Reviews - Nzingha: Warrior Queen of Matamba, Angola, Africa, 1595

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51 reviews for:

Nzingha: Warrior Queen of Matamba, Angola, Africa, 1595

Graded By: Maria
Cover Story: Anogla's Next Top Model
BFF Charm: Eventually
Swoonworthy Scale: 1
Talky Talk: Brevity is the Soul of Wit
Bonus Factor: Sub-Saharan, Pre-Colonial African History
Anti-Bonus Factor: Smallville Syndrome
Relationship Status: Comrades-in-Arms

Read the full book report here.

nicolebookish's review against another edition

5.0

It really liked it when I read it but i'm sure if I reread it now it'd be a bit problematic.

I remember thinking it was cool to see a different princess aka non European one but I didn't know how to express that.

I have to reread this series and give my adult post graduate degree perspective but what I remember liking was:
-the characters in this series were roughly my age when I read the books (YA)
-it gave you an idea of what life may have been like back then
-they did have an afterword with historic information that gave you more context on their real lives and often photos or paintings

irasobrietate's review against another edition

3.0

The conceit of this book - the Portuguese priest that Nzingha's father captured has been secretly educating her and her sisters and told her she should start a diary - is very weak. Nzingha shows so much contempt and mistrust for the priest that it doesn't make any sense for her to start this diary at his suggestion. It makes more sense for her to throw the book in the river to spite him, given her attitude to him. But that wouldn't give an excuse to add Nzingha to the Royal Diaries series so obviously that's not what she does. But the sense that this diary, by its very nature, is unrealistic to who Nzingha likely was, makes the book a bit of a tough sell. But I have so much fondness for this series from my childhood nostalgia, that I'll mostly let it slide. I can definitely see why I enjoyed it and the rest of the series so much as a kid when it was easier for me to suspend my disbelief.

kbell23's review against another edition

2.0

I remember reading this as a kid and really liking this book/series. I also really like Patricia McKissack's other works, but this one fell a little flat to me. The ending was abrupt and characters were underdeveloped.

ele_b's review against another edition

5.0

This book was very cool and feminist. I usually try to give a better description, but this is the truth. My main qualm is how short it is, as it is the shortest in the entire series. I don't know much about African culture, and while I did enjoy what I saw here, I still found that it could have been longer.

Nzinga managed to save her entire nation from the slave-abducting Portuguese. We need to have more of a focus on her role in history, and just stop ignoring her right now.

The Royal Diaries was a non-euro-centric series of fictional diaries on the lives of various real princesses throughout history. Only half of these are set in Europe, and 4 of the non-European diaries are on Native North and South Americans. They always have a historical note at the end which is almost always very informative.