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From School Library Journal
Starred Review. Grade 6 Up–In a world in which elegance, beauty, and singing ability are revered, Aza is bulky, awkward, and homely. Her saving grace is that she can sing and has a gift of voice manipulation that she calls illusing. Through a chance meeting at her familys inn, a duchess invites Aza to act as her companion and accompany her to the palace to attend the kings wedding. When the beautiful new queen discovers Azas gift for throwing her voice and for mimicry, she sees a way of protecting her reputation and disguising her own lack of talent. Pressured by the womans threats upon her family, Aza deceives the court into believing that Ivi is a gifted singer. When the ruse is discovered, Aza is forced to flee the castle in order to save her life. Through her adventures, she discovers her own strength of character, learns about her true heritage, and decides that her physical appearance is not worthy of the stress and worry she has wasted on it. The plot is fast-paced, and Azas growth and maturity are well crafted and believable. Readers will enjoy the fairy-tale setting while identifying with the real-life problems of living in an appearance-obsessed society. A distinguished addition to any collection.–Melissa Christy Buron, Epps Island Elementary, Houston, TX
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Booklist
*Starred Review* Gr. 7-10. Larger than most humans in Ayortha, 15-year-old Aza feels like "an ugly ox . . . a blemish." But in a kingdom devoted to song, Aza's voice is more beautiful and powerful than most; she can mimic any voice and throw the sound. At the king's wedding, Aza is blackmailed by the new queen, a poor singer, into a Cyrano de Bergerac arrangement: when the queen sings in public, Aza secretly provides the sound. As the queen's treachery deepens, Aza is astonished when the handsome prince initiates a friendship. In subtle details, Levine slowly reveals that the roots of the richly imagined story are cleverly tangled in the fairy tale "Sleeping Beauty." The telling, in Aza's voice, is sophisticated, and readers may initially feel like foreign travelers who lack cultural context. But once connections become clear, they'll sink into the fairy-tale romance, the remarkable characters, and the wild, magical adventures. They will also recognize the questions about self-image and moral choices and experience the vicarious, heart-pounding thrill when Aza discovers love and confidence: "I strode away, feeling a thousand feet tall, and glad to be for the first time in my life. Kisses were better than potions." For a slightly older audience than Levine's Ella Enchanted (1997), this book makes a natural partner to Donna Jo Napoli's fractured fairy-tale novels, such as Beast (2000). Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lavine Delivers Again,
By Beth Huff (Toronto Ont. Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Fairest (Paperback)
I have loved Ella Enchanted for many years now. Imagine my delight on finding that there was a sequel! Well, a sort of sequel. It's set in the same world as Ella Enchanted, but could certainly be read on it's own. There are some connections and small surprises for people who have read Ella, like the fact that Ella's finishing school friend Areida is Aza's sister, or that Queen Ivi comes from Bast (where the carriages are orange!)Aza aches to be pretty. As the adopted daughter of Ayorthian innkeepers it doesn't matter so much that she is ugly. But when a duchess decides that she wants to take Aza to the royal court for the king's wedding, Aza must face that fact that she is plain ugly. Or so she thinks. Aza can sing, a great gift among the Ayorthians, who sing almost anything. But Aza has a special talent: she can throw her voice, which she called illusing. Aza quickly gets caught up in court intrigue as the king becomes ill and his new Kyrrian wife takes over. When Queen Ivi demands that Aza use her illusing to further the young ruler's agenda, she is forced to decieve everybody, including the handsome and kind Prince Ijori. As things progress, Aza is forced to come to terms with her own perceptions of herself, and to realize that beauty is not in how you look, but in how you act. I literally read this book all in one sitting, in about 4 hours. That's how good it was. Reccomended for girls age 8 or 9 all the way up to grown women. The message that beauty is within may have been said many times, but it is worth saying.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Courtesy of Teens Read Too,
By TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Fairest (Paperback)
In a land where beauty means everything, Aza finds herself lacking in every way possible. Her only redeeming quality is the beauty in her voice. If only her singing reflected what others saw when they looked upon her face. She spends most of her time trying to hide her face from the staring eyes of guests at her parent's inn. Singing is the only beauty Aza finds in herself, and she sings often while she is working.She discovers that she can "throw" her voice and make it appear as though it came from another place in the room! She tries to teach her family her new trick but no one else is successful. A Duchess passing through the inn on her way to the King's wedding invites Aza to come along as her maid. While at the castle, the new Queen discovers Aza's talent in "throwing" her voice and insists that Aza stay and become a lady in waiting, so that the Queen can use Aza's voice as her own. When the King is injured, the young Queen is hungry for power and the kingdom is soon threatened to fall apart, as well as Aza along with it. I have heard great things about Levine as a writer, so when I had a chance to read FAIREST I jumped at it! And I have to say that I wasn't disappointed! I loved the fairy tale setting and the storytelling quality of Levine's writing. The plot was fast-paced and Aza's growth within the novel is believable. Aza isn't your typical heroine and that made the story so much more enjoyable. I loved that the book tackled the issue of beauty, which is something that I know I struggle with, as well. I know that I'm looking forward to reading more of Ms. Levine's works in the future! Reviewed by: The Story Siren
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting Book,
By Aqua (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Fairest (Hardcover)
I find this book rather like Snow White, however there are more of the author's own ideas added into it to make it different. To be frank, I liked it more than Snow White! I would recommend this book to the people who like fairy-tales with a twist.
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