The Constant Princess

My first Philippa Gregory book ever was The Constant Princess, the tale of Catherine of Aragon before she married Henry VIII. It tells of Catherine as Catalina, the Infanta of Spain, only to become Catherine upon her marriage to Arthur, Prince of Wales. Arthur, Henry's older brother who was to become king. Arthur, the prince who became sickly and died too soon. 

Catherine of Aragon is my least favorite of Henry VIII's wives [yes, I have them ranked. ish. Don't judge.], or at least bottom two. It's like a feel bad for her, but I don't feel her the way I feel some of the others. I don't believe this is due to Gregory's writing, but just Catherine herself. 

The Constant Princess does introduce us to a new side of Catherine, a younger Catherine. She is a desperate widow, heartbroken by Arthur's death, abandoned by her father, abandoned by England. And so, she must take her fate into her own hands: she must fight for what she wants, she must fight to become the Queen of England, as she was meant to be.  

If you're interested in Henry VIII, Historical Fiction, or Philippa Gregory at all, this book is worth the read. You'll like it. 

The Wide-Awake Princess #2: Unlocking the Spell

ED Baker introduces us to a new kind of princess in her Wide-Awake Princess series.  This princess is named Annie, and she is unaffected by magic.  She can't be "magicked" beautiful, like other princesses, but she also can't be placed under any magic spells. And when Annie gets too close to someone, their magic starts to fade. 

Unlocking the Spell is the second in the series, but it is fairly easy to read as a stand alone. I didn't read the first one, but I could put enough together (context clues!) to understand and enjoy this novel. 

I enjoyed Unlocking the Spell for its morals and lessons.  Princess Annie isn't a traditional princess. And that's okay. Her sister is a traditional princess: girly, a bit of a priss, and beautiful. And that's okay too. Growing up, they weren't necessarily friends, but throughout this novel, they learn a lot about each other and grow closer together on their quest. There's other nice lessons to be learned from this novel. It's great. 

Written on about a 4th-5th grade reading level, I would recommend this to upper elementary readers (and their parents!). However, it was still enjoyable for me, much more enjoyable than other books I've read with students at that level! It's also nice that the princesses are older, so for an older-yet-struggling-reader, it doesn't seem like a baby book. I highly recommend this book and I'm going to give my copy to Jordyn. I hope she likes it! If not, I'm sure my mom will :) 

*I won this novel from Goodreads FirstReads. All opinions expressed are my own.

Of Two Minds & More Minds

Carol Matas and Perry Nodelman's Of Two Minds and More Minds, the sequel, are about Princess Lenora and her betrothed, Coren, while Lenora's stubbornness takes them on an adventure. I read these, and liked them better, when I was younger, but they're still a fun quick read with a good moral. These are best for upper elementary/middle school readers both in level and demographic. Happy reading! 

Prince Across the Water

Also in the Stuart Series is Prince Across the Water. It takes place in Scotland, of course, and tells the tale of a young boy who sneaks off and joins their equivalent of an army to fight for the "Bonnie Prince Charlie" in order to restore his father, James Stuart III "The Old Pretender" to the joint English and Scottish throne. He had been replaced by his sister, Mary, and her husband, William of Orange. 

Unfortunately, I hadn't read anything about this throne/succession problem before, and Yolen didn't really explain it well enough for me. So heaven knows a (pre)teen would have no clue what the Scots were fighting for in the first place. Same as Queen's Own Fool, I enjoyed the book, albeit less than others, but would not recommend it to non-nerdy youth. And how many youth are historical fiction nerdy? So while it did make me want to read about the royal Stuart family and the Orange succession, I didn't really find Prince Across the Water to be a complete success. However, the story of the prince was background to the story of the young boy, so from that perspective, it was pretty good. So, mixed feelings. I don't regret reading it, but I'm not certain I would recommend it.

Queen's Own Fool

As ya'll know, I'm a fool for historical fiction, and I'm kind of on a YA FIC kick.

Also, I love Jane Yolen. 

The Devil's Arithmetic? My favorite Passover book.

Briar Rose? So creative! I love the mix of fairy tale with the Holocaust.

I used to read a lot of Holocaust novels.

Turns out, I've actually read this book before. I still enjoyed it though.

I wouldn't really recommend it to a kid who struggles with reading, but it's a great  book for a nerd like me. Mary Queen of Scots? She's a total powerhouse. I've read non-fiction about her! So yeah, Queen's Own Fool was great. Not my favorite Yolen, but still a good read!