Rating: 
Summary: A fantastic book!
Review: This is the story of two princesses - Addie and Meryl. Meryl, the older princess, is brave and bold. Meryl's younger sister, Addie can be fearful and timid. Meryl and Addie are best friends, and each other's favorite companions. They spend time playing games with each other. Their favorite game is the Gray Death game. In this game, Addie will pretend to catch the Gray Death, a feared disease that is guaranteed to kill of its victim. Then, Meryl will pretend to search for the cure. In the game, Meryl will find it, and bring it to Addie, who will get well again. Then, Meryl falls ill with the Gray Death, and this time it is not a game. Addie knows she must find the cure to save her sister, but to do so, she must face her greatest fears. I thought this was a beautifully written book that keeps the reader turning the pages, and I also like that this book can be unpredictable at times. This a is great, creatively written story!
Rating: 
Summary: A review of a great book from an english student
Review: This review is coming to you exactly as I entered it into my english class. I just felt like putting it online.Addie is a normal 16-year-old girl-- that is, if you ignore the fact that she's a princess in a land full of magic and monsters. That and she's afraid of everything from specters to spiders. Princess Adelina and her older sister, Meryl, live in Bamarre Castle. They rarely see their father, a worse coward than Addie. Meryl, inspired by their country's epic poem about the hero Drualt, desires to fight monsters and go on noble quests. She swears, however, to stay at the castle till her sister is wed. Addie is relieved, but when Meryl gets sick with the Gray Death, a deadly disease that is spreading across the country, will Addie leave the safety of Bamarre Castle to save her? Against a backdrop of dragons, sorcerers, missing fairies and forbidden love, Addie must go to great dangers to search for the cure, while trying to keep herself alive. Written by the author of Newbury Award winner Ella Enchanted, I would recommend this to children of all ages-- by years, and in heart. I know, it's a stupid review... but oh, well!(and by the way, I'm 13, not 12)
Rating:
Summary: Buongiorno, principessas!
Review: When a friend of mine, who is currently getting her education degree, expressed her deep and abiding love for Gail Carson Levine's, "Ella Enchanted", she asked me to recommend similar books. And I, quite frankly, was completely unable to. I think I may have suggested the tepid "Ordinary Princess", but basically I was lacking any and all supposed expertise that I, as a children's librarian, was supposed to have. So what do you do when you like an author's work and want to find similar books? Why you move onto that author's other books, of course! Enter "The Two Princesses of Bamarre". Written in the style that fans of "Ella Enchanted" have come to expect, the book is yet another cheery fantasy foray into a world of ogres, griffins, dragons, and other assorted nasty monsters. For the girl who hasn't outgrown princesses but wants something a little more mature (and better written) than your average fairy tale, "The Two Princesses" recommends itself brilliantly.
Once, there were two princesses. There was Meryl, who was brave and there was Addie who was not. In this tale, the two girls are close and constant companions. With their mother dead and their father emotionally distant, the two must get their love from one another. Addie lives with the constant dread that someday her sister will leave her to go throughout the kingdom slaying nasty creatures, but she hopes that day is long off. Soon, Meryl does come across an adversary. Just not the one either girl planned on. Meryl contracts the deadly Gray Death, and like all its victims, is unable to defeat it. Faced with no other choice, Addie sets out to find a cure for her sister's illness.
The book is written in the light-hearted style familiar to Levine's fans everywhere. It also has the required romantic subplot, as per most princess tales. Now don't get me wrong. The book isn't as good as "Ella Enchanted". But it's still an engaging romp of a tale. There is, however, a gaping plot defect in the script. In the final moments of her sister's illness, Addie wonders if she could get her friend Rhys the sorcerer to fly Meryl to the cure. Unfortunately, this logical plan of action is never embarked on for absolutely no other reason other than the fact that it would disturb Levine's planned plot. It's a huge logical gap in the narrative, and not one she's usually prone to. A disappointment, to say the least.
Just the same, it's hard not to like "The Two Princesses of Bamarre". Levine can write `plucky `without crossing over into `annoyingly plucky'. Her heroines often overcome very understandable personal flaws with a great deal of wit and wisdom. Addie isn't the best of the Levine heroines, but she's certainly one that improves greatly over the course of the story. And though I may quibble with the plot points here and there, I think it's a fine fine book. An amusing read for any fairy tale lover.
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