Princess Academy

I was SO put off by the title but I didn't have time (2 crazy kids) to find something else when I was at the library.  It was really short so I read it and it turned out better than expected.  The story is set in a fictional place about a girl who lives in a tiny village on a mountain where the sole occupation is working in the quarry.  None of the members of the village had ever been down the mountain and they are only vaguely aware of life in the lowlands.  Through some ritual the priests of the country divined that the prince was to choose his bride from among the young girls in the village.  An academy is created for the girls to study for 1 year in order to be properly prepared to meet the prince.  The book is about growing up.  I liked how the main character tries to find the balance between her earthy and simple past and a material and complicated future.  It's definitely written for a younger audience but it's cute and entertaining, and a short read.