The Books of Bayern and Why You Should Read Them.

Some of you may have seen that title and thought, ‘The books of Bayern? What the heck is that?’ I’m so glad you asked.

The books of Bayern is arguably the first real fantasy series I ever read. (I’m not counting Harry Potter) It’s a four book series written by Shannon Hale, the first book being called The Goose Girl. It starts out as a fairytale retelling, and as the series goes on it digs into more of the world Hale created in the first book. 

My mom gave me The Goose Girl when I was young-ish. Somewhere between seven and ten. I read it in two days. I also forgot about the bookmark in it when I put it on the shelf and now it’s irreparably bent, but oh well. I didn’t know that it was a series until my mom brought me the next three books from goodwill a few years later, and I devoured those just as fast as the first one. Now, I am an avid reader and I’ve read a lot of books quickly. But the Books of Bayern is a series that I consistently recommend to just about everyone who asks for books. Why? 

Because it’s amazing! Shannon Hale has a writing style unlike anything I’ve ever encountered to this day. Her storytelling capabilities are incredible. She opts for a more drawn-back narrative, describing action in short sentences rather than a few paragraphs. It’s easy to miss something if you read too fast –something I realized when I reread it a few months ago. But her rich description makes it all worth it. 

When I picked the book back up for a book club (incidentally, I’d been the one to pick that book) and started to read it again, I was shocked. Shocked that I’d left the book sitting on the shelf for this long. It draws you in with the first sentence: “She was born Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee, Crown Princess of Kildenree, and she did not open her eyes for three days.” 

The story leads us into a world where there once were three gifts: people-speaking, animal-speaking, and nature-speaking. The last has been lost, the second considered strange, and the first nearly unfindable. Anidori’s aunt from the forest teaches the awkward, quiet princess the gift of animal-speaking when she’s very young, and it is both a refuge and a curse for her. 

The true magic of this book is that it doesn’t feel like magic. It feels like a real, believable system of powers that could happen to any of us. You are completely immersed in Hale’s world and you don’t want to leave it.

Nature powers, princesses on their way to a foreign country, devious servants, and “country life” taken to another level. If that’s not enough to convince you to read the book, I don’t know what is. And did I mention that there’s three more books? Each book follows a different character –but not without the original characters. Anidori is quite present in the sequel, Enna Burning, which follows Ani’s friend Enna. The book after that is River Secrets, following a boy named Razo, another of Ani and Enna’s friends. And the book after that, my personal favorite (though I think you either love this one or don’t) Forest Born. 

These four books are tied up so wonderfully in the conclusion, the plot woven together like the words Hale spins into rivers and paintings. 

To be honest, if I was stranded on a desert island and could only have ONE book with me, it would be Enna Burning. Yes, I know I’ve been talking about the Goose Girl this whole time, but if you think that one’s good, just wait till you get to the sequel. In conclusion, go read the books! They are 100% worth your time, and you should definitely check them out 😁