4 Kids | Secrets, Lies, Plotting, and Surprise

May I introduce Sage, a young orphan living in a miserable orphanage in the country of Carthya. As he is running with a raw roast in his hands, trying to escape the butcher from whom he has just stolen, he is picked up and thrown into a most unbelievable scheme.

And so begins Jennifer Nielsen's The False Prince. Sage, along with two other orphans, Tobias and Roden, are taken into the care of Bevin Conner, one of the twenty regents to the throne of Carthya. We soon learn that the entire royal family -- King Eckbert, Queen Erin, and the heir-to-be, Darius -- has died. But the regents are keeping this fact secret so as to avoid certain war from neighboring countries, and even a possible civil war within its own borders.

Conner has a plot to make one of the orphans into Jaron, the younger son of the recently deceased royalty who had left home several years earlier and was believed killed at the hands of pirates. So Conner begins with a grueling routine of lessons in swordfighting, horsemanship, and all things royalty to make one of the scrapping orphans into a believable heir to the throne. And death seems certain for the two boys who are not chosen to impersonate the long lost Prince Jaron.

We quickly see there is more to Sage than we might at first think. He's smart. He's sneaky. And he's got a plan of his own.

Throughout this gripping, page-turner of a book, we'll see loyalties questioned, promises made, unexpected twists, and some surprising acts of forgiveness along the way. This is a must read. It's a medieval fantasy without any magical animals or powers. And it's the first book in the Ascendancy Trilogy. (I can't wait for book 2!!)

And now that I realize I like these medieval fantasies filled with subterfuge, I thought I'd look around for a read-alike...library-speak for books with similar themes.

I found one! I think I'll pick up book 1 of John Flanagan's Ranger's Apprentice series, The Ruins of Gorlan. The description of this book sounds very intriguing: 15-year-old Will, always small for his age, has been chosen as a Ranger’s apprentice, a group believed to practice a magic that makes them invisible to ordinary people. What he doesn’t yet realize is that the Rangers are the protectors of the kingdom. Highly trained in the skills of battle and surveillance, they fight the battles before the battles reach the people. And as Will is about to learn, there is a large battle brewing.

I know many of you are fans of Ranger's Apprentice, so give The False Prince a try. And let me know what you think!!!

BTW, posting a comment below is now easier than ever. So tell me what you're reading, and if you make a recommendation for me to read, I'll read it. And I'll write about it! I promise.

Until next week, happy reading!