The False Prince
In a discontented kingdom, civil war is brewing. To unify the divided people, Conner, a nobleman of the court, devises a cunning plan to find an impersonator of the king's long-lost son and install him as a puppet prince. Four orphans are recruited to compete for the role, including a defiant boy named Sage.
Sage knows that Conner's motives are more than questionable, yet his life balances on a sword point-he must be chosen to play the prince or he will certainly be killed. As Sage's journey continues, layer upon layer of treachery and deceit unfold, until finally a truth is revealed that proves more dangerous than all of the lies put together . . .
Cybil Award for Best Middle Grade Book (2012); Whitney Award for Best Middle Grade Book and Best Overall Youth Book (2012); ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults (2013); National Parenting Publication Award Silver Prize (2012); New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing List (2012); New York Times Notables List (2012); Chicago Public Library's Best of the Best Children's Books (2012); Goodreads Choice Award Finalist (2012); Fuse "Magnificent Books" List (2012); Bankstreet College of Education's "Best Children's Books of the Year" List (2013); YALSA list for Best Fiction for Young Adults (2013); EB White Read-Aloud Award Honor Book (2013); Western Australia Young Readers' Book Award Nomination (2014); Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award (2014);
About the Ascendance Series
Books in series order
- 1.The False Prince(2012)
- 2.The Runaway King(2014)
- 3.The Shadow Throne(2014)
- 4.The Captive Kingdom(2020)
- 5.The Shattered Castle(2021)
Reading age: 9+ years
This series should be read in order.
An extraordinary historical series brimming with danger and action, lies and deadly truths that will engross readers from start to finish.
Sage, an orphaned thief, is one of four boys chosen to participate in a lethal contest. After being plucked from the streets by a nobleman named Connor, Sage learns that Connor plans to choose one of the orphans to impersonate a long-lost prince in the hopes of averting a civil war.
As the boys are remade to enhance their resemblance to the long-lost Prince Jaron, they must compete to assume their new identities as well as the throne. But deceit and treachery face Sage at every turn, and he will learn that a dangerous truth can be more destructive than all of the royal court's lies combined.