I read the above three books depicted in the Royal Diaries series: Cleopatra VII, Daughter of the Nile; Eleanor, Crown Jewel of Aquitaine; and Sondok, Princess of the Moon and Stars. The Royal Diaries was Scholastic’s spin-off of the Dear America series, but wasn’t as successful, and was cancelled sooner than its predecessor. I would recommend these books to young readers interested in historical fiction, while perhaps not looking for entirely character-driven novels. I think the downfall of this series is that each book tries to document or invent a childhood for these remarkable women of history, when these women’s greatest or most famous accomplishments happened later in their lives. The Sondok story in particular was mostly fiction, since so little is known about her to begin with. If considering a title in this series, I’d suggest Anastasia or Marie Antoinette.
C.K. BROOKE 