From the Publisher
She loves fiercely and kills with little remorse; her iron grip over the Lunar people is equal parts impressive and terrifying. Queen Levana from "The Lunar Chronicles'" is more than a beautiful villain. In this prequel, Meyer explains how she went from lonely, shy second daughter to the most feared and relentless woman in the universe. . . . Thorough world-building and fascinating character development will thrill fans and entice new readers.” —School Library Journal
School Library Journal - Audio
05/01/2015
Gr 9 Up—This series prequel delves into Queen Levana's past, beginning with her parents' funeral when she was 15. Her vain and cruel sister Channery will now become queen, a position of power and responsibility. While Channery wants the former, she has no interest in the latter, and Levana knows that she would make a better queen. She also covets the love of Evret Hayle, a happily married royal guard with a baby on the way. After his wife's death, Levana uses her glamour to manipulate him physically and emotionally in an attempt to achieve her warped understanding of love. Once she has that, her thoughts shift to the other thing wants: the throne. Rebecca Soler meets the challenge of inhabiting Levana over the span of about 10 years, reflecting the changes in Levana's psyche with changes in her voice that alternate between light, calculating, and desperate. Without the action and wryness that characterizes the other titles in the series, this story is darker and moves at a slower pace. While it does give listeners insight into Levana's past and motivations, it will leave them even more anxious for the conclusion with the return of Cinder and company. VERDICT Recommended to fans of the series.—Amanda Raklovits, Champaign Public Library, IL
School Library Journal
04/01/2015
Gr 8 Up—She loves fiercely and kills with little remorse; her iron grip over the Lunar people is equal parts impressive and terrifying. Queen Levana from "The Lunar Chronicles'" (Feiwel & Friends) is more than a beautiful villain. In this prequel, Meyer explains how she went from lonely, shy second daughter to the most feared and relentless woman in the universe. Levana grew up in the shadow of her distant mother, Queen Jannali, and her vengeful older sister, Princess Channary. After the murder of their parents, Channary takes the crown and produces an heir, Selene. Having permanently assumed a glamour, or altered physical appearance, after a childhood "accident" caused by Channary resulted in a severe disfigurement, Levana coerces a widowed palace guard to marry her, bringing his young daughter Winter to the palace. Her older sister's unexpected death catapults Levana to the position of Queen Regent—but that isn't enough for the ambitious, entitled protagonist. Meyer successfully sketches in some humanity to Levana's actions. At times, her raw loneliness invokes short-lived sympathy, such as when Levana clings to a dented pendant given to her by her husband. Even if readers despise her, it is worth reading this interim background novel to gain insight into Levana's complex character. VERDICT Thorough world-building and fascinating character development will thrill fans and entice new readers.—Amanda C. Buschmann, Atascocita Middle School, Humble, TX
MARCH 2015 - AudioFile
The prequel to The Lunar Chronicles begins with 16-year-old Levana, the younger Lunar Princess, who is trying to find her place during her cruel older sister’s reign. Rebecca Soler begins in a tentative, youthful tone that emphasizes Levana’s emotional vulnerability. Ashamed of her disfigurement, Levana makes herself glamorous, though her appearance cannot win the love of the man she desires. Soler’s tone slowly hardens as Levana takes on the life she feels she deserves. As Levana’s manipulative talents grow, Soler moderates her narration, allowing Meyer’s story to unfold slowly. Fans of Meyer’s other books will find themselves truly absorbed as Levana grows into the evil Lunar Queen who later attempts to conquer Earth. J.M. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Review
2015-01-24
Meyer takes a short break between books in the Lunar Chronicles to explore the back story of evil Queen Levana.As the title suggests, here Meyer riffs on "Snow White," positioning Levana as the wicked queen. As the novel opens, Princess Levana and her older sister prepare for the funeral of their assassinated parents. Levana chafes at the knowledge that her sister will take the throne—Levana is intelligent and politically engaged, while her lovely sister seems interested only in sexual conquest. The 15-year-old princess also yearns for kind, handsome guard Evret Hayle, who is unaccountably in love with his beautiful, pregnant wife. Physical beauty is something the scarred princess can achieve only by casting a Lunar glamour; fortunately, she is very skilled in the art. She is so adept, in fact, that she uses it to lure Evret to her bed and to the altar when his wife dies in childbirth; the only blot on her happiness is baby Winter, her stepdaughter—and her sister, and the Moon's dwindling resources….With this book, Meyer sets herself a formidable challenge. Her overall story and the original fairy tale's structure both demand that Levana end the book thoroughly evil, creating a deterministic, negative character arc. Although she strives to make Levana initially sympathetic, she must also plant the seeds of her cruelty and megalomania; the result is that Levana goes from merely bratty to out-and-out repellent. The author also deprives herself of the opportunity to play to her strengths: quick, cinematic changes in scene and chemistry between her characters. With virtually no action and no sparks flying, the plot slogs along to an end readers know already, leaving them free to notice Meyer's malapropisms, grammatical errors and awkward metaphors. Fans should just wait for Winter, coming in fall 2015. (Science fiction/fairy tale. 13 & up)
