Squeetus summer book club: Princess Academy, chapters 25

Sorry I'm late! It was an exhausting day yesterday and I plum forgot to post, and on the very last one, too!

Chapter 25

The ending: I remember one of the notes my editor gave me in her first editorial letter for this book was to slow down at the end. She'd said that the pace felt leisurely generally and so the short ending seemed rushed. It was a pleasure really to take some more time and allow all the loose threads to twist together.

Britta's lie: This is the part that I get the most complaints about for this book. What do you think about Britta's behavior? Do you understand why she did what she did? Was Miri right to forgive her? How did you feel about the outcome? (ps. there will be fallout from this in Palace of Stone)

"Maybe Mount Eskel didn't need a princess, just an academy.": I felt shy about writing that line. That's the kind of conclusion that means more if the reader arrives at it herself rather than a character saying it outright. But it felt true to me that Miri and Britta would have that conversation. I felt like they needed to acknowledge it among themselves.

Olana: By writing with a close third person narrator, we only know as much as Miri knows. It takes till the last chapter for Olana to open up a little.

Peder holds her hand: Nothing we write is ever wasted. I wrote a middle grade book several years before The Goose Girl which hasn't and never will be published. At the end of the book, the boy takes the girl's hand. That moment stuck with me and I borrowed it for the end of this book. (My favorite moment in Enna Burning I also stole from one of my never-will-be-published short stories.)

"the miri flowers were already blooming": Choked up a little reading the last line!

Alysa asks, "If I bring my copy of Scapegoat to a Palace of Stone signing, will you sign it?" Of course! I love that book! Check out my events page for book tour locations.

Savanna asks, "Do you prefer handwritten notes and drafts or working on the computer better? And what are your thoughts on choosing titles for your books?" I started writing my first novel when I was 10, which was also the year our family got our first computer (an Apple IIe). I think my brain is hardwired to write on a keyboard. My fingers and wrist hurts writing longhand. Titles are so important. Some come naturally, some I have to search and fight for. Sometimes titles come very late after much debate and dozens of suggestions. On my site, I'll post a list of all the titles we considered for Palace of Stone, but here are a few that were almost the title: Lady of the Princess, The Robber Princess, Crown Breaker, and Miri of Mount Eskel.

Thanks for coming on this journey with me! Next week: more fun stuff, with a contest the week after.

Comments

[Julie]

Thank you so much for this read along, Shannon! It gave me the chance to reread Princess Academy--plus a fun entry to look forward to every day. I can't wait for Palace of Stone. <3

[Dr. Sallie N. Cheinsteen]

I love the ending of PA. It felt so natural to me, so complete... and yet I wanted more. So excited for the next one to come out! As for Britta, she always felt like a true friend, regardless of the "deception." In fact, I didn't even consider it as a deception - she seemed to always just be trying to fit in. I didn't hesitate to love her character at all because she felt like a Mount Eskel girl to me regardless of where she really came from, and it seemed like Miri thought that too.

[H.P.]

The Robber Princess... *Title love*

[H.P.]

What's your favorite moment in Enna Burning?

[Heather]

Thank you for doing this book club! I truly enjoyed it! Now I can't wait to read Palace of Stone (already preordered it).

I was not surprised by Britta's lie and I understood why Miri forgave her so quickly and easily. I felt bad for Britta because she really loved Steffan already and here her father was forcing her to lie to get what he wanted and in the end it was what she wanted, too, just for different reasons. The only thing that worries me about the whole thing is what will happen when everyone finds out her parents are alive and well and her being on Mount Eskel was a carefully calculated plan for her to marry the prince. I really like Britta, lie and all, and don't want problems for her fairy tale ending.

[Rebecca]

I never really considered it Britta's deception, but more of her being forced to execute her father's plan. I imagined her being miserable every day living with a lie, depending on a random family to struggle a little harder to clothe and feed her. She seemed to me like she just wanted not to be in the way and hoped the time passed quickly...until Miri befriended her. To her Miri must have been an oasis in a never-ending desert.

Thank you again for doing this!

[echo]

Do a signing in Canada!!! You have fans up here Too!

[Alison]

Thank you so much again for this reread! I loved it all the way through. I'm so excited for Palace of Stone!
I was never bothered by Britta's lie. I felt like if she deserved to pay for it (which I don't really think she did) she would have through missing the ball, and feeling guilty that she was responsible for the girls having to stay another winter! The first time I read it, I was so glad that Britta ended up with Steffen; I love the character of Peder too much to have had Miri leave him! The hand holding at the end is so sweet to me; I love how he's so nervous, how she is shy. It's beautiful.

You should do an event at the BYU Bookstore! Sometime in the next three weeks, before fall sememster starts? I would be so great!

[Alison]

Edit: It would be great!

