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angelofthetardis's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
3.5
Another quick one that I could pick up and put down at a moment's notice.
This fictional diary of a girl in Catherine of Aragon's train as she comes to the English Court to marry Prince Arthur follows the same pattern as the rest of the books in the series. However, there is one small difference; this one actually links directly to another book. The main character in this one, Eva De Puebla, is the mother of the main character in the book I read yesterday, 'Anne Boleyn and Me' (although this book ends before Elinor is born). It's a nice addition, as you get the view of the whole of Catherine of Aragon's English life through the eyes of one family, and the narrative all ties together really well.
This one feels like it has more personality behind it though; I feel like I know more about Eva and her life and thoughts. The author has achieved more of the diary feel in this one, rather than just a simple recounting of events.
That being said, again it is stretched out over a long time period, and so there are some quite big omissions - very little is said about Catherine's marriage to Arthur; one moment they're married and the next he's passed away. Given that very little is known about that period, it does feel like an opportunity has been missed to weave a little tale into that gap. Likewise, the years that Catherine spends waiting for her fate to be decided are really only marked out by the effect of the various Spanish ambassadors, rather than by the daily struggles. I do wonder if this book would have been better focusing on these aspects and telling Eva's story, ending with the triumphant wedding of Henry and Catherine.
I'm not sure that this one would hold a child's attention as much as others in the series, but as an introduction to the 'did they didn't they?' question that leads to the King's Great Matter, it's a well written piece that goes into enough detail so that the reader can understand, but not so much that you wouldn't feel comfortable giving it to a child to read.
This fictional diary of a girl in Catherine of Aragon's train as she comes to the English Court to marry Prince Arthur follows the same pattern as the rest of the books in the series. However, there is one small difference; this one actually links directly to another book. The main character in this one, Eva De Puebla, is the mother of the main character in the book I read yesterday, 'Anne Boleyn and Me' (although this book ends before Elinor is born). It's a nice addition, as you get the view of the whole of Catherine of Aragon's English life through the eyes of one family, and the narrative all ties together really well.
This one feels like it has more personality behind it though; I feel like I know more about Eva and her life and thoughts. The author has achieved more of the diary feel in this one, rather than just a simple recounting of events.
That being said, again it is stretched out over a long time period, and so there are some quite big omissions - very little is said about Catherine's marriage to Arthur; one moment they're married and the next he's passed away. Given that very little is known about that period, it does feel like an opportunity has been missed to weave a little tale into that gap. Likewise, the years that Catherine spends waiting for her fate to be decided are really only marked out by the effect of the various Spanish ambassadors, rather than by the daily struggles. I do wonder if this book would have been better focusing on these aspects and telling Eva's story, ending with the triumphant wedding of Henry and Catherine.
I'm not sure that this one would hold a child's attention as much as others in the series, but as an introduction to the 'did they didn't they?' question that leads to the King's Great Matter, it's a well written piece that goes into enough detail so that the reader can understand, but not so much that you wouldn't feel comfortable giving it to a child to read.
alyssa01's review
2.0
When I was young I used to love the My Story book series and I would say I still do. Although the characters and format of this book is not very complex or well developed I understand it is written for a younger audience. I enjoyed the history aspects of these books and I am really interested in Tudor and royal history which was found in this book. I liked the easiness of this book and the way the history was eased into it making it readable for kids. The historical notes at the back were a nice touch for those wanting more of the information from the time.
sprinkledwithwords's review
3.0
Eva de Puebla travels to England from Spain with her childhood friend and princess: Catherine of Aragon. During the turbulent times of Henry VII and Henry VIII’s reigns, Eva’s diary tells of her and Catherine’s story from 1501 to 1513, following romance and misery, joy and war.
This book was the first I had read of the My Story series. This series follows both girls and boys through different stages of history, such as the Blitz, the Irish famine of the 1840s and Roman invasions of Britain. They’re written as diary entries, which can be great reading for younger readers but also intriguing for older generations.
The story, as said in the summary above, follows fictional Eva de Puebla from Spain to England. The My Story series are historically accurate, and, whilst I know basics of the Tudor era, this book furthered my knowledge. For example, I didn’t know that Catherine of Aragon married Henry VIII’s older brother, Arthur, before being married to the King. And although Eva didn’t actually exist, I thought she was written very realistically.
I enjoyed reading about Eva, but she did feel a bit like a 2D character, and her writing wasn’t very enthusiastic. However, I did like her writing about her – again, fictional – partner, Michel Valjean. Their romance was just adorable. I liked how the romance fitted in with the ‘main’ plotline, too.
You may be wondering why I put ‘main’ in inverted commas. Well, there didn’t really seem to be a plotline. Sure, it followed history, but the novel covered twelve years in only 151 pages. Sometimes there were only 3 entries for one whole year! It’s clear that the author was trying to stay historically accurate, but I would have enjoyed a bit more detail, such as setting the scene etc. For me, there wasn’t enough detail, although I’m sure it would satisfy its intended audience, which are younger readers.
