Fairest

Fairest
by Gail Carson Levine

Fairest
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Book Summary Information

Author: Gail Carson Levine
Edition: Library Binding
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-09-01
ISBN: 0060734094
Number of pages: 336
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Publisher: HarperCollins

Book Reviews of Fairest

Book Review: A worthy rival for Ella
Summary: 5 Stars

I remember the first time I ever read "Ella Enchanted". I thought "This is the greatest book I've ever read and Gail Carson Levine will never top it". In fact, I began reading "Fairest" with lowered expectations--that were quickly shattered by a story that may in some ways be better than "Ella Enchanted".

The story is loosely based on the tale of Snow White. The heroine Aza has all of the features of Snow White--black (actually htun) hair, white skin, red lips--while never actually possessing the famed beauty. I saw Robin McKinly do a similar thing with Sleeping Beauty in "Spindle's End" and I think it's a great tongue-in-cheek commentary on fairy tale beauty. However, Aza does have a marvelous singing voice and a special skill in throwing that voice.

I became more and more captivated as the story progresses. Levine has grown stronger in her writing, and this is the finest prose I have sing from her. Her characters are deeper and darker, while still possessing those irrisistable quirks. Aza is instantaneously likeable, even though she did annoy me at times with her prattling--which is ironically why she was so three-dimensional. The country and culture of Ayortha is richly done, and I enjoyed the sly references to Ella's story. Most of all, Levine has taken one of my favorite fairy tales and disected it to its very heart and theme.

I adored "Fairest". I fully believe it is the finest thing Levine has yet done.

Summary of Fairest

I was born singing. Most babies cry.

I sang an aria.

Or so I believe. I have no one to tell me the truth of it. I was abandoned when I was a month old, left at the Featherbed Inn in the Ayorthaian village of Amonta. It was January 12th of the year of Thunder Songs.

The fairy Lucinda has once again given a dreadful gift. This time it's a mysterious magical mirror.

The gift is disastrous when it falls into the hands of Aza, who never looks in a mirror if she can help it. In the Kingdom of Ayortha, Aza is most definitely not the fairest of them all. Many spurn her. Many scoff at her. She keeps out of sight.

But in a land of singers, Aza has her own gift, one she's come by without fairy intervention: a voice that can do almost anything, a voice that captivates all who hear it. In Ontio Castle, merry Prince Ijori is drawn to it, and vain Queen Ivi wants to use it for her own ends. Queen Ivi would do anything to remain the fairest in the land.

In this spellbinding tale filled with humor, adventure, romance, and song, Newbery Honor author Gail Carson Levine invites you to join Aza as she discovers how exquisite she truly is.

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