Princess Academy Family

Miri desperately loves her family in Princess Academy, but she often feels like she's left out. Her older sister, Marda, gets to help out in the quarries, but Miri doesn't—and she feels as though she is the only person in the village who isn't contributing. Miri eventually finds out that her father keeps her from working in the quarries because she looks like her mother, who died after a quarry accident, and he is haunted by the memory of this incident. In other words, like most other families, Miri and hers have their misunderstandings, but in the end really love each other.

Questions About Family

1. How come Miri's father never tells her about why he doesn't want her working in the quarry?
2. Do Miri and Magda feel competitive with each other? Why or why not?
3. What do you think of Britta's lie about her family being dead? Do you think it was a valid reason to lie about being an orphan?
4. How does Miri know that her father loves her?

Chew on This

Miri feels as though her family does not respect or want to include her, but in the end she finds out that they are just trying to protect her from getting hurt because they love her.

Britta is lonely because she comes to the academy as a supposed orphan, but she develops a little mountain family through her friendships with the other girls, especially Miri.