Princess Academy

Listened to this on audiobook with the kid in the car one day. Granted, it is meant for younger girls, and it somewhat appealed to my independent 10 year old. She had problems with the subservience of the girls when they first get to the academy. It made her hate the characters. She wanted them to stand up for themselves better. She also didn't like that the girls were so preoccupied with wanting to be a princess. It drove her nuts.

“It would be cool if they wanted to be warriors instead of princesses...or ninjas.”

As far as my cultured opinion–for whatever that's worth–the story was cute and airy, without a ton of substance. It moved at a snail's pace for my tastes and was somewhat frustrating. The worst thing was Shannon Hale's relentless use of simile. It was ladled on heavily, often with multiple boring, pastoral, almost laughable similes shoved down your gullet.

“Her mind began to buzz like flies over a meal.”
“Her mouth curved upward on one side like a brook trout on a hook.”

It never ends. It drove me nuts.