This Intermediate novel by Eva Ibbotson breaks the rules. It begins in the adults' point of view. They will miss their beloved Tilly when she's gone! Tilly, the main character, never seems to have problems of her own. She just takes on everyone else's problem. And I'm not really sure if Tilly or Prince Karil is really the protagonist. Tilly doesn't change, but Prince Karil does. Still this book set during WWII is engrossing, as Tilly and her friends smuggle the prince out his tiny country and away from Hitler's clutches. It reminded me of THE SILVER SWORD, a book I read over and over and over again as a child.
I stayed up late to finish it, even though I was fighting a cold--a bad choice health-wise. But when I was done, I did realize that though I admired Tilly, and I enjoyed sharing her adventure with her prince, I felt distant from her. That was the risk of running around in other people's POV for a good part of the book. But I'm not sure kids would care.
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