www.crackingthecover.com
    Facebook Twitter Instagram
    • Home
    • Picture
      • Ages 0-3
      • Ages 2 and up
      • Ages 3 and up
      • Ages 4 and up
      • Ages 5 and up
      • Ages 6 and up
      • Ages 8 and up
      • Author Interviews
      • Bedtime Stories
      • Gift Guide
    • Middle Grade
      • Author Interviews
      • Ages 6 and up
      • Ages 7 and up
      • Ages 8-12
      • Ages 9-12
      • Ages 10 and up
      • Gift Guide
    • YA
      • Author Interviews
      • Reviews
      • Adult Crossover
      • Gift Guide
    • Seasonal
      • Back to School
      • Black History
      • Chinese New Year
      • Christmas
      • Earth Day
      • Easter
      • Fall
      • Father’s Day
      • Mother’s Day
      • Gift Guide
      • Halloween
      • Spring
      • Valentine’s Day
      • Winter
      • Women’s History
    • News
    • Giveaways
    • Events
    • About
      • Review/interview policy
      • About our reviewers
    www.crackingthecover.com

    A Secret Princess is entertaining Frances Hodgson Burnett mashup

    0
    By Jessica on June 23, 2022 YA review, young adult
    A SECRET PRINCESS, by Margaret Stohl and Melissa de la Cruz, G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, June 28, 2022, Hardcover, $18.99 (young adult)

    What if Mary Lennox and Sara Crewe ended up at boarding school together? Find out in A Secret Princess, by Margaret Stohl and Melissa de la Cruz.

    Best friends Mary Lennox, Sara Crewe, and Cedric Erroll are best friends. And thank goodness, since their boarding school is basically insufferable. When one of the friends suffers a personal tragedy, a plan — and a secret — change everything for the trio . . . for good.  —Synopsis provided by G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers

    A Secret Princess is being billed as a mashup of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s A Little Princess and The Secret Garden, but it actually draws from Burnett’s Little Lord Fauntleroy, as well.

    Reading this mashup was a mixture of cool and weird (which isn’t a bad thing).

    It’s fun seeing these characters interact, and it truly feels as if Stohl and de la Cruz know their characters intimately. Each voice rings true, and actions and their actions are believable. The authors remained true to the source material while adeptly exploring their own story.

    The weird comes when the storytellers diverge from the known path. They begin by taking you down a well-traveled trail, and just when you prepare yourself for a gentle curve, they take you off the route completely. While these changes are absolutely necessary, and well done, they often made me pause and wonder what made them decide to change “this” or “that.” These little pauses don’t ruin the flow, but do allow for some reflection.

    The text throughout is smooth and inviting, which is a bonus because there are times when two authors work together, and you can tell who wrote what. That’s not the case here. Stohl and de la Cruz’s prose blends perfectly, making you forget that A Secret Princess is not the work of a lone writer.

    If you’ve never read any of Burnett’s books (or watched the movies created from said books), A Secret Princess will be an enjoyable read. But it’s way more fun if you know the source material so you can celebrate the twists.

     

    Copyright © 2022 Cracking the Cover. Unless otherwise noted, all books — digital and physical — have been provided by publishers in exchange for honest and unbiased reviews. All thoughts and opinions are those of the reviewer.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Jessica
    • Website
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    Jessica Harrison is the main reviewer behind Cracking the Cover. Prior to creating Cracking the Cover, Jessica worked as the in-house book critic for the Deseret News, a daily newspaper in Salt Lake City. Jessica also worked as a copy editor and general features writer for the paper. Following that, Jessica spent two years with an international company as a social media specialist. She is currently a freelance writer/editor. She is passionate about reading and giving people the tools to make informed decisions in their own book choices.

    Related Posts

    Alyson Noël’s Stealing Infinity is bingeworthy modern YA fantasy

    Follow Mulan’s next steps in Livia Blackburne’s Feather and Flame

    Jenny Elder Moke’s Rise of the Snake Goddess is bingeworthy

    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    • facebook
    • twitter
    • instagram
    • amazon
    • bloglovin
    • rss
    • mail
    Subscribe by email
    Follow
    Recent Posts
    June 23, 2022

    A Secret Princess is entertaining Frances Hodgson Burnett mashup

    June 23, 2022

    Helena Ku Rhee’s Rosa’s Song celebrates friendship, community

    June 22, 2022

    Alyson Noël’s Stealing Infinity is bingeworthy modern YA fantasy

    June 21, 2022

    Christina Soontornvat’s Last Mapmaker is fantastic MG adventure

    June 20, 2022

    Kate Egan’s Golden Ticket tackles academic anxiety, self worth

    Archives
    Categories
    On Writing

    “The dance with words and the way the hair on the back of my neck raises when it works right is what I live for.”

    —Gary Paulsen

    “I write because I exist. Because I read. Because I breathe.”

    —Lindsay Eager

    “Books are kind of like the sense of smell: inhale one page and memories come rushing back.”

    —Keir Graff

    Cracking the Cover is a website dedicated to picture, middle-grade and young-adult books. It features reviews, author interviews and other items of interest. PLEASE NOTE: We are not currently accepting self published books for review.

    Copyright © 2010-2022 Cracking the Cover. Unless otherwise noted, all books — digital and physical — have been provided by publishers in exchange for honest and unbiased reviews. All thoughts and opinions are those of the reviewer.

    Reviews Published Professional Reader 2016 NetGalley Challenge 100 Book Reviews

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.