Extraordinary: A Story of an Ordinary Princess by Cassie Anderson
Each of Princess Basil’s sisters were blessed with extraordinary talents at birth by fairies. Whether it’s beauty, music, dancing, or humor, they each have something that draws people in. Then there’s Basil, who feels cursed because she was doomed to receive a blessing from a grouchy fairy. Her blessing? To be 100% ordinary. Her family have tried everything they could think of to spruce her up, but she always ends up feeling useless and ignored. Everything changes when Basil decides to hunt down the fairy who blessed her with being ordinary, leading her on a quest to become extraordinary.
This is such a sweet story about a princess who is ordinary and feels left out and looked over. However, it turns out that being ordinary is not such a bad thing because Basil holds her fate in her hands instead of having it chosen for her. I think sends a great message to kids because it’s real easy to feel left out, ordinary, and even dumb. However, what people see doesn’t define you and you’re just as special as anyone else. You just have to find what makes you feel great and shine.
While most of the characters are one dimensional, we do see some character development for Basil and her new friend, Hudson. I wasn’t expecting a super detailed and deep as this is a story aimed for kids middle school age and younger. That said, I do think there was a good amount of character development and world building that’s not overwhelming for the age group this is meant for. I do have a few questions, but they aren’t anything that the intended audience will have after reading.
Overall, I enjoyed the story as well as the artwork. I also enjoyed the concept art in addition to seeing the original few pages of the story that eventually lead to this novel. I think this is a great book for kids, especially any kid that feels like they don’t fit in due to their appearance or abilities compared to their peers.
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