Jodi Lynn Anderson

Warrior Princess

May Bird, warrior princess

Kirsten Simkiss

Knowing that this is the third and final book in the series was sad going in and even more so when I was finished reading it. No more will I get to read about May Bird, Somber Kitty, and her pumpkin-headed house spirit, aptly named Pumpkin. I think this book deserves the full 5 stars without a doubt in my mind. I read this in one afternoon and, had it not been for the necessity of food, I probably would have read this all in one several hour long sit down.

I'll be really honest. That ending made me want to cry and I loved it. (view spoiler)[Pumpkin became a star and never got to be accepted for his talents. Somber Kitty came back to Earth with May and lived out his short kitty life only to have to wait for her when she dies again. That sense of distance and loss made me sad. I am glad that May's mom seemed to be accepting May more toward the end of the book and lightening up. She seriously needed to, though I am very glad she didn't send May off to the boarding school from the first book. (hide spoiler)]

I was in love with how the plot of the books prior to this one snowballed into this one. As much as I thought the second book was lacking, it set up much of the necessary elements in the third book and did much better about keeping that sense of this unusual, creepy world May had stumbled back into. Everybody from the Egyptians who wanted to sacrifice Somber Kitty to the daredevil spirits of the Falls turned up and it was great. I enjoyed that Bo Cleevil was simply just sort of emptiness itself the whole time, trying to fill a void it had no idea how to fill. 

The romance arc was a little awkward, but obviously it was more about May coming to terms with her own feelings about romance. (Which were general confusion.) I think that she did like Lucius to start with, but mostly because he treated her as an equal and he was fun to be around. I didn't think they'd float together until the end of days as a couple, but it was a good way to show kids that, despite Pumpkin's fears, being in a relationship doesn't mean your friends are any less important to you than before.

As always, I found this book to be fun and a good message to kids to be themselves and be happy, ignoring the pressures of their peers to conform to the norms of society. There are always books that do that, but none as well done as this series. It's one thing to say it in a book and another thing to have the character completely embody that idea and show why it's better to be yourself. I think it sends a really positive message.

I would recommend this series to anyone, especially those who like things that go bump in the night. These books are charming and wonderful and, I hope, will also make you want to cry when you reach the end, as I have, and there aren't any more books to read.

May Bird, warrior princess Warrior Princess

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