- Anacaona: Golden Flower: This one got number one because I loved the combination of amazing cover design and the unique storytelling choices combining visions, writing and symbols. Makes sense since the Taino didn’t have written language as we know it. Even so, Danticat is a mesmerizing author with lyrical languague as she introduces readers to Haiti’s indigenous culture while forshadowing the tragedy that will befall Anacaona when the conquistadors arrive.
- Catherine: The Great Journey: Anastasia may have captured the world’s interest as Russia’s most interesting princess but there’s a reason that Catherine got “The Great” as her moniker. This book takes readers through a journey of her origins when she was just a poor, pimply German nobless. It is her emotionally abusive mother that takes her from everything she knows to Russia’s cold vastness with a chance to impress the current Empress and marry Prince Peter. An interesting story showing how Catherine learns to navigate the unfamiliar Russian court, stand up for herself and begin to view the potential of Russia and her own power.
- Mary: Queen Without a Country: Like all the other books in the series, Mary’s diary takes place before her brief rule as Queen of Scotland. In fact she lives in France under the domineering eye of Catherine de’ Medici. This got on the top five because I enjoyed Mary’s close friendship with her fellow Marys (it’s a very popular name), a brief sexual assault plotline that is still relevant (and I still can’t believe they just allowed lower schoolers to read attempted molestation. Of course it makes sense it would happen then but still) and Mary learning to see from other points of view and there is a different way to accuulate power than through fear, but by taking the higher road.
- Jahanara: Princess of Princesses: Most people may not know Jahanara’s name but they may recognize her parents, Shah Jahan, the Mongul ruler who created the Taj Mahal for his beloved wife. As one can imagine she lives a life of luxury and opulance but her personal life is in a flux. Her brothers have returned from being hostages (court politics, its complicated, you have to read to understand), one is still pure and kind, the other is now bitter and brainwashed. And now she’s caught in the middle of the next potential generation of Mongul rulers, and her choice of ally may get her killed. Always exciting especially as choosing between beloved family members raises the stakes immensely.
- Sŏndŏk: Princess of the Moon and Stars: This story is surprsingly applicable to modern day as Sŏndŏk deals with family troubles of her father leaving her mother for a younger woman. Of course, her father is king and is leaving her mother for a younger woman that might give him a male heir and her mom has to become a nun as a result might not be exact same thing as modern day divorces but Sŏndŏk’s sadness for her mother and bargaining to keep them together is one that kids will connect to. That combined with Sŏndŏk’s fight against changing Korean values as shamnism is pushed aside for the Chinese neo-Confucianism which would incidentally give her less rights because she’s a woman adds another historical layer. Seeing the change in Korean society and how Sŏndŏk and others respond is super interesting to me and places it in the top 5.
Rachel Reads & Reviews 
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