Leaf's Reviews
Children's, Middle Grade, and Young Adult Book Reviews
Kristina: The Girl King is my very last Royal Diaries book, and I can’t say I’m sad to see the series go. In general, though the series was more historically detailed and more interesting than many of the Dear America books, I found it to be less exciting overall, with the most books full of “random diary entries about food/clothes/lessons.” Honestly, the thing I’ve enjoyed the most about these stories is the epilogue and historical notes at the end.
Anacaona, like Weetamoo, begins with an author’s note that reiterates the non-written communication of the people of the time and gives another interpretation of the pages of this book rather than a traditional diary format. It’s a nice touch and a good lesson on the way Anacaona’s people (the Taíno of early Hispaniola) passed down stories throughout the generations.
Jahanara: Princess of Princesses is at first glance the story of a relatively unknown princess of the Moghul Dynasty. And, due to the rigid and limited roles and customs for women and the fact that Jahanara mentions how a princess of her position doesn’t marry, you might wonder why have a book about this princess at all. But, of course, despite Jahanara’s relative lack of power (she does go on to become an advisor to the emperor) and overall lack of presence in history (only really known as the emperor’s favorite daughter), this book does communicate a great deal about the Moghul dynasty, specifically about Shah Jahan and the Hindu/Muslim clashes. And if you don’t know who Shah Jahan is, just think of the Taj Mahal—he’s the one who constructed it for his wife (the mother of Jahanara).
It’s an odd tonal shift when a book’s entire plot is about a girl excited to marry the person she’s been rhapsodizing about for the entire book, then the epilogue basically drops the tone five octaves and states, “AND SHE REGRETTED IT FOREVER.” But that’s exactly what Elisabeth: The Princess Bride does, detailing Elisabeth, Princess of Bavaria, meeting Franz Joseph I of Austria and the whirlwind courtship that followed, then driving things headlong into the ground with a biting conclusion that basically states that Elisabeth was miserable for the rest of her life. Denenberg tries to include some moments with Archduchess Sophie, presumably to indicate her controlling personality that led to some of the revelations in the epilogue, but he definitely doesn’t do enough to soften that jarring blow, which is the complete opposite in tone to the entire book.
Despite the fact that this series is called “The Royal Diaries,” Weetamoo takes great care to emphasize that this entry shouldn’t be considered a diary in the sense of the word—after all, Weetamoo, a Pocasset (of the Wampanoags), wouldn’t know how to read or write and her people pass down stories orally as opposed to in writing. Instead, the diary entries are more like “thinking sessions,” where Weetamoo sits, observes, thinks, and occasionally etches pictures onto birchbark.
Catherine: The Great Journey describes the early life of Catherine the Great, from princess of Anhalt-Zerbtz (Prussia) to Grand Duchess of Russia, specifically covering the lead-up to her engagement to Peter (Peter III) and her journey to Russia with her mother.
Kazunomiya: Prisoner of Heaven takes place during the tense shogunate, Chained-In-Country/sakoku period, when the shoguns and the Emperor were at odds about opening up Japan to trade with other countries. The subtitle “Prisoner of Heaven” details Princess Kazunomiya’s feelings as being part of “Heaven” (a. k. a. the Imperial court), but completely powerless as she has little say in what goes on.
Lady of Palenque: Flower of Bacal is the most boring book in the Royal Diaries series yet, which is unfortunate because it’s probably the time/place in history that’s one of the least well-known. In fact, Kirwan basically admits in the notes at the end just how much she had to make up, including constructing an entire lineage for the main character (whose real name is unknown, but here has the name of ShanaK’in Yaxchel Pacal, otherwise to history known only by title).
Sŏndŏk, Princess of the Moon and Stars is another typical book in the series, but I found this one a little bit more interesting than normal just because it presented a setting than I’ve read nothing about: ancient Korea. And while the book suffers from that “But did this actually happen?” syndrome as all the early Royal Diaries books do, I thought that this was a plausible and interesting story about what Sŏndŏk’s early life might have been like, and what might have caused her to build the Ch’omsŏngdae Observatory (the oldest remaining astronomical tower).
Eleanor, Crown Jewel of Aquitaine is one of the earlier settings in the series, which is pretty interesting to read about if only to see how the author deals with communicating the time period. And in this regard, Gregory did a passable job, though I’ve always felt that many of the European Royal Diaries all seemed to take place in a similar time period despite taking place centuries apart. It’s probably because the authors fear making it too alien for younger readers, but I think books like Catherine, Called Birdy do a much better job of communicating time period.
Leaf's Reviews 