Book Review of
The Princess and the Goblin

Grace's Review

Once I saw The Princess and the Goblin on my school’s bookshelf, I wanted to read it. I heard J.R.R. Tolkien praise George MacDonald. He loved his writing and fairytales. I figured that it was worth reading.

I enjoyed it. Was it a 5 out of 5 stars for me, not quite. I loved the mythical creatures and tales. I enjoyed this mysterious grandma.

The characters were a bit naive. It had many typical tropes of fairy tales with kingdoms, an uncaring nanny,a  curious princess, a poor boy, Goblins, and so forth.

The writing is easy to follow. The language is older because it was written a while ago. It is an older book. I like the writing style because it makes it feel like a fairytale. There is some witty humor.

There could be controversy because there is some weakness in the princess, but I like her because she has some strengths, isn’t afraid to explore, and does stand up for herself.

I think Curdie is my favorite character even though he is a little overtly nice and does happen in a lot of activities that lead him to be one of the heroes.

The myths and worldbuilding are what I like. I also think it is better than other classics that are often on lists.

I think it does its job and could for a good fantasy for pre-teens or teens that doesn’t have as many graphic details. However, the older language might be harder for this age group to read, so if you are an adult who loves cleaner, easy fantasy, you should try this.