Fairest

Not too long ago. . . okay I can't lie, it was like forever ago! Writing reviews is harder than just reading, and therefore doesn't happen as frequently. So. Forever ago, I listened to Gail Carson Levine's Fairest.

It was particularly fun to listen to this book (rather than just read it) because it is set in Ayortha -- a nation of singers. And the people over at Full Cast Audio don't do things halfway. There was music and accompaniment with the lyrics in the book, and each voice had its own actor. This is quite fun, but does sound weird occasionally; for instance, when it's like "I turned around and dad burst out with 'Where are my chainsaws?'" (no actual chainsaws in the book.) I just mean when the sentence isn't complete with only one voice. Anyway, it was fun more often than weird.

So Aza is not pretty. Not even close to the fairest in the land. But she's got a great voice. It leads her into all kinds of crazy adventures involving kings and queens and princes and puppies and magic mirrors and even *gasp* the dreaded fairy, Lucinda. (You may remember her from Ella Enchanted.)

It was a good book with a solid cast of characters and an enjoyable plot. Ella Enchanted is still my favorite of Levine's works though.