Become a reviewer
Join our dedicated community of junior reviewers! Get a free book to review, have your review published on the site and if you're really lucky get noticed by the author too!
The Restless Girls
Book Review
I loved how you knew the secret of the princesses from the first time it happened
The Restless Girls by Jessie Burton is a more modern take on The Twelve Dancing Princesses. It didn’t take long for me to get stuck in!
This is a book of magic and secrets, that I would highly recommend to children aged ten to thirteen years old. The story pulls you in from the first page and the language really makes the story come to life.
The illustrations were beautiful and I really think that they capture the personalities of the princesses, and the mood in the castle. As soon as the princesses are introduced you can tell that they princesses are determined, accomplished and intelligent. They each enjoy and are expert in a separate thing, like astronomy, chemistry, painting, and singing.
This makes it so different from the traditional fairy tale because each princess is recognised as an individual instead of reduced to a background character. I loved how you knew the secret of the princesses from the first time it happened.
What I enjoyed most about this book is the unexpected turns it takes, especially one particular twist towards the end of the book.
Readers will never want to put this book down!
About the Book
This is a feminist version of the classical fairytale The Twelve Dancing Princesses. The inspirational story about family, sisterhood, imagination and bravery is told with humour.
For her twelve daughters, Queen Laurelia’s death in a motor car accident is a disaster beyond losing a mother. Their father, King Alberto, cannot bear the idea of his precious and gifted princesses ever being in danger so he decides that his daughters must be kept safe at all costs. Those costs include their lessons, their possessions and, significantly, their freedom.
But the eldest, Princess Frida, will not bend to his will without a fight and she still has one possession her father can’t take: the power of her imagination. And so, with little but wits and ingenuity to rely on, Frida and her sisters begin their fight to be allowed to live…
Author
Jessie Burton
Jessie Burton is a British novelist and actor best known for her bestselling debut 'The Miniaturist'. Born in London in 1982, she studied at Oxford University and later trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama. Her work often blends historical settings with psychological insight, earning international acclaim and multiple literary awards.
Illustrator
Angela Barrett
Angela Barrett (born 1955) is a British illustrator known for her richly detailed and atmospheric artwork in children’s books and fairytale retellings. She trained at Maidstone College of Art and the Royal College of Art, later teaching illustration and drawing, and has won awards including the Smarties Prize and the WH Smith Illustration Award.
Reviewer Profile
Margaret, 11
- Reviews: 15
- Likes: crochet, watercolour painting and fossils
- Dislikes: seafood and stir-fry
- Favourite Book: Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Steve Brusatte
- Favourite Film: Star Wars - The Clone Wars
- Favourite Song: Apparition No. 12 by Thea Gilmore
Would you like to read the book too?
Find out more about the title by clicking on the button below
Why not order it from an indie bookshop close to home? Or, you’ll get a discount and make a small donation (£0.30) towards the cost of posting books to our reviewers via the link above
Alternatively, please visit your local library and enquire about its availability, if you can’t find it on the shelf
Happy Reading:)
