The False Prince

I teach middle school, and I use summers to catch up on what's hot in adolescent fiction. I spent a lot of time this summer with books in the "Hunger Games" vein, but this one was a welcome change of pace. This is my favorite kind of book--driven by fascinating characters with complex motives. It also has a well-crafted plot and intriguing politics that left me hungry for the sequel. It reminds me in all the best ways of Megan Whalen Turner's "Thief" series, but is not derivative of that. It involves a "Prince and Pauper" scheme to usurp the throne of a completely believable fictional kingdom, but layers of secrets and plot twists keep the story consistently engaging. The main character has a compelling mixture of strengths and weaknesses, and the more the reader knows, the more he/she can identify with him.

The reading was fabulous--perfect for the characters. I listened on a long drive and was completely lost in the book.

The False Prince will be among my top recommendations to my students, but it was certainly no chore to read it. I hope there's another Nielsen/McWade treasure out by next summer!

I had been waiting for False Prince to come out for months, and eagerly snatched up my audio copy. The book is a wonderful listen/read and goes at a good pace, especially later on. At first it may be a bit slow because of the "training" but once you get past the first bit of that, then interesting things begin to happen, several of them were small enough that I didn't realize they were of import until later in the book when it came out. I want to listen again so that I can see what else I may have missed.

Overall I give this book a 4 star because it was a good first impression. I may re-rate once I go through it again.
The book is clean, no sex, no profanity, some violence, there is always some level of that in any adventure story, boys are whipped, stabbed, shot, threatened, etc. This book is safe for 12 and up, possibly younger as long as your child can handle the death of a secondary character or two. Nothing is graphic (ie: blood spilling every where, etc)

If you enjoy this book I recommend the very similar False Princess. Another great read/listen.

Sage, the main character is well written, a bit sassy with a lot of heart.

Sage. He's the narrator. He gets himself into scrapes because of his stubborn streak. Reminds me of people I know.

Can't pick. It's just not possible for me.

This is a great book for younger readers, although I am a mom in my 30's and loved it. No swearing, no sensuality, very little violence. The violence that it does contain is not graphic. I enjoyed Charlie McWade's narration.

I really loved this story! The characters are great. I really liked Sage and Mott. It had a great twist at the end and I can't wait until the next book comes out! This is an adventurous, clean story for all ages. I'm excited to add this book to my classroom library and share it with my students!

I like to have something on hand for my 11 year old son to listen to on the way to school and the way home because we have quite a drive every day. It was a bit tough to get him interested in the story but once he started listening it didn't take long to get him hooked. By the end he was rooting for Sage and making his own predictions about the story and the outcome. Now he's begging for the next installment so I would say this was a hit.

We liked this book! I liked that Sage was his own person and never changed his character throughout the story. The book made and answered a lot of questions. Excellent listen! The narrarator did a great job too! My daughter commented that it was similar to "The Goose Girl" which happens to be one of my favorites.

Set in medieval times, the story is about an orphan who is trained to be the prince who will be crowned King. The orphan(Sage) has more character than everyone gives him credit for. I can't wait to listen to book 2!

This is an exciting story that, for me, overcame a so-so narrator. The middle is a bit slow, but the twists and turns at the end more than make up for it. I didn't care for Charlie McWade as the voice of Sage. He tried valiantly to voice the characters, but accents sometimes slipped a bit and I couldn't tell any of the three boys apart. I'll be reading the second book in print.

This book is great for a family road trip. Looking forward to next book in the series which set to be released in March 2013.