Posse of Princesses by Sherwood Smith

Summary
Many princesses and princes are invited to a masquerade/coming of age party for the Crown Prince of Vesarja, a central and important kingdom.  Here they can have fun, gain new friendships, flirt, and maybe even fall in love.  Rhis, the main girl in the story who is from a small, insignificant kingdom, goes to the masquerade just to have fun and maybe fall in love.  When Princess Iardith, the most perfect and beautiful princess of all gets abducted, Rhis and her friends come to the rescue.  The prince also chases after them.  But is the abduction really what it seems?

Review
This is a fun novel that teaches about friendship, politics, and love.  It is well-written and holds the attention of the reader.  The plot develops at an enjoyable pace, so the reader does not get bored.  Rhis, the main character, demonstrates various emotions throughout the book as different events take place, such as being invited to the Masquerade, traveling to the party with her cousin, making friends and possibly enemies at the party, etc.  This book would be good for middle school girls who deal with an array of emotions during the multitude of changes and experiences associated with adolescent development.  They can relate to the different feelings of the princesses in the story, as well as enjoy the adventure.

Genre: fantasy; romance; adventure; magic; fairytale; historical fiction
Publisher: Book View Cafe
Publication date: March 1, 2008
Number of pages: 256
Age: 12+
Grade Level: 6th+

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