Hello, Book Nerds! Welcome back to Reading Has Ruined My Life or welcome if you are new. As always, my name is Hannah and I am your captain on this journey into my bookcases.
Today I bring you one of my favorite types of posts. Today I bring you a Royal Diaries review. Yes, I got my claws on another entry to this nostalgic series. It’s always a good day when I find one of these books.
And what entry have I found? Please give a warm welcome to Mary, Queen of Scots: Queen Without a Country by Kathryn Lasky!
Synopsis time now. As always, a spoiler alert is in order. If you’ve read any other post on RHRML then you know I simply love to spoil the books I read. This is your one and only warning. I also must issue a content and trigger warning. Mary, Queen of Scots has mentions of sexual harassment/sexual assault. I will be bringing this topic up in my review as it is a relevant plot line at the end of the book. Please read at your own discretion. Now let’s crack in.
This Royal Diaries entry begins in December of 1553. Mary, Queen of Scots is living in France with her fiancé Francis, the Dauphin of France. In a few short years, Mary and Francis will be married, which readers don’t see, but for now they’re growing up, having fun, and being the best of friends. And that’s pretty much all that happens over a decent chunk of the book.
This is a very calm entry in The Royal Diaries series, at least at the start. As the new year progresses, Mary is given more to do when it comes to her royal duties. When this occurs, there is a major shift in Mary’s character. Heavy is the head that wears the crown indeed. Yeah, the story pretty much ends with Mary really growing as a queen and as a person. Her adolescence was the only calm-ish time of her life so the story is quite tame in comparison to her later years and to many of the other entries in The Royal Diaries series.
I really don’t want to say I found this book boring, because I didn’t, this was simply a tame entry of the series. For a good chunk of the book I felt like nothing was happening. But that’s kinda the point. This is a slow burn of a read. Mary’s story is all about her character arc. This book is about her slowly becoming a monarch and realizing how tough the job is. Her arc is what makes this a satisfying read.
Readers have Kathryn Lasky to thank for that. I only have four Royal Diaries reviews on the site, this one included, and three of them are books by Kathryn Lasky. She is the premiere Royal Diaries/Dear America author as far as I’m concerned. She just hits it out of the park every time. Each of her entries are well researched, deep, honestly disturbing in some places, and well written; she doesn’t shy away from writing about hard topics in books meant for children. Hello Catherine Howard’s execution and ghost, I’m talking about you.
Mary, Queen of Scots is not one of the few Royal Diaries books I read as a child. And I’m really glad I didn’t because a lot of this book would have went over my head. I would not have picked up the sexual assault/sexual harassment plot line; I genuinely would not have understood what was happening. But I am now an adult, I am an old lady, and I knew what was happening the moment Mary Flemming’s demeanor began to change near the end of the story. I also would have thought this entry was boring as nothing crazy happened. I feel The Royal Diaries series is meant to be read for the first time as a child and then again as an adult so readers can properly enjoy the detail work and grasp the severity of the situations these young women were in.
I want to talk more about the sexual assault plot line. I know I don’t normally talk about triggering plot lines like this, but this review warrants it. Kathryn Lasky takes the topic seriously. She does not shy away from the topic just because she’s writing for middle schoolers. She also doesn’t blatantly come out and say what happened because she thinks kids are stupid and won’t be able to figure things out on their own, she makes readers think; even if the severity of the situation may go over the heads of some young readers. This plot line is well done, Kathryn Lasky treats the topic with respect and discusses it a lot better than I’ve seen in more recent books I’ve read.
And that’s all I have for this book. There is not much to talk about with this one. Like I said, Kathryn Lasky hits it out of the park yet again. I’m never going to say any entry of The Royal Diaries isn’t worth a read, but when it comes to Mary, Queen of Scots I do believe there are better entries to read before this one. It’s still fine, it’s just not my first choice of The Royal Diaries books.
With that, I shall bid you all adieu. I will see you all again next week with another new review. If you can’t wait till next week then you can always check out my podcast Nothing to See Hear. If you like The Royal Diaries then you may like my episode on Christine de Pizan. If medieval feminism isn’t your speed then may I recommend some Scooby-Doo episodes, Disney reviews, or bad 90s wrestling? There is sure to be something you’ll enjoy.
Until next time, stay safe, wash your hands, and read some good books for me.
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