Customer Reviews

Royal Diaries: Kristina: The Girl King, Sweden, 1638

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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!

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!!

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 interesting and educational.
Telling past hisory through the character, using tales of her family, is not somethiing that has been done much in other Royal Diaries. However, Kristina did, and it worked very well. Also, Kristina had an interesting twist, involving Kristina being raised as a king, and this made the book quite funny.
I would definitely reccomend this book, it is one of the best Royal Diaries!

This is definately a good book for someone about 10 or 11. Its got history and its also entertaining. However if you are any older than 12 I think you will find the book a little childish and a very quick read. I have noticed that the more books are published in this series the shorter and (I think) the less interesting they tend to be. The first royal diaries are the best. Still this is a good book to look at even if you only read the the historical part, so consider picking it up someday.

This book is about Kristina, a Sweedish Princess, whom is raised to act like a king. Not only was the book interesting and enjoyable to read, but like most Royal Diarie books, very educational. Much of the information in this book is accurate. It shows a unique side of history which we readers don't get to see very often. It tells of Sweedish royalty as apposed to the English/British we normally learn about (not that there is anything wrong with that, I am both British and French myself).
I would recommened this book for anyone whom enjoys learning about history, or just enjoys a good book.

We first meet Kristina when she's 12 and discover she's been raised, in spite of her gender, as a prince and groomed to become kind. Her father died when she was 6 and, indeed, she was proclaimed King of Sweden. The book is mostly diary entries, beginning on Midsummer Day in 1638 as Kristina awaits her 18th birthday when she will ascend to the throne.
A terrific addition to the series.

Kristina, daughter of King Gustav II of Sweden, is a different and fun look into a little known figure. Being the only child of King Gustav, she has been brought up under male customs so she may become Sweden's next king. Taking place during the half way mark where she will become king, we learn many things in this book. We learn about her crazy and eccentric mother. We can also see the many male habits she has been brought up with. Throughout the book we question, why is she like this? Has she been brainwashed? Kristina, The Girl King will lead you on a great path. I promise you won't want to put it down. Although the first few pages are a bit boring, continue reading because the rest of the book is great.

I'm surprised Kristina didn't have mental problems when she got older. She had to live with her crazy mother who constantly criticizes her, and made Kristina live with her at her castle with her father's coffin, and a bunch of dwarfs. She gets nightmares whenever she is around/hears from her mother. Kristina was raised as a king because her parents had no other children. She gets to live with her Aunt Katerina after living with her mother for awhile. Aunt Katerina loves Kristina and takes better care of her than her mother does. This is a great new read from the Royal Diaries. I enjoyed reading about another queen (king in Kristina's case) that wouldn't marry because she didn't want to be ruled by a man. You should read this book!!

I'm surprised Kristina didn't have mental problems when she got older. She had to live with her crazy mother who constantly criticizes her, and made Kristina live with her at her castle with her father's coffin, and a bunch of dwarfs. She gets nightmares whenever she is around/hears from her mother. Kristina was raised as a king because her parents had no other children. She gets to live with her Aunt Katerina after living with her mother for awhile. Aunt Katerina loves Kristina and takes better care of her than her mother does. This is a great new read from the Royal Diaries. I enjoyed reading about another queen (king in Kristina's case) that wouldn't marry because she didn't want to be ruled by a man. You should read this book!!