The False Prince

The False Prince is a fiction novel by Jennifer Nielsen.  This is a longer novel - about 350 pages.  For some readers, longer books can be scary or overwhelming, so this may be something to take into consideration in deciding if this is the "just right" book for you.  The novel is more fantasy fiction, with the events taking place in an older (unspecified) time of kings and queens in a fictional land called Carthya.  The book provides a map at the front of the book, which includes Carthya and the surrounding lands and seas.  This is the first book in a trilogy, followed by The Runaway King and The Shadow Throne. While the following books continue the story, I do think you could just read the first novel since it does not end on a cliffhanger.

The country of Carthya is about to find itself in a time of great turmoil.  The king, queen, and oldest son Darius, the heir to the throne, have just been murdered and it is only a matter of time before everyone in the kingdom learns of their fate.  When that happens, there will surely be a fatal struggle between the men of the court over who should then be the ruler of Carthya.  In a desperate attempt to prevent a civil war, one of the country's noblemen, Bevin Conner, devises a plan to save the kingdom.  Conner scours the country's orphanages to find 4 forgotten boys - Latamer, Sage, Rodan, and Tobias - who he will train for two weeks to take on the identity of the long-lost Prince Jaron, the king and queen's youngest son who disappeared four years ago when pirates attacked his ship.  Prince Jaron was assumed to be dead, as no one aboard the ship survived the attack and the ship's sinking.  But Prince Jaron's body was never recovered in the wreckage, so Conner is hoping to use one of the 4 boys as the returned prince to save the kingdom.  Conner, who was close to the royal family, trains the boys to think, act, speak, and even look like the long-lost Prince Jaron, who would be the rightful heir to the throne in his family's absence.  He has less than two weeks to turn one of these poor, orphaned, scraggly boys into Prince Jaron, enough to stand up to the court's scrutiny of his identity.  But the stakes are high, for the boys who will not be selected to assume the role of Prince Jaron will be killed to protect the secret of the newly crowned king.   

I have a confession: fantasy books are not my thing.  I prefer books that are based on reality or history more than fantasy or science fiction.  However, I L-O-V-E-D this book!  I would encourage you to add this one to your "Must Read" list!  This novel will certainly appeal to guys, as these 4 boys are up for the adventure and risk of leaving their former lives to become a king.  However, I think the girls will enjoy this read too.  If you were a fan of The Hunger Games, I think you will also enjoy this novel.  This is a fight to the death where there can only be one winner!  This book is packed with action that will leave you turning the pages, and certainly has a few unexpected twists!  I strongly encourage you to make The False Prince your next read!  This novel gets my vote as the next book to make into a movie!