![]() ![]() Western fairy tales have a long history of exploring just this theme - trying to make moral sense of the arbitrary rewards of physical beauty. Aza, her life in danger, must escape to the land of gnomes, find her hidden talents and discover her true identity. The setup is exciting too: a highborn lady takes Aza as a lady’s companion to the wedding of King Oscaro and the porcelain-skinned Ivi when Oscaro is struck down by an accident during the festivities, Ivi begins to dismantle the king’s council and strip the Ayorthaians of their civil rights, and demands that Aza serve her as a lady-in-waiting. Gail Carson Levine’s new novel, “Fairest,” a companion to her best-selling “Ella Enchanted,” would seem to have everything going for it: a heroine, Aza, who, though she is not pretty, is a gifted singer in Ayortha, a magical kingdom of singers a scheming nemesis, the young, beautiful and coldhearted queen-bride Ivi a love interest, the dreamboat Prince Ijori not to mention gnomes, ogres, ventriloquism and enchanted mirrors. ![]()
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