book. Also, Cecilia and Harper kind of reminded me of Miri and Peder, which is awesome. I’m not used to reading fantasy from Haddix, so I almost forgot I wasn’t reading Shannon Hale at times. Except Hale is a Mormon and Haddix is a Presbyterian, and it makes a distinct difference.
April 30, 2021
4 stars. I may have even liked this book better than the first one. It was just so fun and easy to read
December 8, 2012
Celia is the true princess.
But she can’t tell anyone. At least she’s not supposed to. She has been raised in secrecy in hopes of thwarting the assassins who killed the late king and queen.
However, TOTAL secrecy is a bit unfair. And unrealistic. I mean, really. What is Cecilia supposed to do when her best friend, Harper, ditches her on a fishing expedition, then stops speaking to her due to a misunderstanding? Clearly, she has no choice but to sneak out of her cottage--in the middle of the night--and travel through the forest--in the middle of the night--and wake him up--in the middle of the night--to tell him the whole story.
And when Harper & Celia return to the cottage, to learn that it has been vandalized by the “enemy,” what choice do they both have but to head straight for the capital, in order to rescue the poor decoy princess who must naturally need rescuing?
Clearly there is no other choice. Now if only Harper and Celia can acquire some shoes. So that the guards will allow the true princess through the gate.
An entertaining romp through a kingdom, a series of flawed choices, more than one surprise, and some seriously bad harp music. Palace of Mirrors is the companion novel to Just Ella. Both stories are set in different kingdoms with different heroines; but I would recommend reading them in order as Ella plays a role in both novels.
If you enjoy this, I’d also highly recommend Goose Chase by Patrice Kindl and The Princess Tales series by Gail Carson Levine.
But she can’t tell anyone. At least she’s not supposed to. She has been raised in secrecy in hopes of thwarting the assassins who killed the late king and queen.
However, TOTAL secrecy is a bit unfair. And unrealistic. I mean, really. What is Cecilia supposed to do when her best friend, Harper, ditches her on a fishing expedition, then stops speaking to her due to a misunderstanding? Clearly, she has no choice but to sneak out of her cottage--in the middle of the night--and travel through the forest--in the middle of the night--and wake him up--in the middle of the night--to tell him the whole story.
And when Harper & Celia return to the cottage, to learn that it has been vandalized by the “enemy,” what choice do they both have but to head straight for the capital, in order to rescue the poor decoy princess who must naturally need rescuing?
Clearly there is no other choice. Now if only Harper and Celia can acquire some shoes. So that the guards will allow the true princess through the gate.
An entertaining romp through a kingdom, a series of flawed choices, more than one surprise, and some seriously bad harp music. Palace of Mirrors is the companion novel to Just Ella. Both stories are set in different kingdoms with different heroines; but I would recommend reading them in order as Ella plays a role in both novels.
If you enjoy this, I’d also highly recommend Goose Chase by Patrice Kindl and The Princess Tales series by Gail Carson Levine.
April 30, 2009
This was a horrible book. I was amazed by how bad it was, and didn't even want to finish it, but because I wanted to know how the story ended, I stuck it out, hoping the ending would be better than the beginning and middle. It's a book set back in time, when Kings and Queens ruled the land, yet the dialogue of the book is modern day, which was terrible. The main character Cecilia says things like "totally" and she uses phrases that could only be in modern day english. Also, the way she drones on and doesn't get to the point is ridiculous. I guess if I were a little girl this book wouldn't have bothered me so much, so maybe it's ok for preteens, but definitely not young adults.
November 28, 2013
Duh. It's a fantastic read and our heroine has MY NAME!!!
April 5, 2024
This book didn't have to go so hard.
Honestly, the first book in the series was not my cup of tea so I was worried about the second book. But this book!? The mystery of the truth just captivated me and I couldn't stop. I think what I liked the most was that there were so many possibilities to the ending and I believe it chose the best route. Also loved the chess references and the Ella appearance. My only complaint is Harper. Great character but poor guy had his life goals changed every chapter. First he wanted to be a soldier, then he wanted to be a royal harpist, THEN Lord High Chancellor of Fishing Ponds. Then his choices were generously rotated every chapter. I guess it's ok to change ideas once or twice BUT IT WAS SO OFTEN? That's ok it was a small detail that bugged me.
Overall... Loved it!
