Larson, a gifted, evocative storyteller, infuses the plot with Brothers Grimm allusions. Evie (a name she acquires, as she can’t remember her given name) is a complex character who deals with the twists thrown at her with wit, style and bravery. He’s taken on the notion of a young girl unsure of her past who has to define herself, not by her heritage or legacy, but by her instincts she gets to decide who she is.

Larson hails from the world of “My Little Pony,” where he is a writer on the TV show and a frequent presence at events for 'Bronies” - boys, teenagers and grown-ups who are into “My Little Pony.” In the way that Bronies co-opted a formerly girlie form and made it unisex, Larson plays here with princesses as rescuers, not rescuees. But I am prepared to argue that “Pennyroyal Academy” is worthy of the matchup - it’s ridiculously compelling, and I hope it’s followed by several sequels. They are not trained to sit idly, batting their eyelashes, but to embody the “four core values” of Courage, Compassion, Kindness and Discipline.Ĭomparison to the Harry Potter series seems inevitable: There’s a school a special student who appears to be orphaned nasty, upper-crust kids some magic and the dark shadows of evil forces. No, these girls are measured by their ability to fight the encroaching armies of (scary and creepy) witches that are threatening all the kingdoms. These are not the kind of princesses who demonstrate their princessosity by feeling the sting of a pea beneath several mattresses. She makes her way to Pennyroyal Academy, a school for budding princesses and knights.

Larson’s “Pennyroyal Academy,” for middle-grade readers, a young girl in the throes of a “memory curse” finds herself in the forest, clad only in a frock made of spider webs.

But now, two new books have arrived that just might make it safe to wave your princess flag again in public. I remember when, a few years ago, my own 3-year-old took her copy of “Polite as a Princess” to the playground and I begged her to stuff it in the cover of a New Republic. Over the past decade or so, storybook princesses have gotten a worse rep than even the Koch brothers.

Pennyroyal academy books