Books with title Boots and the Glass Mountain

Mariska could not be happier. Living an almost fairy‑tale life, she is popular, adored by her parents, and is engaged to be married to the most attractive man in her village. But her world is torn when war approaches the peaceful village of Bakshami. Mariska risks everything she has in order to search for her parents who left to negotiate and find peace. With a young warrior as her companion, she travels beyond the safety of her village. Together they search for Mariska’s parents and peace for their village in a time of terrible uncertainty.

Mariska could not be happier. Living an almost fairy‑tale life, she is popular, adored by her parents, and is engaged to be married to the most attractive man in her village. But her world is torn when war approaches the peaceful village of Bakshami. Mariska risks everything she has in order to search for her parents who left to negotiate and find peace. With a young warrior as her companion, she travels beyond the safety of her village. Together they search for Mariska’s parents and peace for their village in a time of terrible uncertainty.

Mariska couldn-t be happier. Living an almost fairy-tale life, she is popular, adored by her parents, and is engaged to be married to the most attractive man in her village. But her world is torn when war approaches the peaceful village of Bakshami. Mariska risks everything she has in order to search for her parents who left to negotiate and find peace. With a young warrior as her companion, she travels beyond the safety of her village. Together they search for Mariska-s parents and peace for their village in a time of terrible uncertainty.

Good King Merek, of the kingdom of Megonset, had a problem. Despicable Prince Lugaid of the Principality of Gherran had his eyes set on marrying his lovely daughter, Princess Perpetua. By marrying her Lugaid would become Prince Consort. From this lofty position, with a little guile and a lot of subterfuge he planed to take over the kingdom. He had settled on subterfuge only because he didn’t think he could do it by force. His goal in life was to unite Megonset and Gherran under his rule. As for Princess Perpetua, she was of marrying age but she wouldn’t marry anyone. With that attitude Prince Lugaid saw his chance to force a marriage of convenience with the princess. He would use his advantage as a Sovereign Prince and his knowledge of the kingdom’s laws to force the issue. He knew the royal family couldn’t resist him.One day the royal family and the Prince had an unpleasant meeting where Lugaid all but demanded to marry Perpetua. When the meeting ended a very upset Perpetua ran from the castle to take refuge in one of her favorite places, the royal stables. There she met Lad, a young man who handled the horse Prince Lugaid had given her father as a present that morning. As time passed they discovered they enjoyed one another’s company and so met again and again. A relationship blossomed.King Merek had to find a way to say no to the Prince’s ambitions without insulting him. To insult him would never do and might potentially be dangerous. He had to find an answer. The solution came to him one morning after a dream. In the middle of the night before he had gone to the castle kitchen to satisfy his sweet tooth. There, his chef Maximillian created a rich chocolate dessert and he ate every spoonful. When he returned to bed he fell into a deep sleep and dreamt of a turbulent chocolate sea from which rose a small crystal dome that turned into a glass mountain. Eventually he and caramelized sugar knights appeared and charged up its sides. After sweeping the sugar knights away, the King also dropped into the sea of chocolate. The next morning he thought that was it. He’d have a contest. He’d build a glass mountain and knights would try to ride up it to win his daughter’s hand in marriage. To create a more flamboyant event he thought they should have to collect something from her and decided on golden apples. Perpetua could toss golden apples to those that got close enough to the top. The knight that won them would be the winner and the entire kingdom would enjoy the show. If you wanted to marry his daughter, you would have to compete.Queen Mildred thought the idea completely crazy and blamed it on indigestion. It did seem crazy yet it also appeared straightforward. The King and his Prime Minister Fendrel had an agenda. You see the mountain was to be made so no one could win. Without a winner everyone was safe. This would force Prince Lugaid into a competition he couldn’t win and with no other winners his ambitions would be thwarted. It would also give Princess Perpetua a chance to marry the man she chose. The only drawback was that the contest would have to be held every year until she married.It was during preparations for the contest that problems began. Together, Prime Minister Fendrel and the King decided to search out Valvazor who lived across the Mandragore Meadow next to the dark Thraxhandleberry Forest. They needed his help. It was at this point, unbeknown to them, that things began to unravel. Princess Perpetua and Lad continued to meet; Prince Lugaid was not duped by the contest and devised a way to cheat so he could win. The Prince suspected Lad was seeing someone at the royal palace so confined him to empty stables during the contest. And Valvazor, the friend and helper of everyone, well he often turns up in unexpected places. And as Prime Minister Fendrel tells King Merek, “Things are not always what they seem.”