Honestly, the first book in the series was not my cup of tea so I was worried about the second book. But this book!? The mystery of the truth just captivated me and I couldn't stop. I think what I liked the most was that there were so many possibilities to the ending and I believe it chose the best route. Also loved the chess references and the Ella appearance. My only complaint is Harper. Great character but poor guy had his life goals changed every chapter. First he wanted to be a soldier, then he wanted to be a royal harpist, THEN Lord High Chancellor of Fishing Ponds. Then his choices were generously rotated every chapter. I guess it's ok to change ideas once or twice BUT IT WAS SO OFTEN? That's ok it was a small detail that bugged me.
Overall... Loved it!
October 15, 2021
It was as if I stepped into another world where it is every girls dream to be a princess.
January 31, 2012
"You are the true princess. We will protect you. We will keep you safe until the evil ones are vanquished and the truth can be revealed..." (Palace of Mirrors, pg 1)This is the secret that Cecilia has had to keep all of her life and in the book Palace of Mirrors by Margaret Peterson Haddix. On a mission to protect herself when danger to her strikes in her own villae, she along with the help of her best friend Harper must take a dangerous and risky journey to protect herself and maybe Cecilia will take her true place as princess.On this journey Cecilia's beliefs, hopes, dreams and what she thought was true is put to the test on this journey.
Ever since Cecilia was an infant she has lived with her grandmother and has been told a secret that she can't tell anyone, not even her best friend in the world, Harper. Cecilia has been told by her protector, Sir Stephen, that she was a princess and that she needs to be keep this a secret no matter what because that is the only way to keep her safe. Desmia, the current princess of the land, is a fake and a cover-up for Cecilia. In an attempt to keep her safe, the royal guard is making Cecilia live in a small remote village as a peasant girl. Since she was a little child Sir Stephen would come over and teach her everything that you needed to know to be a princess such as; math, foreign relations, geography, politics, history, proper literature and the correct way to talk, walk and behave in front of important people. As Cecilia grows older she becomes restless and when in her village danger strikes she must make a mission to the palace to keep herself and Desmia safe. She and Harper go on a mission to reach the capital city, but it was not as easy as they thought that it would be. They face many dangers on their way to the capital city, in the capital city and the challenge of convincing Desmia that Cecilia is the real princess.But what happens to Cecilia that once she meets Desmia and finds out the real truth of her life's story? Everything that she has grown up knowing, belieiving and wishing is questioned in this journey.
I really like this book. The general types of books that I enjoy reading involve romance, adventure, and royalty. Palace of Mirrors is a good combination of all of those components that I enjoy in a book. We see the budding romance between Cecilia and Harper which grows and developes throughout the book. Adventure is portrayed when Harper and Cecilia take the journey to the capital city so that Cecilia can take back her rightful place as queen. Royalty and the royal family plays into this book because Cecilia is told that she is a princess and is trying to take back her spot from Desmia.Palace of Mirrors is told in a way that almost anyone can understand. It is a good adventure story and at the end of the book there is a twist that almost nobody who is reading this book would expect. Overall I really did enjoy this book.
I would recommend this book to many people. The target audience that Margaret Peterson Haddix is trying to reach would be teenage girls. The combination of adventure and romance appeals to the category of young women. Although this book may be appealing to other types of readers, Palace of Mirrors mainly is attracted to young women who enjoy a good story of adventure and romance.
Palace of Mirrors by Margaret Peterson Haddix is a good story of love, adventure and could be considered a coming of age story for Cecilia, Harper and in some ways Desmia. Cecilia went on this journey with the help of her best friend Harper and the protection of her grandmother and Sir Stephen that changed her life and who she was as a person. What would you do if everything that you know, believe and hope was questioned? Some people would sit around and wait for something to happen while others go out and find what they are looking for and test themselves. Cecilia is one of the people who goes out and find herself. This adventure transformed Cecilia into a strong, indpendent, love-struck young women.
