Fairest

Fairest is a 2006 novel by Gail Carson Levine. It is based on the story of Snow White and set in the same world as Ella Enchanted. Aza, the adopted daughter of innkeepers in Ayortha, has always hated her appearance. Her prodigious size and her odd coloring — milk-white skin, blood-red lips, and hair that seems to be sooty black — often make her the target of stares and rude comments. Be that as it may, Aza's voice garners as much attention as her looks, for Ayortha is a land of song, and Aza is a superb singer. But besides being skilled at singing, Aza can also flawlessly mimic people and throw her voice without moving her mouth, a form of ventriloquism she calls "illusing". While Aza's illusing begins as a simple trick to entertain herself and her family, it acts as a catalyst for her adventures in the book. When the Duchess of Olixo, a irritable guest at the Featherbed Inn, requests that Aza accompany her to the royal wedding, the new queen, Ivi, discovers Aza's gift and manipulates her. As Ivi cannot sing well, she offers to reward Aza with land and riches for her family as well as elevation to the rank of lady-in-waiting in exchange for Aza illusing a voice for her when she needs to sing; when Aza tries to refuse, Ivi threatens to imprison her and close her family's inn. Soon after Aza reluctantly accepts Ivi's offer, the castle is thrown into turmoil when the King is terribly wounded during a sporting event. Aza is caught in the midst of Ivi's power-hungry plotting, the affection of the king's nephew Crown Prince Ijori, the suspicions of the choirmaster Uellu, and her own increasing desperation to become beautiful, a desperation which grows so strong that she ultimately drinks a beauty potion created by Skulni, the mysterious creature living in Ivi's magic mirror. With the country on the verge of revolt, the inevitable discovery of Aza and Ivi's singing deception leaves Aza fleeing for her life when a jealous Ivi leads to Aza being branded a dangerous ogre. Exi