The Books of Bayern

In my experience with reading books, I’ve found that I prefer adult novels or children’s novels rather than “young adult” fiction. Since I’m in my teens, I could read and understand the books in that section of literature, however, I’ve discovered that “teen” reading material can often be poorly-written stories involving unchanged teenagers who get involved with unrealistic romances and shallow plots. With these books being the primary focus of young adult writers, I don’t normally read them unless they are recommended to me. That’s what happened with a book called The Goose Girl. A family friend told my mother how good the book was, so she bought it and stuck it on the shelf in my room. Months later, when I was trying to choose some summer reading material; I picked it up and thought I’d give it a whirl. Little did I know that I was about to get hooked into this four book series by Shannon Hale that doesn’t, in my opinion, conform to the average young adult book type. Its mysterious plot, fantasy setting, and character development make these books my favorite series.
One of the reasons I liked this first book so much was that the beginning doesn’t give away any important plot poi. The reader only really figures out what is going on when the main character does. That type of reader involvement is used in all four books, keeping the reader guessing and hoping that things will go the way you want them to. Books written so that the readers know what all the characters are thinking or doing can be frustrating because it seems to take the main character forever to figure out what’s going on. However, with the Books of Bayern you know no more than the main character does and can only guess what will happen. One thing I will reveal about the plot is that it involves major conflicts between factions in a war prone, medieval age land. The mystery in these books was a definite factor in making the Bayern Books such impressive novels, especially The Goose Girl.

Shannon Hale impressed me by the way that she created this fantastical world without using many details or words. The image of Bayern and surrounding areas were vivid in my mind even though many times the author only provided a few details and left the rest up to the reader’s imagination. Similarly, the people were mainly left up to each reader’s imagination with descriptions like, “His hair had always been dark for a Kildenrean, though now it was speckled with more gray than she remembered and grew unchecked past his shoulders.” (The Goose Girl p. 282) Although authors such as J.R.R Tolkien of the Lord of the Rings trilogy or J.K. Rowling of the Harry Potter franchise are known for their ability to make the worlds in their head come out in a fascinating way, I really do think that Shannon Hale used the medieval-like time period to her advantage in these stories. The setting of these books allowed Shannon Hale to mix the realism of this world with the magical properties of fairytales in a way that is truly fun to read.

The final, and perhaps most important, reason I love these books and recommend them is the excellent character development. In the first book, Ani is a princess who hates everything about her duties to the crown. Her personality and talents are completely opposite of the job set before her; becoming the queen of her native land. She tries to escape her duties whenever she can by running out to the nearby pond or to the stables where her horse, Falada, seems to be able to calm Ani. However, when the Queen finds out that her daughter is actually trying to converse with animals, she tightens the reins and applies more pressure to her timid and frustrated daughter. With the circumstances surrounding Ani, it’s hard to see who she really is until things start to change and Ani learns that she must claim her own destiny. Through the book, and ultimately the rest of the series, Ani becomes stronger and stronger as she steps into her unique purpose. I think this lesson is one every girl should learn: stepping into your destiny because it is one-of-a-kind, and filled with purpose and promise. The same self-discovery is a recurring theme in Enna Burning, River Secrets, and Forest Born, sewing together new characters and plots nicely.

Altogether, this book series changed my view on “young adult” books. Besides being a distinctly original plot, Shannon Hale does a great job grabbing and holding onto the reader’s attention. The suspenseful plot, fantasy setting, and character development, create extremely fun, intriguing stories. Its strong message of every person having a unique, important destiny makes me excited for my own future. To the readers my departing request is that you look for stories that inspire you, like Ani inspired me to claim my destiny and to be brave in the face of danger. What will your next book inspire you to be?