Ever since Cecilia was an infant she has lived with her grandmother and has been told a secret that she can't tell anyone, not even her best friend in the world, Harper. Cecilia has been told by her protector, Sir Stephen, that she was a princess and that she needs to be keep this a secret no matter what because that is the only way to keep her safe. Desmia, the current princess of the land, is a fake and a cover-up for Cecilia. In an attempt to keep her safe, the royal guard is making Cecilia live in a small remote village as a peasant girl. Since she was a little child Sir Stephen would come over and teach her everything that you needed to know to be a princess such as; math, foreign relations, geography, politics, history, proper literature and the correct way to talk, walk and behave in front of important people. As Cecilia grows older she becomes restless and when in her village danger strikes she must make a mission to the palace to keep herself and Desmia safe. She and Harper go on a mission to reach the capital city, but it was not as easy as they thought that it would be. They face many dangers on their way to the capital city, in the capital city and the challenge of convincing Desmia that Cecilia is the real princess.But what happens to Cecilia that once she meets Desmia and finds out the real truth of her life's story? Everything that she has grown up knowing, belieiving and wishing is questioned in this journey.
I really like this book. The general types of books that I enjoy reading involve romance, adventure, and royalty. Palace of Mirrors is a good combination of all of those components that I enjoy in a book. We see the budding romance between Cecilia and Harper which grows and developes throughout the book. Adventure is portrayed when Harper and Cecilia take the journey to the capital city so that Cecilia can take back her rightful place as queen. Royalty and the royal family plays into this book because Cecilia is told that she is a princess and is trying to take back her spot from Desmia.Palace of Mirrors is told in a way that almost anyone can understand. It is a good adventure story and at the end of the book there is a twist that almost nobody who is reading this book would expect. Overall I really did enjoy this book.
I would recommend this book to many people. The target audience that Margaret Peterson Haddix is trying to reach would be teenage girls. The combination of adventure and romance appeals to the category of young women. Although this book may be appealing to other types of readers, Palace of Mirrors mainly is attracted to young women who enjoy a good story of adventure and romance.
Palace of Mirrors by Margaret Peterson Haddix is a good story of love, adventure and could be considered a coming of age story for Cecilia, Harper and in some ways Desmia. Cecilia went on this journey with the help of her best friend Harper and the protection of her grandmother and Sir Stephen that changed her life and who she was as a person. What would you do if everything that you know, believe and hope was questioned? Some people would sit around and wait for something to happen while others go out and find what they are looking for and test themselves. Cecilia is one of the people who goes out and find herself. This adventure transformed Cecilia into a strong, indpendent, love-struck young women.
December 31, 2019
In this book, Cecilia is a peasant girl living in a village. She is at the age where she is beginning to look at her best friend, Harper differently. She does all the normal tasks of a peasant. But Cecilia knows she is different. She is a true princess. She has a tutor come every night and teach her about being a princess. He was a Knight of the king, given the task of protecting his baby girl, before both the king and queen were killed. One day, some weird things start happening. The piece of leather that holds the door is cut, and Cecilia can't sleep. She thinks she hears strange noises, and her nanny is very uneasy. She runs over to Harper's, for fear that she may be killed or something bad might happen, and Harper will never know what became of her or who she really was. The two of them begin walking toward the castle to reclaim her throne. The nanny runs to them as they are leaving and tells them men attacked the house, and that they need to leave.
They flee to the kingdom, where they enter a harp contest to try to get in the palace. Harper has played harp all his life, but Cecilia hasn't even touched one. After a so-so performance, Cecilia whispers to Desmia, who is the decoy on the throne, that she is the true princess. Desmia cons Cecilia and locks her in a prison cell, high in a tower with birds. Desmia comes back with a girl named Ella, and shows Cecilia something. There are 11 other girls, just like Cecilia, all claiming to be the true princess, in a cell, thin and filthy. Cecilia is shocked.
Cecilia, Desmia, and Ella all go on a mission to determine who is the real princess. Desmia accuses one of the Lords a traitor, and he may be the man who killed the king and queen. In the book it is hinted that she is right. The girls each posses an item from them royal palace, and Cecilia's turns out to be Harper's harp. In it they find a scroll. The real story comes out in the Queen's own words. She writes that she never had a child, she gave birth to a stillborn. She decided to give 13 orphan girls a new life, and gave one to each of the knights that asked to help with her child.
All the princesses decide to split the tasks of being a ruler into what they do best.
In the end of the book, there is a romantic thing with Cecilia and Harper, which we knew was coming all along. It is highly hinted that they are to be married.
I liked this book, but it wasn't as high as I put my hopes for.
They flee to the kingdom, where they enter a harp contest to try to get in the palace. Harper has played harp all his life, but Cecilia hasn't even touched one. After a so-so performance, Cecilia whispers to Desmia, who is the decoy on the throne, that she is the true princess. Desmia cons Cecilia and locks her in a prison cell, high in a tower with birds. Desmia comes back with a girl named Ella, and shows Cecilia something. There are 11 other girls, just like Cecilia, all claiming to be the true princess, in a cell, thin and filthy. Cecilia is shocked.
