Life has been stressful lately, but for the good and the bad. You know what makes a stressful day better? A good fairy tale. (Especially one that doesn’t let anyone get away with being wishy-washy and pining.)

Princess Wisdom (the younger daughter of the kingdom of Montagne, aka Dizzy) is all set to marry the heir to the Duchy of Froglock until she sees young Tips in the Emperor’s Circus (yes the emperor has a circus, go with it) and is immediately smitten. The problem, Tips has been writing with his childhood sweetheart Trudy, who is now Dizzy and her grandmother’s Lady in Waiting. Trudy is in love with Tips, but he is smitten by Dizzy, who is supposed to get married-tomorrow. meanwhile the Duchess of Froglock is concerned because her plan to take over Montagne might fall to pieces!

My favorite thing about this novel is that Murdock has managed to interweave eight different narrators. We have Dizzy, her grandmother (Ben from Princess Ben), Tips, Trudy’s biographer, the Duchess, the ringmaster, a play, and an encyclopedia! No small feat, and yet it works remarkably well. It’s a great way to get multiple perspectives on the story. It only succeeds because Murdock sticks to the different styles so consistently. Even without the headings for each chapter, the reader would still be able to figure out who is talking.

In addition, Dizzy, Tips and Trudy are good people that the reader wants to succeed. Even though, with Trudy you want her to succeed at something other than getting Tips back. No one gets what they want by sitting around crying, and it’s nice to see a book encouraging girls to go out and DO something about their lives.

Highly recommended for schools and public libraries. Probably ok for anyone 12 and up, and it can be appreciated on several levels depending on the age of the reader.