The Ordinary Princess

book review by Melinda Gathman

Everyone is elated when the king and queen of Phantasmorania annouce the birth of their seventh daughter. She is a perfect baby. She never cries and plays happily all day long.

When it comes time for the christening, the king and queen cannot decide whether to invite fairies or not. The queen is all for it, but the king keeps saying it's rash; remembering his great-great-great grandmother Sleeping Beauty.

The queen eventually wins out, and the Lord High Chamberlain promises not to forget anyone. And he doesn't. The only problem is that one of the fairies arrives in a bad mood, and proclaims the princess "ordinary".

Everyone is aghast, but the ceremony goes on, and they name the princess, "Amethyst Alexandra Augusta Araminta Adelaide Arelia Anne".

Well, of course, Amethyst grows up an ordinary girl, with a snub nose and plain, mouse hair. But all was not lost. Amy (as everyone begins to call her) loved the outdoors, as any ordinary girl would. She spent all the time she could in the woods by the castle.

Of course, life moves right along and Amy's royal parents begin to worry about marriage. No suitor would ever marry Amy. Plenty come to see her, but they alway leave the next day.

When the Lord High Chamberlain suggests renting a dragon to attract suitors, Amy is outraged. She decides to run away and get a job. She finds work as a kitchen maid in the castle at Ambergeldar, the neighboring kingdom.

After a banquet, she meets Perry, a "man of all work", as he puts it. She doesn't tell him she's a princess, but Perry has a secret as well. They begin a romance, but little do they know, it will be their destiny.