All About Middle Grade Review: The Girl in the Tower

The Girl in the Tower by Lisa Schroeder, March 29, 2016. 256 pages. Published by Henry Holt. Source: ARC from Publisher.

Ever since she can remember, ten-year-old Violet and her mother have been locked away in a tower by the evil Queen Bogdana, who has the kingdom under her spell. The queen has everything she wants except for one thing -- beauty. Violet possesses this beauty. She also has a secret: although she is very small, both her spirit and her heart are mighty.

When Violet is summoned by Bogdana to start training to become a real princess, it seems as if her life might be taking a turn for the better. But hope quickly fades when Violet's mother is banished from the castle, and she and Violet are forbidden to see each other ever again. With everyone's lives in the balance, it's up to Violet to break the spell and reunite her family.

First Sentence:

As Violet hovered in that reflective space between asleep and awake, she reaches up to feel for her nose.

This book was so charming!! Violet and her mother were such great characters, and their relationship was one of the things that I loved best about this book.

When I say a book is charming, I mean it in the absolute best way. Not like saying "Bless your heart, " you know. It was just such a joy to read it. From the overall story, that of a girl and her mother held captive within a tower for reasons unknown to them, to the writing which beautifully handled the story. Yeah, it was quite good.

When you have a character willing to forgo their own happiness so that one they love, particularly a family member, can be freed then I just know I'm going to love the book. Ah, the deep affection that Violet and her mother had for each other was so heartwarming. Especially when it feels like most books would rather discard familial warmth and affection. It was nice! So very nice to see the small (and big) ways in which they helped each other.

While I loved the loving relationship between Violet and her mother, it would not have been as good if the author, Lisa Schroeder, had not been able to capture it so well. I thought she did a great job balancing the two sides of the their story.    

Forgive me for rambling, I just really liked The Girl in the Tower and the writing was very much on point.

Highlights-

• Great characters! Violet and her mother quickly stole my heart! I loved watching the way they helped each other through the difficult times faced while imprisoned. There was just something about the way their story was written that just pulled me in.
• The way Violet handled the evil queen's plans for her. I loved her pluck and how she never gave up. It was interesting to see that she didn't fight the queen with hatred, but instead used her brain to circumnavigate the queen's plan for her. She was an interesting girl to read about.
• The way the narrative was woven, I really liked that you got see what was happening to more than just Violet. The multi-viewpoints really enhanced the storytelling. 
• It was a fun and enjoyable read. Which, is perhaps the best thing one could say about a book.   

Final Verdict: The Girl in the Tower- Wonderful! Characters, story and writing, all good things.

The Girl in the Tower earns

A copy of this book was received in consideration for review.