Iron Hearted Violet

by Kelly Barnhill

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

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Violet wants to be the best princess for her people.

Violet is not a beautiful princess.  Not a "proper" princess.  This is made abundantly clear to her in whispers and misspoken quips.  It eats away at the girl, whose hair is not shiny and whose eyes are not symmetrical.  Her father is bold, her mother is kind, and Violet is just... Violet.  She accepts this with a princess' grace, but still, it eats away at her.  She tries to distract herself with her friend, Demetrius, and exploring their mysterious castle.

Our course, the castle has more than meets the eye, and some passages have more secrets than others.

This ought to be a classic children's story.

Listening to Iron Hearted Violet was like experiencing classic children's tales like The Never Ending Story or Dragonheart.  There's a richness to this story that is positively enchanting.  It is narrated by a storyteller, and contains an imperfect protagonist who means well but does not always make the best choices.  The fantasy world is accepted and gentle - not loud and in your face.  Really, most everything in this book is perfectly fine.

Until it isn't.

Violet is sweet and well-intentioned.

The protagonist is not your typical sort.  First of all, she's ugly.  She's not described as "pretty enough" or "plain" - she's flat-out described as ugly.  Second, she's not particularly brave or snarky.  She's just... Violet.  That's why I like her.  She is just doing the best she can and that makes her incredibly relatable.  She wants people to like her and she wants to do the right thing.

I also really enjoyed how the story starts with everything alright, rather than in the thick of things.  One tiny thing shifts out of place, and another shifts into place, and then we have our conflict.  A lot of books I've been reading it's pretty clear that any exposition serves just so you know the character's names before anything BIG happens.

I really liked this book.

This is the sort of tale I would have loved as a child, and I intend to add it to my personal library.  It was, simply put, charming!  It teaches children to appreciate who they are and the gifts they are given, but it's not written so childishly that a teen or adult could not enjoy it.  It makes fun of traditional fairytales and is interesting enough to keep you reading.