Book review: A Pearl Among Princes by Coleen Murtagh Paratore

A Pearl Among Princes by Coleen Murtagh Paratore (Published by Dial Books, September 17, 2009)

Gracepearl Coal is the cook's daughter on Miramore, the island where every summer the young princes of the nearby kingdoms come for their training. The only way to come and go from the island is on the boats that take the princes there, and Gracepearl has for many years longed to leave the island on one of those boats and see the world beyond.

Now that Gracepearl is almost sixteen, she is old enough to be betrothed. She hopes to be chosen by one of the princes, as it is her only chance of leaving Miramore. And there are two attractive young princes who seem like good potential husbands. But it is a third young man - Mackree, a stable boy on the island - to whom Gracepearl's heart truly belongs. But how can she be with Mackree without giving up her dream of seeing the world beyond Miramore?

A Pearl Among Princes was a very quick read, as it is a middle grade rather than young adult book as I originally had thought from the plot description and the ages of the main characters. However, despite the fact that it was written for a younger age group than I had expected, I did find it to be a fun and cute (at times, maybe too cute) read. If you know a preteen girl who loves fairly tales, this would be a good book to recommend or to give as a gift.