[Danielle]

I love Britta. And I don't really see her lie as a huge problem. She had to deal with the guilt of lying to everyone, being a burden on some random family, and being disliked by the village population for a long time. And she spent around two years convincing herself that she was a fool, and that the boy she loved would pick someone else, that he would laugh at her, or ignore her. I think that aside from Razo, Britta could be my favorite of your characters, Shannon. And I love the ending to Princess Academy. Peder and Miri holding hands was so sweet. Though, my favorite ending out of all your books is the end of Book of a Thousand Days. I like that you let your stories fade out peacfully, instead of rushing through to "The End." It gives me a chance to see the characters happy. Is it too late for questions? Because I have one more - did you plan Britta's "deception" from the beginning? And was Britta always a character? Did you create Britta's history so Miri wouldn't be the one the prince picked?

[Collette]

This has been fun. My 9 year old daughter and I read it together. We waited until you had the new post up and then listened to the audio book while we followed along in our own book. My sweet daughter almost emailed you when you were late - she asked no fewer than 8 times this morning if the last chapter post was up. It's been a good bonding experience for us.

I wasn't as upset with Britta as I was with her dad. Her dad's part in it (and apparent lack of culpability in it) bothered me. Like rich people manipulating the situation to get what they want. I liked the idea of her parents actually dying, sending Britta to Mt. Eskel and, miraculously, that's where the priests chose for the next princess academy to happen. More serendipitous but also really saccharin. (Probably too saccharin.) I'm interested to see about the fallout in 'Palace of Stone'.

[Isobel]

Thank you so much for doing this book club, Shannon! I can imagine how much time this took, and you made it really insightful and special. I love Princess Academy.

[Karli]

Princess Academy, ever since I read the first few lines, had me captivated. I love the beautiful, flowing words you put into it, and all of those similes and metaphors are absolutely WONDERFUL. Thank you for drawing me into the magic of writing with this incredible book. It' has greatly inspired me to write books of my own! Someday, you should do a west coast tour for book signings! We'd love it!

[K.M.B]

I love Britta! And when I read this book again I felt a hunger to know more about her. I'm so glad she's in the next book!

I think I'm happier with this ending than if Miri had become the princess,since she knows Steffan and they both really love each other. I guess maybe it wasn't good that Britta did lie,though I really never thought of it that way. And besides,this is a story,and its more realistic when someone lies,because real people lie.

I really can't wait till Palace of Stone! I am so pumped to read it right now! I'm not sue if I can wait nineteen days!

[Averie]

Princess Academy is such an amazing book!! Thank you so much for doing this summer book club!! I can't imagine how much time his must have took you. Also, I never really was upset at Britta for lying. In my mind, it isn't really her fault at all. I think Britta truly is ashamed of her father's actions. But yeah. Cant wait for Palace of Stone!! :)

[Ellie]

Princess Academy was the first book of yours that I read, followed quickly by The Goose Girl and every single one of the rest of your books. Whenever I tell people you're one of my favorite authors, I usually reference Goose Girl or Book of a Thousand Days or Austenland (all three are some of my all-time favorites <3). But Princess Academy tends to get left out in my brain.... I'm SO glad I decided to reread it with you this summer. Thank you so much for doing this summer book club and for reminding me how much I adore Princess Academy! =) I absolutely cannot wait for Palace of Stone!!

[Rebekah]

Thank you for doing this book club!!! Princess Academy is one of my absolute favorite books and I loved all the insight. I am so excited for Palace of Stone!

[Rin Isilee]

Britta loved him. He didn't belong to anyone else (yet) and so she did what she could to keep him. I never had a problem with it, because I would probably do the same thing in her place.

[Alison]

I thought I should just tell you that while watching the Olympics today, I noticed a swimmer (from Germany, I believe; I was at work and couldn't see the flag too well) whose name was Britta Steffen! I thought of you and Princess Academy right away. It was just perfect :)

[Aoife]

I really enjoyed reading along with you. Thanks for giving us some insight. Here's to doing it again...

[Laree @ Ever Heard of Euless]

I have to say, this was my favorite blog to read all summer. I LOVE having the insights of the author for why things happen the way they did! I know it was time consuming, but thank you so much for doing it!

[McKenna]

This was so much fun. I loved reading along with this and getting pysched for "Palace of Stone". Thank you, Shannon, on behalf of us all!

[grace]

May I still ask a question here ~ What is this favorite moment of yours from Enna Burning?

Also, I just want to thank you so much! This was a wonderful book club-ish experience :)

[Elle]

I agree with Grace above, if you're still answering questions - what is your favourite moment from Enna Burning? (This is my favourite Bayern book, so I've got a special place for all tidbits related to it in my heart!)

[Laura]

If you have time for another question, I was wondering what you think about reading aloud as a form of editing. Do you read your stories to yourself (or someone else)as part of the editing process? And a related question: do you ever listen to your own audiobooks?

[Abby]

I was watching the Olympics last night and saw a German swimmer named Britta Steffen...I nearly died :)

[Maribeth]

This is the truth.

When we were younger, both my brother and I loved your books. I'm sure that now he would be ashamed to admit that he enjoyed them. Of course for me, it's completely "acceptable."