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"Saying 'I notice you're a nerd' is like saying, 'Hey, I notice that you'd rather be intelligent than be stupid, that you'd rather be thoughtful than be vapid, that you believe that there are things that matter more than the arrest record of Lindsay Lohan. Why is that?' In fact, it seems to me that most contemporary insults are pretty lame. Even 'lame' is kind of lame. Saying 'You're lame' is like saying 'You walk with a limp.' Yeah, whatever, so does 50 Cent, and he's done all right for himself."— John Green

5.01.2012

The Last Princess (Review)

TitleThe Last Princess
Author(s): Galaxy Craze
Edition: ARC, 304 pages
PublisherPoppy
Publication Date: May 1, 2012
Source: Received from publisher for review












The Summary
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Happily ever after is a thing of the past.

A series of natural disasters has decimated the earth. Cut off from the rest of the world, England is a dark place. The sun rarely shines, food is scarce, and groups of criminals roam the woods, searching for prey. The people are growing restless.

When a ruthless revolutionary sets out to overthrow the crown, he makes the royal family his first target. Blood is shed in Buckingham Palace, and only sixteen-year-old Princess Eliza manages to escape.

Determined to kill the man who destroyed her family, Eliza joins the enemy forces in disguise. She has nothing left to live for but revenge, until she meets someone who helps her remember how to hope—and to love—once more. Now she must risk everything to ensure that she not become....The Last Princess.
My Opinion
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From page one I was hooked.  The Last Princess is full of danger, intrigue, and best of all, hope.  This is a look into the future after a natural disaster decimates England, but not from the common point of view of the citizen.  No, this story is told from the perspective of the Royal Family.

This shift in perspective is what really captured my interest.  Dystopians don't often take the point of view of the people in charge, and why would they?  Those characters are usually the villains, but that isn't so this time.  But while the royals may not be directly responsible for what happened, that doesn't mean they're totally innocent.  It was interesting to see the events play out, colored trough lenses which still live, in relative, luxury.

The protagonist of the story is Princess Eliza (Elizabeth).  She is the second in line to the throne after her sister Princess Mary.  Both girls have tremendous responsibility, especially Mary, not only to the country, but to their family for their younger brother, Prince James, is deathly ill.  These three characters is what made the story for me.  Everything Eliza fights for is for her siblings, and the bond they have is unbreakable, even in the worst circumstances.  Eliza is my overall favorite.  Even though she lives in a world razed by disaster, she is still a princess, living a sheltered life and not receiving the skills necessary for survival if it ever came to that.  But this innocence and inexperience makes her journey that much more intense.

Within the writing itself, there are many touches that Galaxy Craze added to ground the plot in our reality.  For instance, Eliza, Mary, and James are Windsors, and from the lineage of Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.  There's also inclusion of the history of the British monarchy, which is the basis for the coup that takes place.  The Windsors are fighting the Tudors, and all hell breaks loose.

Besides the characterization, the world building was a great part of the book.  Craze did an amazing job painting a future England that stil resembled the present, but was just different enough to make me believe a disaster happened.  The use of low-tech things, such as carriages, helped with this, as well as the areas of land that were poisoned and couldn't support crops.  But while these things helped paint the picture of the disaster, other things helped paint the hope still in people, such as Balmoral Castle and the gardens.  This balance is what made this dystopian read better than others.  Even if a natural disaster happens, not everything gets destroyed; Craze was able to show that.

Overall, The Last Princess was a good book full of bloody coups, necessary survival, and the strength of family.  The ending set up a sequel, which I'm excited to read.  I think newbies to dystopians will enjoy this book, as it works as an introduction to the genre, and fans of dystopia will enjoy it because it offers a different perspective on the trope.  But no matter who you are, you should definitely add The Last Princess by Galaxy Craze to your collection!

Extras
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Final Rating
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Book Cover: 5/5
Book Title: 5/5
Plot: 8/10
Characters: 9/10
Writing: 9/10
Ending: 9/10
Overall: 45/50: A-

2 comments:

  1. sounds awesome
    piqued my interest
    tnx4 the review

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oooohh, I'm so excited to hear it's good! It showed up on my door step yesterday and I'm in love with the cover and the synopsis, but hadn't really heard too much about it. So, YAY!

    Thanks for the review! :)

    ReplyDelete

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