Fairest, by Gail Carson Levine

This book was not on my reading list for the month of January. It's in my reading stack but I intended to get to some other titles first. However, Fairest was staring at me from my bookshelf and I was feeling in the mood for a fun piece of fiction so I picked it up. I had picked up a used copy of this book sometime last year and just never got around to reading it. Now, I'm glad to have done so.

First off, this book is marketed to 8 to 14 year olds which I think is atrocious. There is no way on earth I would hand this book over to an 8 year old. I would also personally think twice about handing it over to a 12 year old. Fourteen is growing more reasonable.

The reason: the romance. Oh, it's incredibly tame if you are an adult. (It's just some kissing and extremely mild descriptions of love.) But EIGHT!? I think not!

For myself, the romance was so tame and the fairy tale and magical aspect of the story so strong that my 30-something year old self wasn't bothered by it. Awhile back I read Ella Enchanted (linked to my thoughts) and had the same feeling. Fun story. Magical. Winsome. Not really suitable for the age it's being marketed to.

In Fairest we meet a young girl named Aza whose "singing is the fairest in the land" of Ayortha. Her drawback is that she is hideously ugly - such that customers at the Inn that her family owns do not even want to look at her. Aza doesn't know, exactly, where she comes from. She was brought to the Inn by a wench who smuggled baby Aza in and herself out. The innkeeper and his wife (and their children) adopt Aza and love her as one of their own.

Despite her ugliness, a Duchess who patronizes the inn takes a fancy to Aza's company and invites Ava to join her as her companion when she travels to the castle to see the king marry. Aza is both excited and terrified to be able to go. She would love to see the King marry (and his chosen bride!) and participate in the sings but she knows that her appearance causes others distress. What other people do not realize is that Aza also has a secret talent. She can "illusing" - which involves throwing her voice to different parts of the room and mimicking others. Unfortunately, the new queen discovers Aza's talent and this ultimately puts Aza in great danger.

I thought this was a really clever story. I enjoyed the plot, I cared about the characters and I had a hard time putting the book down! I devoured it in one day. It is an absolutely fanciful fairy tale and I really enjoy Levine's style.

As an aside - the family structure in this book is top notch. Aza's parents love her fiercely and devotedly. Her relationship with her siblings is admirable. Much better than the father figure in Ella Enchanted, that's for sure! At one point in the story, when Aza is in danger, her father writes her a letter in which he states: "We know the daughter we raised. We fear for your future, but never for your character. You take our love and our trust wherever you wander. Father."

My dad said something similar to me at one time and so this particular passage in the book struck a deep chord with me. I so loved reading about the relationship that Aza had with her parents. I could say a good bit more on this topic but I'll leave it with Aza's Father's remarks for now.

I heartily recommend this one to adults who just want to escape into a good, solid story. I just have problems, as I said, with handing it over to younger readers because of the kissing and romance. Probably this is very tame and light romance, all things considered. Still, I hardly see the point. The twist, turns, suspense, ogres, gnomes and daily castle life is thrilling and enchanting enough. I wish authors would let girls be girls and save the romance for later. Definitely not a read for an eight year old, but I was completely enthralled and delighted! I would be happy to lose myself in more of Levine's work. In fact, I look forward to doing so!

Although this is marketed as middle grade reading, I'm marking it YA and General Fiction because I think that's more appropriate.