Celilia is just an average, everyday peasant who spends most of her day doing chores and scrubbing the stains out of her pinafore. At least, that is what she wants everyone to THINK she is. What no one sees is that she studies at night books on royal protocol, history, and the royal family...

...her family.

Yes, Celilia is actually a princess-- the princess! The only problem is that the same people who killed her parents when she was a baby are still seeking to steal the throne. So a decoy princess is on the throne while Celilia is in hiding.

However, Celilia is tired of waiting to take her throne. Nothing has happened all these years, and Celilia believes she is ready.

So with her best friend Harper, Celilia sets out to claim what is rightfully hers. Only, when they get to the castle, there are a few small problems... okay, big, huge complications!! The decoy princess believes a totally different story!


"Palace of Mirrors", a roundabout sequal to Haddix's earlier book "Just Ella", is worth reading. In fact, it is worth rereading! The cool thing is, you don't have to have read "Just Ella" to understand what is going on, though it does help to know who Ella Brown is.

Personally, though I really liked the book, I did not think it was one of Ms. Haddix's best. I much prefer her Shadow Children series, Double Identity, Running Out of Time, and Uprising.

That is not to say that this book is not super good, because it is! Only, if you do read this book, be sure to read her others too, because they are better.

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Truely magical. I loved it

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Cecilia is the actual princess of Suala, living out her life in hiding in a peasant village far from the capitol, away from menacing foreign enemies who might want to end her life the same way they killed her parents. Every night she studies princess lessons with her knight/tutor Sir Stephen, and wonders about Desmia, the decoy princess on the throne, living the life that Cecilia should have.

Urged on by her good friend Archer, Cecilia and Archer set off to the capitol to reclaim her rightful place on the throne. But it turns out that Desmia has grown up hearing a different story, and they may all be in danger from an enemy that's much closer to them than they expected.

PALACE OF MIRRORS is a charming companion novel to Haddix's endearing JUST ELLA. Of course, this book is not Ella's story, though the feisty heroine of the previous book plays a fairly important role in this novel. Readers will connect to Cecilia's uncertainty about her identity and destiny, as well as her confusing feelings for and relationship with Archer. PALACE OF MIRRORS is full of spunky, appealing characters, and even if the plot seems a little unevenâtoo slow at the beginning, too quickly wrapped up, too anticlimacticâit is still a decent read for late elementary and middle school girls who want a lighthearted romance set in an exciting world.

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