The Silver Bowl

Reader: Emily
Title: The Silver Bowl
Author: Diane Stanley
Publisher: Harper Collins
Pub Date: 06/21/2011
Galley: Yes
Cover: Very standard cover, I found the extra shine distracting and overall a very dull cover. It reminds me of teen books from the eighties, which was not a good decade for cover art.
Recommend: No
Compelling Aspect of the Book: I found nothing about this book compelling, the plot is predictable and has no imagination.
Did you finish: Yes
Were you disappointed with the book at all: The plot of the Silver Bowl is too predictable and every aspect can be found in another book. The author is supposed to be critically acclaimed, but nothing about this book is exceptional writing. The plot has been used too many times, and the author takes too much time on the escape of the prince and not enough time building up the characters and establishing a strong plot. Molly falling in love with the prince could be predicted even before reading the book, and yet nothing in the Silver Bowl suggests she loves him except when she tells the donkey boy. Many parts of this book need to be better explained and overall needs a better plot. I find the intro extremely skeptical and the girl's relationship with her mother unbelievable. Molly is about ten when she leaves her family, and it seems as if her mother is a stranger.
Age Range: Under 12
Quality: 1Q How did it get published?
Popularity: 1P Yech! Forced to read it