For most of the book she can't speak a word and can't use her magic and can't take that darn bowl off her head. This wondrously impossible story wouldn't work without a hero like Princess Shiori. Everything seems possible and wondrously impossible at once. It doesn't seem odd that prince-cranes are fleeing dragons or a princess with a bowl on her head has a snake for a stepmother. It's clear that author Elizabeth Lim is passionate about all the stories she weaves together in Six Crimson Cranes, from Hans Christian Andersen's 'The Wild Swans' to the myth of Chang E the Moon Goddess. She works hard to make amends when she realizes she's hurt someone.įans of myths, folktales, dragons, and magic will fall for this East Asian-inspired fantasy and its strong-willed princess, Shiori.

She will sacrifice anything for her family and goes through many trials to save them. Shiori is the kind of female hero that commands attention, even though through most of Six Crimson Cranes she's not permitted to speak a word aloud. There's some mild romance and talk of kissing, and adults drink some plum wine. A person close to Shiori dies, and there's much talk of the loss of her mother when she was young. Someone's nearly burned at the stake, another takes an arrow to the neck, a soldier is run through with a sword, and another soldier is poisoned. She's surrounded by some violence and death. While under her curse she's regularly harassed and hit, gets pierced with needles, attacked by wolves, and thrown in jail. The main character is a cursed princess named Shiori who will sacrifice anything to save her brothers. Parents need to know that Six Crimson Cranes, by Elizabeth Lim ( The Blood of Stars duology), is a compelling fantasy based on Hans Christian Andersen's 'The Wild Cranes' with elements of Chinese and Japanese folklore and myths mixed in. Wine is given as sacrifice to gods.ĭid you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Six cranes