Christy's Review: Two Moon Princess by Carmen Ferreiro-Esteban

Two Moon Princess by Carmen Ferreiro-Esteban
Publisher: Tanglewood Press
Pages: 324

To Andrea, the life of a princess is not a dream; it's tedious and stifling. But the certainties of her life, both good and bad, are thrown into chaos when she accidentally travels to an alternative world, from a cave on a forbidden beach in her family's kingdom to the warm and carefree life of Southern California. Then a careless visit to the cave results in terrible consequences: a brewing war between kingdoms, her sister's love for the wrong man, Andrea's own conflicted feelings for an enemy leader, and dark family secrets exposed. Andrea needs to act to resolve problems which she helped to create, and she faces many difficult choices, torn between duty and desire on so many levels. Readers will enjoy the mix of traditional elements of the fantasy genre, with fresh ideas and a look at our culture through the eyes of a stranger.

Review:

Two Moon Princess is a really fun Middle-Grade read. It’s not overly sophisticated, but it expresses quite a few fun, creative ideas and storylines really well. I LOVED that the heroine of this world comes from a Spanish heritage, rather than being the traditional English Princess that the Western world has come to expect to hear about.

I really loved the storyline of this book. It was cute and creative and will really speak to young girls about fulfilling their obligations while having the tenacity to follow their dreams.  Princess Andrea is a great character, a young girl who, like many young people her age everywhere, is being forced to become something she does not wish to be. Her spunk and liveliness really shine through as she does her best to be true to her family, her heritage, her sense of right and wrong, and to herself.

I took issue with the pacing of this story. The telling of the story shifts from the main character, Princess Andrea, experiencing things as they happen to Princess Andrea finding out about everything that’s already happened and then back to Princess Andrea experiencing things as they happened. The middle section of the book seemed almost as if it were an afterthought, and had been rushed through, while the beginning and end were very involving for the reader.

Despite my issues with the pace, this is overall, a really lovely story. I look forward to reading more from Carmen Ferreiro-Esteban.

Quote from a favorite scene:

“Don Alfonso’s smile widened. ‘Yes, Princess. He’s all right. But why do you ask? Are you in love with my brother?’ Without losing his smile, Don Alfonso raised his right hand and swiftly blocked the fist I had aimed at his jaw. Still holding my hand in a tight grip, he swirled me under his arm in perfect synchronization with the other couples. Then just before we parted, he pushed a folded paper up my right sleeve, and with a nod, stepped over to his next partner.”