I just finished the book Princess Academy by Shannon Hale. I knew nothing about the book, but had heard good things about it, so when I saw it at the thrift store, I picked it up.

I really enjoyed the way Hale wrote this story. Her way of describing things sucked me in, and I could really imagine the word she created. Even with Belinda watching My Little Pony in the same room, I was able to block out the distractions easily, and focus on the story.

The only thing that gave me pause was how quickly the story resolved itself. As I neared the end, I started to worry that it would not reach a true climax until a sequel, but then all of it sudden it happened and was over. I think I would like to have seen it go on a little longer.

As I said, I really liked it, and I gave it four out of five stars on Goodreads. (I’m pretty stingy with the five-star ratings.) It wasn’t what I expected it to be, however. That’s a good thing, because perhaps now I can take what I expected and turn it into a story of my own.