The Ordinary Princess, by M. M. Kaye

Overall Rating: 5/5 stars
Genre: Juvenile Fiction (more for ages 8-10)
Gender Appeal: Feminine
Re-read value: Moderate
Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Ordinary-Princess-M-Kaye-ebook/dp/B002SR2PVU/ref=la_B000AQ6XG4_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1401674298&sr=1-1
Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/674749.The_Ordinary_Princess?ac=1


This is one of my favorite books. I reread it at least once a year. Part of it, for me, is nostalgic value, I'm sure. I received this book as a gift when I was in 5th grade from a teacher of mine. For some reason, I didn't open the book up until a few years later, and I always wish I had read it sooner. I think that dear lady must have recognized that I was, in many ways, like Princess Amy. I didn't fit in. The reason this story has always stuck with me is the way Amy chooses to deal with her situation.

Here's the basic premise: the royal family has a child, their seventh daughter, and they decide to throw a grand christening ball. All the girls are named after precious stones. The seventh child is named "Amethyst Alexandra Augusta Araminta Adelaide Aurelia Anne." (Talk about a mouthful! Can you imagine trying to learn to spell THAT in school?) The Queen and her councilors have their hearts set on having a grand christening party for the princess including all the fairies in the kingdom. The King objects, being a descendant of Sleeping Beauty, he's a bit leery of fairies.

The Queen gets her way, of course. And while Maleficent doesn't show up at the party, they do run into a bit of a problem.

MINOR SPOILER ALERT!!! (But if you read the back of the book, or any summary, you'll find this bit out anyways.)

One of the fairies decides to give the princess a very special gift; all the others have given her things like Wit, Grace, Charm, and Good Health. Crustacea decides that she needs to counterbalance all the frivolous gifts for the poor princess and blesses her that she will be Ordinary.


Havoc ensues. It's actually quite hilarious. You know when you see someone's picture of their baby, and it's not so cute, but you have to find something to say? That's the kind of situation the royal family ends up in. They decide to nickname her Princess Amy, or the Ordinary Princess. And when Amy finds that she doesn't fit the mold that her family has in mind for her, she takes matters into her own hands. She admits to occasionally being a little jealous of her beautiful sisters - as she said, any ordinary sort of person would be - but she is content being ordinary, because life is far more interesting that way. And in the end, she finds that those who matter the most can accept her "ordinariness," and even embrace it.

The message of this book is so simple, and yet so powerful for young readers. It's a message of being true to yourself, of loving yourself - and by extension, showing that same courtesy to those you meet. I think it's that message, along with the nostalgia, that keeps me rereading it so often. The story is simple and well written. I read this book with my oldest daughter recently, and she adored the book. We read it when she was 7-8 years old. I'd recommend it to anyone with girls in that age group.