Princess Amethyst, or simply Amy, is the seventh daughter of King Hulderbrand and Queen Rodehesia in the kingdom of Phantasmorania. Amy's sisters, all named after different jewels, are what a fairy tale princess must be: charming and graceful angel-like beauties with golden curls. Amy isn't. When Amy was born and fairies were invited to bless the baby with their special gifts, one of them happened to be in a bad mood and bestowed on the baby princess a most unusual gift: Ordinariness. Thus Amy grew up to be as ordinary as any other peasant girl: she's got a freckled face, mousy brown hair, and no interest in “princessy” occupations of embroidery and playing harp. She prefers to explore the forest instead.
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Smart and good-natured, with a sharp sense of humor, Amy is happy with who she is and just wants to be herself. But her parents will not allow that. Her mother the queen keeps trying this and that to make Amy a stunning beauty, with no success. When all of her sisters are married off and no prince is interested in Amy, her parents come up with a plot: they think of hiring a dragon to ravage the land, so that maybe some noble prince feels obligated to come and save Princess Amy – and then he would have to marry her. When Amy finds out about the plan, she is disgusted and angered. She runs away.
Dressed in simple clothes, she goes to another kingdom and, with her looks of a commoner, easily gets a job at the kitchen in the king's castle. There she meets Peregrin, a remarkable young man, “ordinary” like herself.
The review of this Book prepared by Laura Southcombe
