Palace of Mirrors: Volume 2

I am 13 years old and I wanted a book to read from the library, but my mom was telling me that I didn't have time to search for a book. But I quickly ran and just grabbed Palace of Mirrors which was the first book I saw. It is such a good book. With a lot of books you can predict what happens but with this book you this you know what happens then something comes up and you get a new idea of what happens. The ending is really romantic you just can't help but smile while you read it. The next couple nights after I ready it I had dreams that I was the girl in the book. I think they should make a movie of this book. I would go see it the day it came out. I love books and think this one is awesome. I would definitely recommend it.

I was wonderfully surprised by "Palace of Mirrors." Haddix took the sugar-coating off the fairy tale like she tried to do with "Just Ella," but where "Just Ella" came out sounding whiney and forced, "Palace of Mirrors" came out pitch perfect. Watching Cecilia develop from a child who only thinks of herself to a young woman who is able to see the big picture and her true place in it was totally believable. Haddix wrote it the way it really happens... your life is one way, then things start happening and you make one choice after another and at some point you are able to look back and realize that you've changed and become just who you are supposed to be. Not to mention, Haddix managed to create a plot unlike any I've read before... quite a feat considering the burgeoning number of princess stories being written nowadays. This story has unique twists that don't end up being just the same old fairy tale, but truly suspenseful and satisfying! The message of the book is that it is our choices that make us who we are, and the author supports that message in every page of the story without whacking the reader over the head with it. It is skillfully done and I really enjoyed reading it. If you didn't care much for "Just Ella" (I didn't), don't hold it against "Palace of Mirrors"--this book is superior in every way and well worth your time. But if you loved "Just Ella" then "Palace of Mirrors" will really knock your socks off!

My daughter read this book at age twelve and really enjoyed it. I am not sure she liked it as much as "Just Ella" though, since she didn't talk about this one as much.

Very well written, story of a young lady who is stuck in a cottage, but who is told that she is a pricess in hiding. When she decides to go to the palace and announce herself, trouble ensues. Don't want to reveal the end, but this is not for young girls ONLY, adults will enjoy it also.

As this light, fun story begins, 14-year-old Cecilia, brought up as a village commoner by Nanny Gratine while being tutored in chess and other royal topics by Sir Stephen, knows that she is in reality the true princess of Suala, destined to replace the decoy princess, Desmia, on the throne as soon as the evil men who killed her parents are vanquished. It soon becomes apparent, however, that her enemies have tracked her down, so she and her best friend, a peasant boy named Harper, decide to trek to the royal palace at Cortona so Cecilia can claim her throne. But when they arrive there, they discover that Desmia has been told a very different story. Palace of Mirrors is set in the same world as the author's earlier book Just Ella, and Ella shows up here, though not as a major character. The story isn't as predictable as it first seems, as the situation at the palace turns out to be much more complicated than the reader expects. But ultimately everything is resolved, and though there's no magic in this book, its happy fairy-tale ending is as satisfying as you could wish.