Palace of Stone

 Palace of Stone by Shannon Hale, 336 pages.

(This book is the sequel to Princess Academy, which I wrote about here)

In this sequel to the classic young adult novel Miri has left Mount Eskel for the capital and Britta's wedding to the prince. But the lowlands are more complicated than they all thought up on the mountain, and Miri is soon pulled between her friend and her new royal family, and the forces of rebellion that are driven by high taxes and starvation.

I am continuously impressed by Shannon Hale's ability to write books for young people with surprising depth. Miri continues to be fully realized, as do the many people around her. This book doesn't have quite the timelessness of the first, but I do still think it was very good, and will probably get around to reading the final book in the trilogy before too long.