Squeetus summer book club: Princess Academy, chapter 16

Chapter 16

Pg 184: "Her mind and heart tangled." What Miri believes she knows and what she years for at sometimes not the same. How often I've felt this way about so many things.

Miri cheats: This part of the story is one I've been criticized for. Miri can pass the test on her own, but she helps the other girls cheat. There are no negative outcomes in the story for her actions here. Does it seem as if I'm promoting dishonesty? Were Miri's actions wrong? Is it okay to have a main character do something wrong and not be punished for it? Why did Miri do what she did? Given Olana's actions, could you justify Miri's?

I have some personal opinions in this matter that may not be relevant. But I'll say this much: the ability to memorize the years of a certain war are not the best criteria for selecting a princess.

Katar: A character is what they do and say. When writing, if a character is feeling weak, examine their relationships with the other characters. Relationships are the key to character strengthening. My characters feel quite flat to me in a first draft. I have to see them act, hear them speak, allow them to form relationships in order to understand them. Katar is one who grew. Miri had never wondered why Katar was the way she was before. Perhaps that's a failing on her part. This scene was not in the first draft, but now it feels essential.

"All her life she had seen herself as the only lonesome thing in the world": I love Miri, I identify with her, and I can say I think her personal doubts and sadness made her self-centered in many ways. She looked inward so often, she missed noticing the struggles of those around her. I think this encounter with Katar will change how she sees other people forever. I think we all need these encounters to give us more empathy. What a gift it can be with others entrust to us their vulnerabilities.

Weekend. Family time. I'll get to questions tomorrow. Thanks for staying on this journey with me!

Comments

[Amanda]

I love this chapter, too. I think that sometimes we get so caught up in ourselves, we need these reminders that others are going through stuff, too. As for the cheating, it never bothered me, I think it's was the motive behind it, sometimes the one who needs to make it fair doesn't so someone unexpected needs to step in. I like that before what she knew, she also helped Katar.
I completely respect family weekend time, but the waiting just gets me. Thank you for doing this.

[Heather]

It really is amazing to learn something about someone and realize you were totally and completely wrong in your assessment of them. The cheating never bothered me as well. I felt like the girls helping each other was actually really cool. It really showed how they had gotten together as a group. I was impressed with Miri jumping in for Katar even when others wouldn't.

[Tess]

This post actually really helped me with my writing. Thanks, Shannon! I'm really loving this "book club"! Princess Academy is one of my favorite books and I love reading all the behind-the-scenes info.

[Rin Isilee]

"All her life she had seen herself as the only lonesome thing in the world." I really relate to this quote. I'm a teenager, you see, and that's how it feels a lot of the time.

As for the whole cheating thing, I think it was the right thing to do. As much as it was a test, it's not like Miry was giving DIRECT answers. The girls kind of had to do a bit of thinking on their own, too, and sometimes sift through a bunch of different answers to find the right one. Plus, I love the loyalty all the Mount Eskel girls have to each other, and I'd place that over any Danlander teacher and her tests.

[Zena Parks]

Hey thanks so much for this chapter-by-chapter breakdown. I've read PA a couple of times, did an enormous project on it for school, and just love it--this has been such a treat, to "hear" you talking about what you feel about each chapter.
On another note, as an *aspiring* author myself, I really struggle with first drafts. They feel so clunky to me. How do you manage to push through the first draft without getting bogged down/distracted by wanting to go back and fix everything?

[Zena Parks]

ps, my brother called me up the other day to tell me he'd read a book, and I'd never guess what book it was. It was PA! He's 23 and loved every page of the book--he said the title threw him off, but there's so much in the book which makes it "SO not a girlie book". He's now excited to read your Bayern series :)

Yay you! You just got another fan!

[Ani Brooke]

Regarding Miri helping others cheat: I'm a teacher, and I cheered at this. Because Olana is not doing her job. She is not trying to help the students succeed, she is not trying to develop her students' strengths, she is not supporting them in struggling through their weaknesses. Treating everyone exactly the same is not fair - it's merely the closest approximation to "fair" that we can administer on a large scale.

Education and honor are important. Justice and mercy are much more so, and I'm glad to see Miri agrees.

[Ani Brooke]

Expanding on my earlier comment: Miri is not helping students to cheat in lieu of their learning or to give someone an unfair advantage. She's helping hard workers reap benefits after their labor and evening out a system that unfairly gives memorizers and quick scholars an advantage. That's not cheating, in my book. (Says the person who plays solitaire only with real cards so as to be able to, ah, adjust the rules when hitting an impossible scenario... hmm, may have undermined my authority there.)

[Alyshkalia]

I thought it was interesting that Miri became academy princess through a vote, rather than because she was actually the best in the class. Were you always planning to have it happen like that? What were your reasons behind it happening that way?

[True Religion outlet]

Enjoy reading this great article!