At the end of the novel was a timeline, a ‘Historical Note’ and pictures of personas such as Catherine of Aragon and Henry VIII as well as photographs of paintings of palaces etc. I found these a pleasant added extra which really brought out the rest of the novel.
One thing that irritated me was the continued use of the word ‘Tudor’ to describe the period of time Eva was living in. In the 16th Century, the word ‘Tudor’ was seldom used so as not to associate the word with Wales, and the transition from Stuart to Tudor – it could have been used by Henry VII’s opponents. Even in Elizabeth’s reign, British citizens didn’t associate it with the Tudor era. According to Cliff Davies of Oxford University, ‘The word…is used obsessively by historians. But it was almost unknown at the time.’ This is a personal pet peeve because it suggests the author hasn’t done her research. If something is meant to be real, it has to be presented as such and having incorrect terms of phrase used when they were not used irritates me but also wrongly informs others and, if you suggest this to a younger reader who would be right to believe the history, they need to be informed that the word ‘Tudor’ was not actually used until the 18th Century to describe the dynasty. Source.
I would recommend this novel primarily for younger readers, 9+, or even as young as 7 or 8. Of course older readers can enjoy these too, but they may be too simplistic for some. An interest in the Tudors would be helpful to get the most out of the book – perhaps if they’re an area of study (in my primary school, at least, we spent a term or two studying the Tudors, and I would really have liked to have read this then). Whilst this wasn’t perhaps as detailed as I would have liked, I have always been curious about the My Story series but never read any, so I might try a couple more from periods of time such as WWII or Ancient Greece, Egypt or Rome, four areas of history which really interest me. That is the good thing about the series – there are plenty of books to choose from!
This book was the first I had read of the My Story series. This series follows both girls and boys through different stages of history, such as the Blitz, the Irish famine of the 1840s and Roman invasions of Britain. They’re written as diary entries, which can be great reading for younger readers but also intriguing for older generations.
The story, as said in the summary above, follows fictional Eva de Puebla from Spain to England. The My Story series are historically accurate, and, whilst I know basics of the Tudor era, this book furthered my knowledge. For example, I didn’t know that Catherine of Aragon married Henry VIII’s older brother, Arthur, before being married to the King. And although Eva didn’t actually exist, I thought she was written very realistically.
I enjoyed reading about Eva, but she did feel a bit like a 2D character, and her writing wasn’t very enthusiastic. However, I did like her writing about her – again, fictional – partner, Michel Valjean. Their romance was just adorable. I liked how the romance fitted in with the ‘main’ plotline, too.
You may be wondering why I put ‘main’ in inverted commas. Well, there didn’t really seem to be a plotline. Sure, it followed history, but the novel covered twelve years in only 151 pages. Sometimes there were only 3 entries for one whole year! It’s clear that the author was trying to stay historically accurate, but I would have enjoyed a bit more detail, such as setting the scene etc. For me, there wasn’t enough detail, although I’m sure it would satisfy its intended audience, which are younger readers.
At the end of the novel was a timeline, a ‘Historical Note’ and pictures of personas such as Catherine of Aragon and Henry VIII as well as photographs of paintings of palaces etc. I found these a pleasant added extra which really brought out the rest of the novel.
One thing that irritated me was the continued use of the word ‘Tudor’ to describe the period of time Eva was living in. In the 16th Century, the word ‘Tudor’ was seldom used so as not to associate the word with Wales, and the transition from Stuart to Tudor – it could have been used by Henry VII’s opponents. Even in Elizabeth’s reign, British citizens didn’t associate it with the Tudor era. According to Cliff Davies of Oxford University, ‘The word…is used obsessively by historians. But it was almost unknown at the time.’ This is a personal pet peeve because it suggests the author hasn’t done her research. If something is meant to be real, it has to be presented as such and having incorrect terms of phrase used when they were not used irritates me but also wrongly informs others and, if you suggest this to a younger reader who would be right to believe the history, they need to be informed that the word ‘Tudor’ was not actually used until the 18th Century to describe the dynasty. Source.
I would recommend this novel primarily for younger readers, 9+, or even as young as 7 or 8. Of course older readers can enjoy these too, but they may be too simplistic for some. An interest in the Tudors would be helpful to get the most out of the book – perhaps if they’re an area of study (in my primary school, at least, we spent a term or two studying the Tudors, and I would really have liked to have read this then). Whilst this wasn’t perhaps as detailed as I would have liked, I have always been curious about the My Story series but never read any, so I might try a couple more from periods of time such as WWII or Ancient Greece, Egypt or Rome, four areas of history which really interest me. That is the good thing about the series – there are plenty of books to choose from!
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