Cecilia, Desmia, and Ella all go on a mission to determine who is the real princess. Desmia accuses one of the Lords a traitor, and he may be the man who killed the king and queen. In the book it is hinted that she is right. The girls each posses an item from them royal palace, and Cecilia's turns out to be Harper's harp. In it they find a scroll. The real story comes out in the Queen's own words. She writes that she never had a child, she gave birth to a stillborn. She decided to give 13 orphan girls a new life, and gave one to each of the knights that asked to help with her child.
All the princesses decide to split the tasks of being a ruler into what they do best.
In the end of the book, there is a romantic thing with Cecilia and Harper, which we knew was coming all along. It is highly hinted that they are to be married.
I liked this book, but it wasn't as high as I put my hopes for.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 14, 2022
*1.5 STARS
This was a reread for me but I read it about 7 years ago so didn't really remember anything about it besides the basic plot. And boy did I not really like it this time!! The first book is a Cinderella retelling which is what drew me to it in the first place. This book wasn't a retelling at all which is a bit disappointing for me. Other series have managed to build off of one fairytale and create their own imaginative worlds (ie The Books of Bayern by Shannon Hale) but this book just didn't do that. It went from a strong, independent female character in the first book to about one of the dumbest characters ever in this one. Our main character is super naive, which is fine I guess. I'm a naive person too. But I'd never just walk up to a palace and expect to be made the princess just because I said it was so. "But I'm the true princess!!" Shoot me. I just could not with this book. The characters were dumb and most of them literally had no brains. Young, old, middle-aged, they were all morons alike! The only smart and tolerable character was Ella, from the first book. I just couldn't enjoy this book with it's lacking story and characters. And everything was just resolved so easily and in a way that I don't believe in the slightest. I'll read the third book if I can get my hands on it but what was this rubbish?
This was a reread for me but I read it about 7 years ago so didn't really remember anything about it besides the basic plot. And boy did I not really like it this time!! The first book is a Cinderella retelling which is what drew me to it in the first place. This book wasn't a retelling at all which is a bit disappointing for me. Other series have managed to build off of one fairytale and create their own imaginative worlds (ie The Books of Bayern by Shannon Hale) but this book just didn't do that. It went from a strong, independent female character in the first book to about one of the dumbest characters ever in this one. Our main character is super naive, which is fine I guess. I'm a naive person too. But I'd never just walk up to a palace and expect to be made the princess just because I said it was so. "But I'm the true princess!!" Shoot me. I just could not with this book. The characters were dumb and most of them literally had no brains. Young, old, middle-aged, they were all morons alike! The only smart and tolerable character was Ella, from the first book. I just couldn't enjoy this book with it's lacking story and characters. And everything was just resolved so easily and in a way that I don't believe in the slightest. I'll read the third book if I can get my hands on it but what was this rubbish?
August 16, 2012
I listened to this book on CD, and chose it because I had enjoyed Haddix's Just Ella. This one really didn't work for me. The narrator read it like she was running through a sheet of exceptionally thick honey---S-L-O-W. I kept thinking "PLEASE, get on with it!" but the text itself took forever to have anything happen and would explain and re-explain and tell every non-interesting detail there was to tell, so I can't put total blame on the narrator.
The story had some nice twists built in but it took so long to get to them that I didn't care by the time we got around to it. I finally started just skipping ahead, trying to find the main plot points. The premise seemed really far-fetched, even for a fairy tale. The characters' choices of what to do and why to do it most often felt totally random. Ella shows up in this book (with a very strange Scarlett O'Hara southern accent in the audio)and I didn't even recognize her--I only realized it was her when I read the reviews. The last fairy tale book I read tried too hard to make the voices sound Shakespearean, but in this book they all talked like they were from the junior high down the street. It was very jarring.
In the end, not my favorite, and I wouldn't recommend it.
The story had some nice twists built in but it took so long to get to them that I didn't care by the time we got around to it. I finally started just skipping ahead, trying to find the main plot points. The premise seemed really far-fetched, even for a fairy tale. The characters' choices of what to do and why to do it most often felt totally random. Ella shows up in this book (with a very strange Scarlett O'Hara southern accent in the audio)and I didn't even recognize her--I only realized it was her when I read the reviews. The last fairy tale book I read tried too hard to make the voices sound Shakespearean, but in this book they all talked like they were from the junior high down the street. It was very jarring.
