Royal Diaries: Kristina: The Girl King, Sweden, 1638: Amazon.ca: Carolyn Meyer: Books

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From School Library Journal

Grade 4-7-In her diary, covering mainly her 12th year, Kristina explains that her father, King Gustav II Adolf, desperately wanted a son to become heir to his kingdom. Upon her birth, he declared that she would be treated as a boy, raised as a prince, and someday become King of Sweden. She describes learning from the finest tutors, engaging in fencing and horseback riding, and being schooled in the laws and practices of the Swedish government. She is intellectually curious and takes her role as prince-in-training seriously. The story is full of tutoring sessions and frequent disputes with Kristina's combative mother. However, the action lags somewhat and the pacing is often slow. Fans of the series will probably pick up this entry, but it may be a tougher sell for others.
Kristen Oravec, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Strongsville, OH
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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I never did go to bed at all last night. Read the first page

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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover

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Customer Reviews

17 Reviews

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4.4 out of 5 stars (17 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars A good new book from the Royal Diaries series., April 11 2003

By

Rebecca Herman (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Royal Diaries: Kristina: The Girl King, Sweden, 1638 (Hardcover)

Before Kristina was born, her parents, King Gustav II Adolf of Sweden and his wife Maria Eleonora, had tried for years to have a child that survived. While her mother was pregnant with her, astrologers predicted Kristina would be a boy. Kristina's mother wept with disappointment upon discovering that her newborn infant was female, but her father declared his daughter would be as good as any boy. And when no more children were born to her parents and her father died when Kristina was just six, she inherited the throne of Sweden. Now eleven years old and waiting for the day when she will be old enough to rule on her own, Kristina begins a diary on Midsummer Day, 1638. She describes her education, which is that of a boy, as well as holidays and festivals and her difficult relationship with her mother. I highly recommend this book to all fans of The Royal Diaries series.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Kristina, the Girl Destined to be King, Mar 28 2006

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ravenclaw29 (Ohio, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Royal Diaries: Kristina: The Girl King, Sweden, 1638 (Hardcover)

King Gustav II Adolf and Queen Maria Eleanora of Sweden wanted a child---or, more specifically, a boy---very badly. But on the day of their child's highly anticipated birth, the royal couple did not have a baby boy, but a baby girl. Queen Maria Eleanora shrieked and cried pathetically at the thought of a girl, but King Gustav II Adolf praised his new daughter, named Kristina. And on his deathbed, he declared that Kristina would one day become King, not Queen, of all Sweden.

So now, Kristina is educated as a boy and raised as a prince. Which suits Kristina fine, especially since she becomes more masculine every day. Her father is dead, and though Queen Maria Eleanora is still alive, Kristina does not live with her. Indeed, the Queen is emotionally and mentally unstable, and, after several attempts on young Kristina's life, her chancellor, Sir Axel Oxenstierna, removed Kristina from her mother's custody. Kristina now lives with her beloved Aunt Katarina and her cousins, one of whom, Karl, is in love with her; but Kristina has no desire to marry. Kristina is trying to fulfill the expectations of everyone all around her, and takes her education and role to soon become King very seriously. She hopes that one day, when the time comes, Kristina will be able to rule as one of Sweden's greatest Kings.

Carolyn Meyer, an extremely talented author and one of my favorite historical fiction authors at that, has wonderfully narrated the story of the unusual and little-known female royal of King Kristina of Sweden. Though I would not say this is my favorite in the Royal Diaries series because it is a little short, it is still high on my ranking of favorites and is an excellent novel for anyone willing to step into the world of Kristina.

Highly recommended!

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5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!, Nov 1 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Royal Diaries: Kristina: The Girl King, Sweden, 1638 (Hardcover)

Wow! This is an excellant addition to the Royal Diaries! Kristina is a strong girl who is interesting to read about. I reccomend everyone read this book. It's awesome!!

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Most recent customer reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars not the best
to me .this book was definately NOT one of the best in the series.I admire the Kristina,but this book was slow and dull.It was practiacally all about the politics of sweden. Read more

Published on July 12 2004 by liz

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, and very interesting.
Kristina, the Girl King, is on eof the best Royal Diaries. Not onkly is it brilliantly written, with a superb plot, but through Kristina's tales of Sweedens history, it is very... Read more

Published on Sep 28 2003