Princess Stories!
Review: Wishing Well, Wishing Well by Jubilee Cho
This is a cute little middle grade princess story. It’s clearly written by an author who was into princesses, for little girls who are into princesses.
The plot is conventional. The king is murdered, the queen dies in childbirth, and the Prime Minister usurps the throne. Supposedly Prince Encore is dead too. Obviously, he isn’t.
And Encore’s sisters can’t ascend the throne because the kingdom is salic, and has been for as long as people remember. This includes the trans one, which is a nice touch.
At its heart, though, this is a good king/evil pretender story and honestly, I’m very much done with good king/evil pretender stories. Even with the twist of the good prince not being the best ruler, it still says that the Coronas, by blood and training, are the best to rule.
I’m done with that plotline. At the same time, this is a kids’ book and…well.
If you have a little princess in your life, she might well enjoy it. As an adult who has read this trope too many times, though…
Copy sent to me for award consideration purposes.