Teen Review: The Royal Diaries: Kaiulani The People's Princess Hawaii 1889

Teen Reviewer Elizabeth Grabowski, 12, read and enjoyed Kaiulani: The People's Princess, Hawaii 1889 by Ellen Emerson White. Kaiulani is part of The Royal Diaries series.This historical fiction follows the life of Victoria Kaiulani Cleghorn from 1889-1893 as studies to be the best princess she can be. Meanwhile the throne and the Hawaiian Monarchy is being threatened by some very evil American businessmen. 

Elizabeth found Kaiulani: The People's Princess both entertaining and informative. 

"The Royal Diaries series is really cool because it tells the stories of the lives of a ton of different princesses. And the one about Princess Kaiiulani is really cool to me because my dad went to Hawaii and reading that book tells me more about the scenery, plants, and animals there. It is also cool because I got to learn more about the last princess of Hawaii. I would totally recommend this book to people because it is interesting historical fiction."--Elizabeth Grabowski.

Elizabeth recommends Kaiulani: The People's Princess for teens 15 and younger.

The Kingdom of Little Wounds

A mysterious and deadly illness is plaguing the royal family of Skyggenhavn. 

On the eve of doomed Princess Sophia's nuptials to a man more than twice her age, royal seamstress Ava Bingen accidentally pricks Queen Isabel with a needle during a routine gown repair. Servants have been put to death for far lesser crimes, so when she is exiled to the dungeons, Ava doesn't believe she will live to see the dawn. Ava is unexpectedly rescued (fortunately or unfortunately? you be the judge) by Count Nicolas, a frivolous and devious man infamous for hiding his jewels in the oddest of places. The Count offers Ava a proposition: In lieu of death, she will be sent into the royal nursery as a spy in hopes that she will uncover a plot against the crown. It is here she meets the angsty mute nurse Midi Sorte. At first the girls are suspicious of each other, but soon they form an odd alliance. They do solve the mystery of who is plotting against the royal family. And, in doing so, also forge better lives for themselves.

The Kingdom of Little Wounds by Susan Cokal is one of this year's Printz Award contenders. The story is awesome and beautifully written, and it's easy to see how it came to be an award winner. However, a warning: There are some seriously gross plot elements, such as detailed discriptions of disease (festering puss and all), multiple accounts of Count Nicolas' "odd" habits (eww!), and the humiliating deeds Ava and Midi are forced to perform for the pleasure and entertainment of the court. So if you have a weak stomach, maybe this one isn't for you. Otherwise, definitely check it out. This one's fantastic!

p.s. Due to mature content, this book is recommend for 9th grade and up.

--AJB

Cloaked

Best known for her literary hit Beastly (which inspired a movie a few years ago), Alex Flinn continues her streak of fairy tale re-mixes with Cloaked, a mash-up of The Frog Prince, The Elves and the Shoemaker, and a handfull of random obscurities originally penned by Grimm and Anderson. Unfortunately, this book boasts too many bits and pieces of interwoven fairy tale plots and not enough originality. And the story suffers for it: Characters (even main ones) are never fully fleshed out, bad guys don't feel threatening, romance lacks chemistry, and the ending wraps up too neatly--even for a fairy tale. The concept for the story is a good one. Unfortunately, the execution falls flat. Fans of Beastly will be disappointed, and fairy tale connoisseurs will feel short-changed. 

In Cloaked, we meet Johnny, a teenage shoe repairman (and closet shoe designer) who works at a fancy Florida hotel. When a visiting princess recruits him to go on a mission to rescue her brother, who has been transformed into a frog, Johnny accepts. Armed with a magic cloak that transports its wearer anywhere they desire, an earpiece that allows communication with transformed animals, and a magic ring, Johnny, accompanied by his friend Meg, go in search of said frog. They encounter a tedious amount of fairy tale and magical creatures and situations before finally rescuing the prince and returning him to the safety of his family. In the end, Johnny (rather predictably) gets the girl, convinces the thuggish bad guy to do the right thing, finds his missing father, and lands a $$$ contract to sell his shoe designs. And they all live happily ever after.  

Alex Flinn has a new book coming out later this month. A retelling of Rapunzel. I liked what Disney did with this particular tale, so have high hopes for Flinn's interpretation. Hopefully, she'll go back to what she did with Beastly and focus on modernizing a single tale rather than making an overstuffed mashup of many. --AJB 

Girl of Fire and Thorns

Think your parents, teachers, boss have high expectations of you? Doing well in your classes, showing up for work on time, being nice to your little brother (or sister)... This is nothing compared to what's expected of Princess Elisa, the main character of Rae Carson's Girl of Fire and Thorns.

Princess Elisa is born with a magical gemstone in her navel, a sign prophecized to mean its bearer is destined for greatness. But Elisa--lazy, whiny, and completely naive about the world outside the palace walls--doesn't feel very heroic. In fact, the most daring deed she's ever performed is to sneak into the palace kitchens to steal pastries. Then on her sixteenth birthday, she is secretly married off to a neighboring king as part of a political contract between the two kingdoms. Her new husband hopes she will be instrumental in an upcoming war. Then shortly after the wedding, Elisa is kidnapped by a band of rebels who live deep within the desert. These people hope that, as the Chosen One, Elisa can save them. But how can Elisa help anyone when she can't even find the courage to help herself?

Girl of Fire and Thorns is an absorbing fantasy-adventure and a great coming-of-age story. Throughout the course of the story, Elisa does a lot of growing up, and it's refreshing to see her transformation from a spoiled princess to a courageous young woman. This is only the first in the planned trilogy, so there's more to come. If you enjoy books by Tamora Pierce and Alison Croggon, you'll like Girl of Fire and Thorns. --AJB