The Last Princess

Gr 8 Up—The Last Princess opens in a futuristic UK threatened by massive food and oil shortages. The majority of people support the monarchy, but there are those who favor a more socialist regime. When the king is assassinated, two of his children are kidnapped and one escapes. Eliza Windsor is determined to rescue her siblings and oust the rebels. She joins the opposition forces (which are the tool of the socialists), hoping to find food and shelter while snooping for clues about her siblings' whereabouts. She begins to fall for Wesley until it is revealed that he is the son of her parents' murderer. Once again, she escapes, fleeing to Scotland. There she begins to muster an army to take back the country from her murderous rival. The novel has a bit of Romeo and Juliet-style romance mixed into a dystopic setting with a dash of royal politics. The setup is a bit rocky; when the socialist takes power and does what despots do, somehow there are hidden caches of weaponry and supplies for Eliza's ragtag army to use. The journey from princess to warrior seems a bit rushed, but plausible. The raising of an army in such a short period of time, while fighting assassins and a regime with all the resources, does not. This is an additional purchase for libraries looking for more titles to feed The Hunger Games readers. Tahereh Mafi's Shatter Me (HarperCollins, 2011) is a better dystopian romance and Mira Grant's Feed (Orbit, 2010) is a futuristic adventure with political leanings.—Saleena L. Davidson, South Brunswick Public Library, Monmouth Junction, NJ