The False Prince is a young adult novel by Jennifer Nielsen which revolves around a plot to put an impostor of the throne to save the kingdom of Carthya. Sage is a fourteen year-old orphan who stole a roast from a local butcher, but is saved by a nobleman named Belvin Conner. Conner is visiting different orphanages and buying teenage boys who resemble the missing prince Jaron, heir to the throne of the kingdom of Carthya. Conner is a minor regent of those who work for and with the king. The queen and their oldest son were murdered by pirates. Conner is trying to stop Carthya from falling into a civil war. He, therefore, creates a plan by using one out of the four orphans he bought so that they could stop the path heading to war. Jaron has been missing for years and everyone thinks that he, too, was murdered along with his mother and older brother. Over the next two weeks, Sage and 2 other orphans compete against each other to become Conner's choice as the "prince". There were only 3 because 1 was killed by one of Conner's servants. By the end of the two weeks, Sage is chosen to be the impostor, but Sage prevents Conner from killing his other 2 opponents. Sage reveals that he is the real prince, not just an impostor, stunning everyone around him, including Conner and those who work for/with the king. Later, it is revealed that Conner was the reason of the death of the royal family and lead the pirate attack to killing Sage, or Prince Jaron. Conner is arrested and Jaron takes his rightful place to the throne as the KING of the kingdom of Carthya.
One of the main themes in this book is to never trust anyone, good or bad. In this novel, Latamer, an orphan that was bought by Conner, is killed because he trusted Conner, Latamer making his way to the wagon that brought them to where they were, but Conner had one of his servants hidden behind a bush, ready to take his life away. "An arrow whooshed passed me and pierced his chest. Latamer yelped like a wounded dog and fell backward on the ground, dead." (22) Another example is when Conner had a plan that could get the chosen orphan killed for treason. Chosen or not, they could get killed. The orphans that weren't chosen were most likely to get killed because they knew too much of Conner's plan. If the chosen "prince" were to get caught as a fake, they would also be killed. "Two weeks, boys. Pray you're the one i choose," (39) was all Conner had said when one of the boys asked what were to happen to the two other boys that weren't chosen. "He would choose his winner in the two weeks, and most likely, the other two boys would follow Latamer's fate at the same time." (39) My last example is that Conner turned out to be the one responsible for the royal family's death. He tried to kill Prince Jaron and yet, Sage went along with his plan knowing what Conner did. Immediately after Jaron announced Conner's crimes, taking Conner by surprise, Conner intended to kill him, but Jaron was too clever for his traps. "Conner shook his head, then his eyes darted left, and he thrusts his hand inside his jacket. "As I always said, Sage, If i go down, so do you!" (337) "I released the cuff of my sleeve, and a knife he had hidden in his jacket fell into my hands." (337) Conner and Sage both made mistakes for trusting each other. If you trust people easily, they might take it for granted, so you have to make them earn it, not just give it away. As quoted by Stephen King, "the trust of the innocent is the liar's most useful tool".
The False Prince is a very interesting book that i would recommend to my friends because of its unique plot. A person who loves clever thinking, kings, queens, palace's, kingdoms, or anything from the medieval times would enjoy this novel. This book is book one in the trilogy. The book is filled with danger, deceit, and hidden identities. It is a very adventurous story that includes dangerous actions, lies, and deadly truths revealed that are unexpected. The sequence of the trilogy, Ascendance Trilogy, goes The False Prince, The Runaway King, and The Shadow Throne. Underworld Chronicles is another trilogy by the same author that may be of interest for readers who like books such as Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter. The books included in this trilogy are Elliot and the Goblin War, Elliot and the Pixie Plot, and Elliot and the Last Underworld War. I recommend that you read this novel (The False Prince) and join in on the excitement of learning how to be a prince though out the story!
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