In the end, not my favorite, and I wouldn't recommend it.
November 17, 2014
This book was awesome!!!!!!!!! I could not stop reading it because it had a lot f drama, adventure and suspense. What was kind of weird was that it had a twist at the end that changed the whole story. I liked that there was a lot of foreshadowing in the story and it was really fun guessing what was going to happen next. From page 1 it is very interesting. At first I thought that it was going to be boring but I at least read a couple of pages and I really liked it a lot!!!!!!! I think you should read this book because it is a really great book and well yeah. Read it!!!!!! It is a fantastic book!!!!!!
August 26, 2010
I'm not always the biggest fan of Haddix's books, and it did take me awhile to get into this one, but once I was into it I enjoyed the story. She develops her characters well enough that you actually care about them, which she doesn't do in some other books I've read by her. I hope she does well with the final 39 Clues book!
April 20, 2023
I thought this book was slow moving in the beginning, but took off after the first ten chapters! I thought it was an action filled story with a 'FAKE' princess and the real one is out in hiding. I would reccomend this book to people who give books a chance. GIVE THIS ONE A CHANCE!!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 28, 2024
2020 rating: 4 stars
2024 reread: 4 stars
Well I'm glad to be keeping this one as a 4 star read! Definitely had potential to be a 5 star read (Cecilia and Harper😍) just wasn't quite there. Still very entertaining and clever though
2024 reread: 4 stars
Well I'm glad to be keeping this one as a 4 star read! Definitely had potential to be a 5 star read (Cecilia and Harper😍) just wasn't quite there. Still very entertaining and clever though
January 11, 2017
This book was better than the first book. So much more enticing and thrilling.
July 14, 2017
Interesting little story. Definitely a twist on the "hidden princess" fairy tale. Cecilia and her best friend, a village boy who wants to be a soldier but whose mother insists he become a harper, travel on their own to the palace, when it becomes obvious that she has been discovered and is in danger. But things don't work out like they planned, and then the twists and surprises keep coming. I liked this, though it did take a bit to get into it. The "establishing the situation" part took a while. But it's good stuff. A good read.
Read
April 12, 2023A fairly good book. It wasn't nearly as good as Just Ella, but I might just think that because I liked just Ella better. I think it's about 10 years old and up. Although, some 9 year olds might also enjoy it But I think that 10, 11, 12, is probably the prime age for it.
It had a tiny bit of Romance, but not much. Only one kissing part, but not snoging. Just a quick short kiss.
That's probably all I can say without giving spoilers.
It had a tiny bit of Romance, but not much. Only one kissing part, but not snoging. Just a quick short kiss.
That's probably all I can say without giving spoilers.
March 7, 2025
My teenage neice was glued to this book one day and I thought it would be fun to see what her favorite books were like. It was definitely meant for young adults and had a few places where--in the light of real life polotics--the plot twists were a bit untenable...but with a grain of salt it was an imaginative, reasonably suspensful, very fun read! Perfect for a female young adult!
July 17, 2018
I liked this better then Just Ella I think overall the story was more detailed though it still had some pacing issues where some moments went by too fast. The characters were well done and once again the story had a great concept.
April 24, 2021
Grief can lead us to bitterness or to good actions.
What do I leave behind? What is my life worth?
How do we treat others, as peasants or royalty?
We are children of the Light. How do we treat others?
What do I leave behind? What is my life worth?
How do we treat others, as peasants or royalty?
We are children of the Light. How do we treat others?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 18, 2018
I thought that this book was very magical and mysterious. I especially loved the background story that the author wrote. So-called princesses are hidden away and have another person standing in their place in order to protect themselves. This story has jaw-dropping twists and turns, which makes it even more exciting to read. Also, I found it very interesting to read about a king and queen era. Not many books are written in that era. It gives you a different perspective on what it was like for kings, queens, princesses, knights, and the large castles that they would live in during that era. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes fairy tales about princesses with happy endings.
March 6, 2021
the PURE, UNFILTERED, TOTAL AND UTTER nostalgia i have for this book is IMMEASURABLE!!!! also harper was my first book boyfriend and i’d die for him!!
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