Review | The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Sage and three other boys are quietly taken from different orphanages by a nobleman. The four boys all seem to resemble the kingdom’s missing prince who is believed to have been killed by pirates. Sage must compete with the other boys to stay alive by learning to pass as royalty. At the end of two weeks, the nobleman will choose one of the boys to fill the position of the missing prince. Defiant yet resourceful, Sage seems capable of winning over the nobleman’s favor, but is there really enough time for him to learn what is necessary to deceive the king’s royal court and take the throne? And does Sage really want to win the nobleman’s game, just to become the his puppet king?

I was very pleasantly surprised by The False Prince: Book 1 of the Ascendance Trilogy.  I had seen it on a 2012 best reads list somewhere, but I wasn’t completely taken by the description of the book. I’m so glad I ended up reading it. The author has done a great job of leaving clues for readers, but also keeps them guessing about Sage and what his intentions are. A lot of the characters seem somewhat gray, which I found added some interest for me as I tried to decide who I really liked, and who I didn’t. There are lots of twists and turns and danger seems to lurk around every corner. I’m very excited to read the next book in the series and am glad it’s being released fairly soon (March 2013). I think boys will really enjoy reading this book, girls too, but I’m always on the lookout for books that seem good for boys because I think they are harder to find.

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Overall Rating:

Parent’s guide:

• Sex: none
• Violence: some moderate fight scenes, one person is killed with an arrow and another with a sword, a person is whipped and left in a dungeon
• Language: none

Click through to buy The False Prince: Book 1 of the Ascendance Trilogy from Amazon and Attack of the Books will get a (small) portion of the purchase (which we’ll use to buy more books, of course).