Gail Carson Levine
HarperCollins (2006)
ISBN 9780060734084
Reviewed by Mary Johnson (age 15) for Reader Views (11/08)
“Fairest” is set in the kingdom of Ayortha, where a young girl named Aza lives and works at the Featherbed Inn. Ayortha is a place where a lovely face and magnificent voice is admired by all. Aza has one out of two of these qualities. Her voice is amazing but her looks could use some work (at least she thinks so). But Aza has an amazing talent that no other person has; she can “throw” her voice. She tries to keep it a secret but that doesn’t last for long. While she accompanies a duchess to the castle for a ball the newly crowned Queen finds out about her gift. Soon, after Aza becomes the Queens lady-in-waiting. Where Aza finds herself in situations she has never been in before.
Gail Carson Levine has a writing style all her own. Her writing is interesting but her storyline is annoying. Also, the way she makes Aza’s character obsessed with looks is very superficial.
“Fairest” is a book for girls of all ages. But, I would not recommend it for anyone who thinks beauty is on the inside not on the outside. Although “Fairest” is a good book, it is in a sense that if like reading a book on a rainy day to pass time.
I have to say that I was disappointed in “Fairest.” The constant obsession with looks is annoying and also the “songs” don’t even make sense. They don’t rhyme and also they take up a lot of pages. Even though I did not thoroughly enjoy “Fairest” by Gail Carson Levine, it was somewhat a good book.
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