The Goose Girl (The Books of Bayern, #1) in Pick-a-Shelf

May 13, 2010 Kim DeCina rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, fairy-tales, fantasy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Hale's absolutely magnificent prose, poetic and compelling to the very end, is what got this book four stars instead of three from me. She definitely does the work in fleshing out the fairy tale to a complex and realistic fantasy world, while adhering very close to the original story's text. She makes a wonderful main character whose thoughts are complex and real, and whose development is believable.

As far as the characters, though, I kept getting this vague troubling feeling throughout. Maybe ...more

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Mar 28, 2011 Tara rated it it was amazing

Shelves: young-adult, 2011-favorites

I was utterly enchanted by the story of Princess Ani and her Bayern friends.
Princess Ani had a special bond with her aunt and her aunt showed her that she was special. Of course, not everyone thought she was special and she learned to hide her abilities. She never quite felt good enough for her mother and in the end her mother and to become Queen after her mother and it was confirmed that she was not when her mother betrothed her to a prince in a kingdom a good journey away. The journey was tor ...more

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Oct 24, 2012 Cora rated it really liked it

Shelves: lost-in-fire, series, 1st-in-series, fantasy, young-adult, fairy-tales, adventure, betrayal

This is a retelling of the Grimm Fairy Tale The Goose Girl which is about a princess who is sent to marry a prince in another kingdom. On the way, her maid ambushes her and takes her place. The true princess becomes a goose girl and tries to find some way to tell the King the truth and have him believe her. I really enjoyed this book. I really liked the characters and I liked how Ami's character evolved. The story was not as dark as some other fairy tale retellings, but it did retain some of the ...more

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Jun 28, 2009 Leslie rated it really liked it

A beautiful Princess and a handsome Prince..need I say more?
I loved it !!!

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Aug 28, 2009 Abigail rated it it was amazing

Shelves: kids-books, seasonal-challenge-fall09, fantasy

It's been a while since I've read true fantasy -- with reason -- and I wasn't expecting to love this book . . . but I did. The main character's journey is more emotional than physical, and it bucks the fantasy tradition of the hero's journey. Better yet, it's a girl -- a smart one who truly grows and overcomes. On top of all that, the writing is just lovely. ...more

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Dec 23, 2013 Rachel N. rated it really liked it

Ani is princess in Kildenree. She finds out at age 16 that her mother has betrothed her to the prince of neighboring Bayern. Ani is able to talk to birds and has other, undiscovered talents. On the way to Bayern Ani is betrayed and she ends up tending the kings geese in Bayern. A fun fairy tale retelling.

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Nov 14, 2007 Joanna rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, 2009-read, fairy-tales

This was a really fun read -- the retelling of the Grimm's fairy tale The Goose Girl. I enjoyed the characters and thought the book managed to be true to the fairy tale while also creating an interesting fantasy world. I'll probably look for one of the other books set in the same world. ...more

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