Rating: Not for me

Reading Level: Early Elementary

Most might consider this to be a sweet rags-to-riches Cinderella-type story. A demand is made of a prince to marry, the prince falls in love with the humble dressmaker instead of any of the beautiful, rich candidates.

Possible concerns:

  • Marriage without consent? Lotta gets married when she is half-asleep. She never really gave consent. The author posits the whole experience like a dream, but it would have been much better if the footman had made sure she was in her right mind before they took on vows. That said, there are certainly hints that she likes him (e.g., her heart is heavy when she realizes he will leave soon).
  • Superficiality. The prince’s condition for a girl to be a candidate is that she must be 19.5 years old and she must have a 19.5 inch waste. No more and no less. This seems to reinforce Barbie dimensions.
  • Trickery. The prince undermines his aunt’s authority because he doesn’t want to marry any of the candidates. He is right to not marry someone just because his aunt wishes him to do so, but he still disobeys and tricks her nonetheless.

If these don’t bother you then this is a sweet little tale about a brilliant, hard-working, obedient young dressmaker being rescued from a verbally abusive employer and marrying her friend.