Rating: WARTY!
Another book by someone named Piper, but at least she has the name in the right place! This is book one, by a debut author, in a series. I am not a fan of series unless they are exceptional, especially not 'personality cult' series where the main character's name is in every title, and this series isn't aimed at me, so I don't plan on pursuing this one, but it did sound interesting for its intended audience, so I thought I'd take a look at volume one, and see what it had to offer. I have to say I was rather disappointed in it. If you find you like it however, the series is, as of this writing: Princess Callie and the Total Amazing Talking Tiara, Princess Callie and the Fantastic Fire Breathing Dragon, and Princess Callie and the Race for the Ruby Cup.
Callie, whose full name is Calandria Arabella Philomena Teresita Anastasia Richards (CAPTAR) has just turned twelve, but is immature and/or selfish enough to be thoroughly pissed-off that her father has a new love wants to remarry, two years after his wife died. In addition to his, she also discovered that she is the princess of a magical land hidden down a tunnel in her back yard, and the land is in desperate trouble and she's the only one who can save it - of course. So off she goes, with Lewis, and Wanda, the school bully, adventuring, without a word to her parent as to where she's going or when she'll be back. See what I mean about selfishness?
We're told that Lewis Farnsworth is her best friend, but what we're shown is that he's not a very good friend. For her twelfth birthday, he gets her something completely inappropriate, and despite the fact that she's desperately and obviously trying to tell him something important, he simply doesn't listen. He didn't strike me as much of a friend, and this is reinforced by his later behavior. Why Callie values him so highly is a mystery. I guess she's desperate, given everything else in her life.
There's trope and clichéd school bullying here which goes unpunished - another failing in this type of school-oriented novel. I have no idea what school this style of writer went to as a kid, but I feel sorry for such authors if they experienced anything like the caricatured brutality they depict, even when it's 'limited' to extortion and blackmail like it is here.
One of the things which annoyed me about his novel was the genderism displayed in it, not by the characters, but by the author. At one point she has two guys (her dad and Lewis) dismissed and told to go off and discuss baseball - like sports is all guys ever have on their minds, while the two girls (Callie and her stepmom-to-be) go off and discuss 'girl-power' - like person-power is inadequate. Here's another example: "She wanted to have normal dreams about normal things, like cute boys and shoe shopping and hair accessories." Seriously? I guess that's what passes fro girl power in this world.
I don't get why a female author would demean her own gender like this - as though women even at that age, have nothing on their mind but prettying themselves up like so many magpies decorating their nests. Yes, many girls are like that, but that doesn't mean we have to slavishly depict all girls that way all the time, like there is no other hope for them, than to be objects and dolls for the entertainment of men, and to feel that this is their sole purpose in life. This approach irritated me and that was it for this book. I can't recommend it.
