Star Ratings Quiz Quiz Answers 1 A garlin

Star Ratings

Quiz

Quiz Answers 1. A garlin 2. Drylliad 3. Mrs. Turbeldy 4. The gold rock 5. Rubies 6. He spit on it 7. Cregan 8. A fippler 9. Rolled a coin over his knuckle 10. Threw it in the river 11. Tavern at Pyrth 12. Tobias – Beg mercy Roden – Fight to the death Sage – Beg mercy, then finish the battle when opponent lowered his guard

The Author: Jennifer A. Nielsen - Jennifer lives at the base of a very tall mountain in Northern Utah with her husband, three children, and a perpetually muddy dog. She loves the smell of rainy days, hot chocolate, and old books, preferably all at once. At one time or another she has been a high school debate coach, theater director, daycare worker, and worked at an assembly of odd jobs so insignificant they didn't even deserve job titles. - Her first attempt to write a full length story was in 6 th grade

• Jennifer has also written “The Underworld Chronicles” series, and the sixth book of the “Infinity Ring” series. • The False Prince is the first book in the Ascendance Trilogy. The second book, The Runaway King, was released in March 2013. The tentative release date for the 3 rd book is March 2014. • Bryan Cogman, who is the executive story editor on HBO’s Game of Thrones, has been hired to adapt The False Prince for Paramount Pictures.

• If you have the audio-book version, there is an interview with the author about the book at the end • She gives insights into the characters, places in the book, and what is to come in the next books.

Map

Characters

The 3 Contestants Sage – The headstrong orphan boy, from whose perspective the story is told. • Jennifer said that “a major influence for this story came from the music of Eddy Vedder and one of his greatest songs, “Guaranteed. ” From his line “I knew all the rules, but the rules did not know me, ” Sage was born. • Jennifer borrowed traits from two of her students in her high school debate class for Sage – one was popular, brilliant, and relentlessly mischievous. He could steal that watch off a person’s wrist without their knowing and would return it later, usually to their embarrassment. The other was a student who had the ability to roll a coin over his knuckles.

Roden Was larger and tanned. He had gone along with Conner willingly from his orphanage. He said he was left on the steps of the orphanage in Benton when he was a baby, and had no idea who his parents were or anything about them. He had never left Benton until Conner came for him. He was Cregan’s favorite of the candidates, and when he was not chosen, became part of Cregan’s plan to defy Conner.

Tobias – Was the last orphan picked up by Conner. He was tall, and unusually thin. He had been raised by his father, and then by his grandmother after his father’s death, then was sent to the orphanage after her death. He was well educated, and given perks in the orphanage since he was the most likely to make a success of his life. He became overconfident in his chances of becoming the prince, and wrote notes of a plan to kill Conner after becoming the prince, and was discovered.

Conner and his Servants Sir Bevin Conner – One of the 20 regents to the king. He had inherited the position from his father. He believed that the King was ruining Carthya, so came up with a plot to kill the royal family, then train up an orphan boy to impersonate the lost prince and take over the throne, with Conner as his advisor.

Mott – Described as being tall, lean, muscular, dark -skinned and nearly bald. He was a servant of Conner’s, but Conner didn’t own him. He came to work for Conner, since his father had worked for Conner’s father. Conner was the master of the group, but Mott was the one who kept things running. He believed in Conner and was loyal to him, until he found out the truth about Jaron, and then was loyal to his prince.

Cregan – Described as being short, surprisingly pale for a man who spent much time outdoors, and had a thick crop of blond hair tied at the nape of his neck. Was one of Conner’s main servants, but ended up betraying him with a plan of his own.

Errol – The servant assigned to Sage. He is described as having boyish features, having a bit of curl in his light blond hair, and looking elf-like. He came to serve Conner when he was 10 to work off his family’s debts. Master Graves and Mistress Havala – The boys’ tutors

Imogen – A member of Conner’s kitchen staff. Her mother had refused Conner’s proposal, so Conner raised her family’s rent. When her family became in debt to him, he took Imogen as a servant to work off the debt. Rumor has it that Conner intended to marry her when she came of age, but didn’t because she was a “mute” - she pretended to be a mute at Conner’s estate.

The Royal Family • King Eckbert – The king of Carthya. Avoided war at all costs. • Queen Erin – was from a humble background, and met Eckbert when she was working in a tavern. He fell in love with her, and married her despite the controversy that she was not from a noble family. • Crown Prince Darius – The older of the two princes. Was next in line for the throne, and was to marry Princess Amarinda. • Prince Jaron – The younger of the two princes. Was known for being mischievous and defiant. He was sent away to be educated in another country when his ship was attacked

Princess Amarinda – • the beautiful Princess of Bultain. She is the niece of the King of Bymar, so Eckbert arranged a marriage between her and his son to forge an alliance. She greatly admired Prince Darius.

Discussion Questions

1. There is a theme of “the end justifies the means” throughout the book. In these examples (or any other ones you would like to bring up), do you agree with this statement?

• Conner having the Royal family killed, killing Latimer, planning on killing the two boys not chosen for his prince, lying to the royal court in order to save the country? • The King, after discovering Jaron was alive, making the choice to leave Jaron to live as an orphan boy in order to save Jaron’s life/have a member of the royal family survive if there was an attack on them? Apparently not telling his wife that their son survived? • Sage lying to a worried Amarinda about not knowing if the royal family had been killed, not telling her who he was? Sage not telling Imogen who he really was although she trusted him with her greatest secret?

2. What are the most powerful motivators for human behavior? What motivates different characters in the book?

3. How did the characters of Tobias and Roden evolve throughout the novel?

4. Did you guess the twist in the story coming before it was revealed? What foreshadowing or other clues in the text did you see?

5. The book is written in first person from Sage/Jaron’s perspective, although written carefully so that the twist is not revealed until later in the book. When thinking back to earlier in the novel, what are some moments where you wonder what Sage was really thinking/feeling after you know Sage’s true identity?

6. What did you think about Sage/Jaron as a character? Do you think he did a good job with the delicate balancing game of making sure he was chosen as the one to be the prince, while not having Conner suspect his true identity?

7. What do you think about Jaron’s relationships with members of his family: His father? His mother? His brother?

8. Do you think Jaron has an easier time forgiving Tobias and Roden from the times they turned on him, than he does forgiving his own family for sending him away/abandoning him as an orphan? Why or why not?

9. The opening line in the book is about how Sage would not have chosen this life. He doesn’t seem content with either of his “identities”. What kind of life do you think would suit him the best?

10. What do you think will become of Imogen, now that she is no longer a servant? Do you think any kind of relationship will continue with Jaron and Imogen in the rest of the series?

11. In the book, King Eckbert decides to marry Erin for love, despite the fact that it caused controversy that she was not a noble. Do you think it was hypocritical of him to arrange a marriage for his son based on political alliances?

12. Are there any elements of this story that reminded you of other books/stories?

Favorite Quotes “My father said a person can be educated and still be stupid, and a wise man can have no education at all. ” - Sage “…a strong heart will always overcome a strong body. ” - Mott “If you can’t give anyone pain, you can’t give them joy either. ” - Roden

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