So you just watched Frozen, Mulan, or Once Upon a Time, and you want to continue with the non-traditional Disney Princess.  Here are some suggestions.

 

Fantasy (YA and Adult)

 

1. The Princess Series by Jim C Hines. Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty are the kingdom’s best defense.  Hines’ four book series draws from the original stories (his Sleeping Beauty is called Talia for a reason), and is a wonderful rebuttal to the damsel in distress stories.
3. The Tamir Triad by Lynn Flemming. You think you have it tough, this princess didn’t even know she was girl for the longest time.
5. Indigo Series by Louise Cooper. A princess must search out and destroy demons that have laid waste to her kingdom.  This series gets extra bonus points because the princess’ companion wolf is even female.
7. Dragondoom by Denis L. McKiernan. While this book is part of McKiernan’s Mithgar series, you do not have to read the series in order.  Tired of father and son always slaying dragons, check this one out. As well as a kick ass princess.
9. Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley. Princess slays dragons.   What more do you want?
11. The Sun Sword Series by Michelle West. West’s princess is only one character out a vast tapestry.  She doesn’t wield a sword or bow, but she is one of the strongest women you will ever come across.  West shows us that strength and bravery isn’t always simply physical.

 

 

History

 

1. Uppity Women series by Vicki Leon. Not all the women Leon profiles are princesses but she includes quite a few in her brief biographies of women who bucked history.
3. The Warrior Queens by Antonia Fraser. Fraser discusses women who ruled and who fought for their kingdoms.  She travels Europe, Africa, and Asia. 
5. Spy Princess by Shrabani Nasru. Noor Khan was a princess and a wireless operator in Nazi occupied France.  She was also a pacifist.  She also is a largely unsung hero.
7. Cleopatra a Life by Stacey Stiff. An excellent biography about Cleopatra who was far more than Caesar and Mark Anthony’s lover.  
9. The Woman who Would be King by Kara Cooney. Cooney’s book is about Hatshepsut, an Egyptian princess who became a Pharaoh.  She wore a fake beard.
11. Blood Sisters: The Women Behind the War of the Roses by Sarah Gristwood. Tired of all the Tudor men?  Check out this.

 

 

Literature/General Fiction

 

1. The Tiger Claw by Shauna Singh Baldwin - This historical novel centers on Noor Khan and her time in France.
3. Imperial Woman by Pearl Buck – Historical fiction about the last Empress of China.
5. She-King Series by Libbie Hawker – Want to read a historical fiction about Hatshepsut? Hawker is a good place to start.
7. The Light Bearer by Donna Gillespie - A thick historical novel about a young German princess fighting against the Romans. It has an interesting twist on Rapunzel.
9. Erhengard by Isaac Dinesen – Not so much a princess, but a lovely noblewoman who outsmarts a rogue.
11. Grania She King of the Irish Sea by Morgan Llywelyn – A good historical novel about a true life woman pirate.

Does what it set out to do: portrays a normal kid having an adventure.

It's been a while since I've read a book aimed at the middle grade age group. Usually I'm reading for an under 5, now & then YA, but mostly adult. So, yeah, this one is out of my usual reading range.

That being said, this was a fun ride.

For people looking for a story in which an average, everyday kid finds himself in an adventure with pirates and Aztecs, a millionaire an Indiana Jones-type... well, this one's a goer.



**Disclaimer: I have had the privilege of having my own fiction properly reviewed by Mr Jahangir (he's a much better reviewer than me) & was supplied a free edition for review purposes.

March is women's history month, at least here in the U.S. (I'm never sure if these months and days are an international thing. Earlier this week, it was Polar Bear Awareness day). Why do we need a woman's history month? Well, according to holiday and some textbooks (older ones), women just cooked, cried, and popped at babies, when they weren't being sluts. Thank good for PBS and other networks that show us differently.Of course, here in the U.S., we only care about American women cause those Europeans are strange, chopping off thier wives' heads and everything.Which is a shame because the story of Noor Inayat Khan should be more widely known, especially here in the U.S. Born in Moscow, to an Indian father (a princely son of a royal house) and an American mother (herself a version of American royalty), raised in Britian and France, Noor Khan was an international child before the term was really thought of. Look at how many countries can claim her.Additionally, she was a Muslim who was engaged to Jewish man. All this in pre-WW II Europe.Upon the invasion of France, Noor and most of her family (her father had died by then, one brother stayed) fled to Britian. Noor Khan eventually joined S.O.E. She was a highly princpled, perhaps overly idealstic woman who did not believe in lying. For instance, she told the British comittee that was interviewing her for a comission, extactly what she thought about Indian Independence. A view that differed greatly from theirs, yet she was awarded the comission anyway, and recommended to SOE.She was also a musician and rather talented children's author who believe strongly in fighting aganist the Nazis. Trained by the SOE as a wireless operator, Khan was sent to occupied France to join the ill-fated Prosper circuit. On the circuit's collaspe, she stayed on step of the Getaspo (including some very close calls), and despite great personal risk, kept transmitting. When she was captured, it was because she was betrayed.Khan's story is impressive in two ways. First, despite her royal princess status, Khan seems to have been an everywoman. She might have beena princess, but money was tight. She was bound to her family in much the way many of us are today. At times, she suffered from depression and a desire to find herself. Second, despite the luke warm recommandations of some of her SOE instructors, despite her "soft" upbringing, Khan did not break during her capture. In fact, unlike some of her male counterparts (manly man who would do things), Khan did not break, did not work with the Nazis, or plead for her life. If Anne Frank is used as a door to the Holocaust, Noor Khan should be an example for the power of the human spirit to stay true to principle and cause despite the evils visitied upon a body. She needs more than just an Indian (Bollywood) biopic. Basu seesm to have written the book under the asupices of the Inayat Khan estate/society, yet her biography is balanced and she does consider the stress of a famous family on the children. Khan's book is still in print and intersted readers should also pick it up.

A fascinating book about an amazing love story. American-born Lisa ends up being married to King Hussein of Jordan and changing her name to Noor Al-Hussein - the light of Hussein.The book spans from the early 1960s to the late 1990s and as such deals heavily with the various conflicts in the Middle East of those years. It gives a very different view on certain events than one usually hears, and made me question some things I had otherwise taken for granted. I know "history is written by the winners", but neither the USA nor Israel come out of this smelling like roses.But though very political, the main attraction to me was the personal aspect - hearing life of royalty described by one of their own. Queen Noor Al-Hussein comes across as a charming and charismatic woman who ended up being a definite asset to Jordan.

3.75 stars! Review coming shortly!