Release Date: January 1, 2002
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers
Pages: 240
Received: Library
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers
Pages: 240
Received: Library
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
I'll declare my allegiance here and now, I am 100% Team Katherine. I loathe Anne (even if she does spell it with an e). I can't help but feel a sense of smug righteousness whenever it comes time for Anne to lose her head in whatever story I'm reading or watching (including this one).
Carolyn Meyer wrote Anne in a way where even my hard heart softened for her enough to feel a smidgen of pity. The girl sure did have a crappy family. Plus, I couldn't help but admire her drive to set the bar high and make it happen. But even a first person narrative (albeit a distant, cool, and not particularly exciting first person narrative) could not make me come around to Team Anne.
This account is short, (not so) sweet, and to the point. Anne talks a lot about wanting to be queen and she does sound determined, but there isn't a whole lot of meat to this tale and Carolyn Meyer really doesn't dig into the politics of the time. It's a good introduction and it's so short that Tudor fans really can't lose by adding this to their TBR.
As for the Young Royals series, this isn't a terrible addition, but it is by no means the best (check out The Bad Queen about Marie Antoinette for my personal favorite).
Have you read any sympathetic books about Anne?