Customer Reviews

Royal Diaries: Sondok: Princess of the Moon and Stars, Korea, A.D. 595

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Princess Sondok lives in the Korean palaces and courts with her mother and father, the King and Queen of Silla, and her two younger sisters. Sondok does not keep a rather traditional diary; instead, she gives a daily account of her life by way of offering written-on scraps of paper to her deceased and beloved grandmother's ancient form of communicating with the human spirits passed from our world---spirit jar.

Sondok tells her grandmother of living in a beautiful and exotic palace in the region of Silla in Korea, in A.D. 595. Sondok's people of Silla, led by Sondok's father, King Chinp'yong, and also her mother, Queen Ma-Ya. Sondok enjoys life as a princess with her sisters, Ch'on-myong and Sonwha. But much danger and trouble is has been brewing deeply between the people of Silla and the people of Paekche. The fiery hatred between Silla and Paekche has been alive for years now, and war is finally about to break out between the two peoples. The people of Silla look to Sondok and her family for courage and wisdom. Can they fulfill the expectations of their loyal people?

Sheri Holman, a skilled author of whom I have never read any other books by except for this, has done a great job on narrating the story of Princess Sondok of Korea, an extremely little-known princess in world history. One can easily tell that writing a "diary" of Sondok was difficult, because Sondok would not have actually written in a diary. Though I would definitely not say this is my favorite among the Royal Diaries series, it is will an excellent novel flawlessly jam-packed with tons of Korean culture, traditions, and customs.

Highly recommended!

Sheri Holman's entry in The Royal Diary series is an endearing and highly-readable book grounded firmly in the Silla period of ancient Korea. Like all good historical fiction, Holman uses the setting to tell a compelling story. But the historical milieu is not a mere backdrop. There is a genuine sense of Korean culture and history here, showing the author has done considerable homework. Holman's 22-page Historical Note at the back of the book contains a glossary, information on the history, religion and philosophy of the period, Sondok's family tree and eight pages of relevant photos.

Above all, this is a fun and entertaining story. Holman's prose is informed with a gentle lyricism that is deceptively simple--only after finishing the novel does the reader see how deftly Holman has crafted her characters. A delightful read.

D. Bannon was the subtitler for the MBC America broadcast and DVD releases of The Great Queen Seondeok, Vol. 1, Great Queen Seondeok 2 (8pc) (Sub Box) and Great Queen Seondeok 3 (7pc) (Sub Box). He discusses subtitling Queen Seondeok in The Elements of Subtitles, Revised and Expanded Edition: A Practical Guide to the Art of Dialogue, Character, Context, Tone and Style in Subtitling

Sondok is a Korean princess who is heir to the throne, much to the dismay of the Chinese, who believe that a woman cannot properly rule.
Another thing that is special about Sondok is that she loves astronomy, and she want's an observatory of her own so she can learn to read the stars and their meaning.
But in Korea at that time it was not considered proper for a woman to study astronomy, but Sondok refused to give up hope that someday she will be an astronomer and rule Korea with wisdom.

This book is good, except I have read better. It certainly isn't boring, though. I thought the part about the New Year's festivals was very well done.

This book was a pleasant surprise for me, a Korean female looking for books in English for little cousins. Queen Sondok has been the most famous & beloved queen to Korean children, especially to girls, like the amalgam of Joan of Arc and Queen Elisabeth the first.

She was the first princess who came to the throne in whole Korean history, and her succession was possible due to the special succession law of ancient Shilla dynasty which put a higher value on the pure royal birth than the genders of heirs. There was no male heir whose both parents were royal then, so Sondok was raised as the heir apparent with formidable duty to answer to love and hope of her own parents and her people in the time of endless wars and diplomatic intrigues. And she did more.

Until this book, I always imagined her as a grown-up, like Athena with full armors springing from Zeus's head, partly because of all stories in historical texts such as the famous her 3 prophecies and the anecdote of Mun-Hee(a lady saved by Sondok from burning at stake) showing her silent bravery, deep understanding of human nature, and somewhat supernatural, shman-like foresight, all three of them which were necessary for ancient rulers.

Holman portrayed her as a little princess rather than a queen who ruled successfully her kingdom for 15 years in a very turbulent time with love of arts and intelligence and deep Buddhistic faith. And it was an interesting move. Even young readers without any knowledge of Korea may enjoy it. Thank you Holman for saving the difficulties of finding an easy and good book.

This book is really great. Read it!

Sondok Orincess of the Moon and Stars is an awseome book! It might not be my favorite but i still recomend it. It's about Sondok, a princess living in Korea. She loves astronomy but must study the stars in secret because women aren't aloud to do varius things. Through the book she need to prove women rule(how true), that the Chinese are WRONG, and try to get her father to build her a abservitory. Also she likes a guy she can't marry(bummer) AND has a anti women Chinese teacher who is SO boring. The only problem with this book is that she refers to her diary as Grandmother (It's supposed to be an ancestrial jar thing) Read the book it is very good! I also reccomend Cleopatra, Jahnara, Eleanor, and Marie Antanoite.

"Sondok: Princess of the Moon and Stars" is about a fourteen-year old princess growing up in Silla, which is now present-day South Korea. She loves astronomy, though girls and women at that time were not expected to study the stars and the sky, and she is willing to prove herself to her father, the ruler of Silla, that she could be just like a son to him since he never had any sons and because women did not rule back then. Instead of writing in a diary, Sondok writes a series of notes to her grandmother describing her private feelings and what is going on in her life. She also writes about her dissapointments about not being able to study astronomy. This was a great Royal Diary, and I think many people wil enjoy it!

"Sondok: Princess of the Moon and Stars, Korea, A.D. 595" was not best historically, but with good reason: nearly nothing is known about Sondok. Given what little facts, Sheri Holman did a decent job. You get a true sense of what being a female was like during this time, and how hard it was; one couldn't follow a hobby or dream, as it was probably not feminine enough. If anything, you'll be shown how strong women are and how much they can accomplish, with or without a man's help. Young girl's should read this story, as Holman created a great role model in Sondok. I recommend.

This book is about a korean princess who because her mother failed to bear a son she is now heir of the throne. in this book she writes of her many difficulties such as dealing with the chinse in which have much power but too much pride, managing what she knows is right and wrong and trying to find out who she is within the stars. Is what everybody says what she should be doing? is she to give up her love for the stars for her people? find out in SONDOK princess of the moon and stars.

I enjoyed this book, though if you are looking for action I don't think you'll find a lot of it here. This story was more about Sondok's battle as a person, the choices she has to make, and how you will turn out as a person because of those choices. The author makes a good picture of how a girl must feel in such patriarchal times, against a world filled with set, unmovalble precepts. Though it is short, I still beleive you can get a lot out of it. All in all, a worthwhile read.