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Fairest | 
| Author: Gail Carson Levine
Publisher: HarperTrophy
Category: Book
List Price: $6.99
Buy Used: $2.13
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Rating:  66 reviews
Sales Rank: 9969
Media: Paperback
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Pages: 352
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.8
ISBN: 0060734108
EAN: 9780060734107
ASIN: 0060734108
Publication Date: May 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
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Product Description
Once upon a time, there was a girl who wanted to be pretty . . . Aza's singing is the fairest in all the land, and the most unusual. She can "throw"t her voice so it seems to come from anywhere. But singing is only one of the two qualities prized in the Kingdom of Ayortha. Aza doesn't possess the other: beauty. Not even close. She's hidden in the shadows in her parents' inn, but when she becomes lady-in-waiting to the new queen, she has to step into the light—especially when the queen demands a dangerous favor. A magic mirror, a charming prince, a jealous queen, palace intrigue, and an injured king twine into a maze that Aza must penetrate to save herself and her beloved kingdom.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 61 more reviews...
 A Cute Book November 23, 2008
Kathryn D. Tillenburg (Bend,Or)
I bought this because I loved the Ella Enchanted movie. I was impressed with the book it kept you interested and I love that the heroine is not a "great beauty". This story has an excelent theme about liking your self the way you are.
 Just Okay November 20, 2008
Reader
This isn't a page turner. Parts of it are a bit slow-paced and could have been edited out without changing the story. There's too much singing. It slows the story, and sometimes it's boring.
 Superficial fairytale November 18, 2008
Reader Views (Austin, Texas)
Reviewed by Mary Johnson (age 15) for Reader Views (11/08)
"Fairest" is set in the kingdom of Ayortha, where a young girl named Aza lives and works at the Featherbed Inn. Ayortha is a place where a lovely face and magnificent voice is admired by all. Aza has one out of two of these qualities. Her voice is amazing but her looks could use some work (at least she thinks so). But Aza has an amazing talent that no other person has; she can "throw" her voice. She tries to keep it a secret but that doesn't last for long. While she accompanies a duchess to the castle for a ball the newly crowned Queen finds out about her gift. Soon, after Aza becomes the Queens lady-in-waiting. Where Aza finds herself in situations she has never been in before.
Gail Carson Levine has a writing style all her own. Her writing is interesting but her storyline is annoying. Also, the way she makes Aza's character obsessed with looks is very superficial.
"Fairest" is a book for girls of all ages. But, I would not recommend it for anyone who thinks beauty is on the inside not on the outside. Although "Fairest" is a good book, it is in a sense that if like reading a book on a rainy day to pass time.
I have to say that I was disappointed in "Fairest." The constant obsession with looks is annoying and also the "songs" don't even make sense. They don't rhyme and also they take up a lot of pages. Even though I did not thoroughly enjoy "Fairest" by Gail Carson Levine, it was somewhat a good book.
Love this book October 7, 2008
Jane Hinrichs (Blunt, SD United States)
I am a big fan of Gail Carson Levine's. I just finished "Fairest" and absolutely love it. I have read some reviews that don't give this book as high a rating as Ella Enchanted, but it is a lovely book that has some great messages to it. Read this book!
A worthy rival for Ella September 6, 2008
Emily J. Taylor (Utah)
I remember the first time I ever read "Ella Enchanted". I thought "This is the greatest book I've ever read and Gail Carson Levine will never top it". In fact, I began reading "Fairest" with lowered expectations--that were quickly shattered by a story that may in some ways be better than "Ella Enchanted".
The story is loosely based on the tale of Snow White. The heroine Aza has all of the features of Snow White--black (actually htun) hair, white skin, red lips--while never actually possessing the famed beauty. I saw Robin McKinly do a similar thing with Sleeping Beauty in "Spindle's End" and I think it's a great tongue-in-cheek commentary on fairy tale beauty. However, Aza does have a marvelous singing voice and a special skill in throwing that voice.
I became more and more captivated as the story progresses. Levine has grown stronger in her writing, and this is the finest prose I have sing from her. Her characters are deeper and darker, while still possessing those irrisistable quirks. Aza is instantaneously likeable, even though she did annoy me at times with her prattling--which is ironically why she was so three-dimensional. The country and culture of Ayortha is richly done, and I enjoyed the sly references to Ella's story. Most of all, Levine has taken one of my favorite fairy tales and disected it to its very heart and theme.
I adored "Fairest". I fully believe it is the finest thing Levine has yet done.
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