The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Review: The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen

 

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Release Date: April 1st, 2012

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THE FALSE PRINCE is the thrilling first book in a brand-new trilogy filled with danger and deceit and hidden identities that will have readers rushing breathlessly to the end.

In a discontent kingdom, civil war is brewing. To unify the divided people, Conner, a nobleman of the court, devises a cunning plan to find an impersonator of the king's long-lost son and install him as a puppet prince. Four orphans are recruited to compete for the role, including a defiant boy named Sage. Sage knows that Conner's motives are more than questionable, yet his life balances on a sword's point -- he must be chosen to play the prince or he will certainly be killed. But Sage's rivals have their own agendas as well.

As Sage moves from a rundown orphanage to Conner's sumptuous palace, layer upon layer of treachery and deceit unfold, until finally, a truth is revealed that, in the end, may very well prove more dangerous than all of the lies taken together.

An extraordinary adventure filled with danger and action, lies and deadly truths that will have readers clinging to the edge of their seats.

One of my favorite parts of reading is what a book completely captivates me and hooks me from the beginning, and I was very pleased that I found all that and more in Jennifer A. Nielsen’s The False Prince. Reading this book, I found myself instantly sucked into the adventure, suspense, mystery and wit that is The False Prince. Everything about this story charmed me; the characters take on a life of their own, and are nicely fleshed out.

The False Prince sets its focus on Sage, a young orphan boy that is as clever as he is crafty. Sage is taken – more like sold – to a noble named Conner, who has rounded up a few select orphans to train in the hopes of passing off one of them as the lost prince Jaron; Jaron was reported to be lost at sea when his ship was attack by pirates. Needless to say, Sage has zero interest in bending to Conner’s will, and does everything he can to fail including nodding off during lessons, ignoring the rules, mouthing off to others, stealing from Conner, etc. However, what keeps Sage from coming off as just a rude, spiteful boy is his humility and kindness. He cares for others and, thinking nothing of stations, goes out of his way to protect a young serving girl.

As I stated before, Sage has no interest in being Conner’s puppet and openly defies him at every turn; however how Sage does this is actually quite clever and I found myself laughing at Sage’s antics, while being amazed at his thought process. Having secrets of his own, Sage goes to great lengths to keep himself a secret from all those around him, including the reader. Nothing is really given away, and even if you look for hints in Sage’s inner thoughts, than you will come back with no more information than Sage is will to give away. Honestly, Sage is a character that I hope most readers will be able to connect with; he has a certain charm and wit that will draw readers to him but ultimately it will be his kindness and self-sacrificing nature that will keep readers fighting at his side.

The story and Nielsen’s writing style is one of the best I have seen in recent middle-grade fiction. I actually found myself shocked that this book was geared toward middle grade readers, and this knowledge should in no way stop readers from giving it a good solid read. There is a great deal of detail and attention given to this book and I can honestly tell that Nielsen put a lot of love, sweat and tears into crafting that best tale possible! Instantly, readers will be able to vividly picture the streets of the city as Sage runs with a roast tucked under his arm, escaping the violent wrath of a butcher’s knife or picture Sage’s crafty smirk as he tricks Conner with a flick of his fingers.

Even though the author focuses a lot of attention on Sage, she does give a lot of devotion to fleshing out the secondary characters to their fullest. I found myself impressed with how the author was able to make me feel compassion towards the other characters. Each one had his or her own back-story and was not just placed in the story to fill a desired hole. Characters that are just met briefly are still given attention, and I found myself gasping as one character is quickly taken out of the picture; even for just a few short chapters I was able to form an attachment to a particular characters and found myself gasping at the swiftness of their death. Each character is not forgotten and even those that are taken out of the story are continually brought up and kept included in the development of other characters.

Obviously, Nielsen spent a lot of time researching and developing the history of the different Kingdoms. The story has a rich history and each point is interwoven into the plot easily. I guarantee that readers will not be able to put this book down once they began the first page and continue on reading about Sage’s journey. The chapters do not drag on and keep readers interest; in fact readers will continue on to the next chapter without even realizing it – did it myself a few times because truthfully I had to know what happened next!

Even if you are not a fan of reading, I guarantee that you will quickly become lost in Sage’s adventures and the pure fantasy that is The False Prince. My only complaint is that I now have to wait for the second book in this planned trilogy!

RATING

5 out of 5