chock full of alluring details for adventure-loving boys.' - Los Angeles Times* 'Sage is deftly characterized through humorous first-person narration, quickly establishing himself as a beguiling antihero. Sage is a quick wit, and Nielsen showcases it with terrific dialogue. Praise for The False Prince:A New York Times Notable Children's BookA Publishers Weekly Best Book of the YearWinner of the Cybils Award for Middle-Grade Fantasy & Science Fiction'A page turner.' - New York Times Book Review'Sage proves to be a compelling character whose sharp mind and shrewd self-possession will make readers eager to follow him into a sequel.' - Wall Street Journal'This kickoff to her new 'Ascendance Trilogy' is a swashbuckling origin story. And don't miss the highly anticipated fourth book in the series, The Captive Kingdom, coming October 2020! But Sage's rivals have their own agendas as well.As Sage moves from a rundown orphanage to Conner's sumptuous palace, layer upon layer of treachery and deceit unfold, until finally, a truth is revealed that, in the end, may very well prove more dangerous than all of the lies taken together. Sage knows that Conner's motives are more than questionable, yet his life balances on a sword's point - he must be chosen to play the prince or he will certainly be killed. Four orphans are recruited to compete for the role, including a defiant boy named Sage. To unify the divided people, Conner, a nobleman of the court, devises a cunning plan to find an impersonator of the king's long-lost son and install him as a puppet prince. In a discontented kingdom, civil war is brewing.

New York Times bestseller The False Prince thrills with wild twists and turns, danger and deceit, and the revelation of hidden identities that will have readers rushing breathlessly to the end.

The false prince series