The False Prince, Jennifer A. Nelsen

Title: The False Prince
Author: Jennifer A. Nelsen
Publisher: Scholastic
Publishing Date: 2012
Length: 342 pages
Summary: (From book)   In a faraway land, civil war is brewing. To unify his kingdom's divided people, a nobleman named Conner devises a cunning plan to find an impersonator of the king's long-lost song and install him on the throne. 
Four orphan boys are forced to compete for the role, including a defiant and clever boy named Sage. Sage knows that Conner's motives are more than questionable, yet his life balances on one sword point-he must be chose to play the prince or he will certainly be killed.
His rivals will be devising their own plots as well, so Sage must trust no one and keep his thoughts hidden.
As Sage moves from a rundown orphanage to Conner's sumptuous palace, layer upon layer of deceit unfolds, until finally, a truth is revealed that may very well prove more dangerous than all the lies taken together.
My Thoughts:  One, the cover for this book is so pretty. I love a hardbound book and the way the pretty blue reflects light is just happy.  Also the image of the broken crown reminds me of the cover art for The Tennis Shoes Among The Nephites series I loved as a child.
Overall, it was a good read. I love fantasy and am beginning to lean towards trying my hand at that, and the plot was interesting. It made me think a lot about telling the truth and if I would ever be able to live with the strain of living a lie.
I struggled a bit with the author's lack of world building, and wish she had done more to make me feel like I was truly in a different realm. Instead, the book read like any other YA style, but with different names for the countries. I think it would have  been better if she had tried harder to create a culture and believable setting for the story instead of just giving a fantasy map at the beginning and saying, 'there you go.'
Sage, the main character, was quite likable with all his obnoxious talking back and I enjoyed the banter between him and the other characters.
I have always been a bit squeamish where the plot turns the characters against each other, which is why I refuse to read Hunger Games and will forever be scarred by Lord of the Flies,  and this book did have some of those moments. For example, *SPOILER ALERT*  one of the orphan boys was killed off at the very beginning and I was a little bothered by that.
The storyline kept me engaged and interested, but once we reached the big plot twist, the term being used lightly as you can see it coming, I felt like everything fell into place a little too easily. Sage became arrogant in his explaining and the way the book ended wasn't at all practical. This book is the first in the series, and I am curious to see how the author continues with his story. I would like to see more interaction between him and Imogen and more conspiracy plotting in the government.
Things To Be Cautious Of:  *SPOILER ALERTS*
A few beating scenes, nothing extremely violent. Mention of murder (poison) and hired assassins, one boy is killed at the beginning after being told he can be let free and used as an example to the other captives.
What I Learned:  I could never live my life knowing it was all fake and I rant way too much on this blog. :)