Princess Ben | 
| Author: Catherine Murdock
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Category: Book
List Price: $16.00
Buy New: $9.40
You Save: $6.60 (41%)
New (27) Used (9) from $9.39
Avg. Customer Rating:  17 reviews
Sales Rank: 10987
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Reading Level: Young Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 344
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.8 x 1.3
ISBN: 0618959718
EAN: 9780618959716
ASIN: 0618959718
Publication Date: March 18, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: new, dust jacket
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Product Description
Benevolence is not your typical princess and Princess Ben is certainly not your typical fairy tale. With her parents lost to unknown assassins, Princess Ben ends up under the thumb of the conniving Queen Sophia, who is intent on marrying her off to the first available "specimen of imbecilic manhood." Starved and miserable, locked in the castle's highest tower, Ben stumbles upon a mysterious enchanted room. So begins her secret education in the magical arts: mastering an obstinate flying broomstick, furtively emptying the castle pantries, setting her hair on fire . . . But Ben's private adventures are soon overwhelmed by a mortal threat facing the castle and indeed the entire country. Can Princess Ben save her kingdom from annihilation and herself from permanent enslavement?
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| Customer Reviews: Read 12 more reviews...
 Absolutely fabulous read! Could not put down! Well needed today.. July 18, 2008
First off, I must share my favorite line(s) from this book that sent me into fits of giggles:
With that, I hurled the slipper at him, not caring if I caused his decapitation. (I did not.) Marshaling what little dignity I yet possessed, I stomped down the corridor -- challenging indeed with one shoe -- and around the corner. I lay awake for hours. The prince had no right, not one, to indict me so, and if I had held the slightest hope of the book's assistance, I would have climbed at once to my wizard room for a spell with which to punish him. Death, perhaps, or humiliation. A croaking frog would be nice, particularly a frog that retained Florian's dark eyes. I should keep it in a box and poke it occasionally with a stick; that would be satisfying indeed.
Princess Ben is one of the most well thought-out and intellectually relevant books that I have ever read in today's time! Princess Benevolent has quite a year and must learn how to live up to her name. I earnestly can see where a reader can grow along with Ben, learning some difficult lessons that we especially today wish to ignore. Through this book I can see many a young, teenager, or older girl grow more into herself and what she will someday be. I feel like I learned somethings about myself through this book. All around a fabulous story, with twisting plots and turns I did not expect. The first section was a little droll, and I was waiting for excitement. Well the excitement came! and that build-up had been proper and necessary. I strongly encourage anyone to read this book. Buy it for your tween and teenage gals and let them go on the adventure. Goodness me, go on it yourself!
Fantastic Fantasy July 14, 2008
I was first captivated by this book when searching for new reading material for my young son. My eye was immediately drawn to the lovely cover, so I picked it up and started skimming the first page. I couldn't put it down! I bought it that day.
Princess Ben is a wonderful fantasy story set in a ficticious kingdom with rumors of dragons. When Ben loses her beloved parents, it sets into motion a string of fantastic adventures and events for her. From prisoner of war to princess of court, she emerges and transformers herself from misfit to royalty. I loved this book from page one.
It's a must read for those who love a good fantasy with romantic and magical elements. I highly recommend it!
 Chubby reviewer July 9, 2008
This is a story of a over-weight princess with a small authority problem. Some young girls mature late, and Princess Ben seems to be a late bloomer. When she fimally learns her lesson, love comes through.
This story is propelled by strong characters. My favorite stories are when a strong femail takes her life into her own hands, but I learned that circumstances can seem different when looking at them through a new perspective.
A Fantastic Fairytale!! June 25, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Plump Princess Benevolence, sole heir to the throne of Montagne after the sudden death of the sovereign, her uncle, and her parents from unknown assassins, is not enjoying her new situation. Her cruel aunt, the Queen Sophia, is subjecting her to a strict education consisting of all the skills necessary for Ben to achieve to become the proper princess including comportment, dance, penmanship, and needlework, among others. But Ben only wants to mourn her parents' deaths and comfort herself with food; her refusal to cooperates causes her to get locked up in a high tower. While in this cell, Ben accidentally stumbles upon a hidden room with a spell book, and so she teaches herself magic. But, tensions with a neighboring country, Drachensbett, escalate the need for an alliance between the two countries, which Ben becomes caught up in, resulting in a disastrous ball, mountainous escapades, and unforeseen romance, and this amazing story.
I was immediately drawn into Ben's story about how she matured and saved her country. She is amusing and clever although sometimes single-minded. Ben's adventures were very fun to read about, especially the ones involving magic. It was interesting to watch how Ben came to terms with that some of the people she thought were bad, such as Queen Sophia, actually had good intentions. What I found a little strange though were references to world history, such as the building of the Great Wall of China, because the magical aspect of the story made it seem as if the location of Montagne and Drachensbett should not be on Earth. I would've preferred anonymity as to the exact location like in many other fairytales, but I don't really mind because this story was so fantastic.
Catherine Gilbert Murdock is a superb storyteller, and while I have not read her other novels Dairy Queen and The Off Season, I do plan to do so. I was very impressed with Murdock's writing style and unique ideas, and I absolutely loved this story. Princess Ben is definitely high on my favorites list, and I highly recommend it to all readers, and not just only fans of fantasy and fairytales.
Historical novel that proves: girls have always rocked! June 22, 2008
1 out of 5 found this review helpful
All parents of girls need to buy/read this book to their daughters. This novel was the epitome of girl power and one of the best retold fairy tales I've ever read. Catherine Gilbert Murdock, known for her "strong girls" fiction, once again hits a homerun with this poignant fantasy. I hope that she continues to gift the world with her writing for many years to come!
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