Beware Princess Elizabeth

Beware Princess Elizabeth by Carolyn Meyer, 2001 Houghton Mifflin for Young Readers

     Young Elizabeth has been outcast from court since her mother's execution. When her father dies it takes three days for Elizabeth Tudor to learn of her brother's ascension. Along with her brother Edward, Elizabeth travels to London where she is met by her father's sixth wife, Catherine.
     After the funeral and coronation, Catherine invites the princess and her governess to stay at her house in London. Elizabeth is enamored of her stepmother and happy to have some status in the household. Joining Catherine's house is also Thomas Seymour - the new king's uncle. Elizabeth and her governess Kat notice something between the dowager queen and the king's advisor. The word around the court is that they are lovers.
     But Catherine indicates Thomas Seymour is interested in an alliance with the young princess when she becomes of marriageable age. Kat encourages the romance and Elizabeth is stunned when the arrangement is superseded by a secret marriage between Catherine and her stepson's guardian. Thomas Seymour is at the center of a plot against the throne and is punished accordingly.
    When young King Edward VII falls prey to childhood illness Elizabeth's older half-sister, Mary, becomes queen. Mary is vindictive and seeks to purge the nation of Protestantism, blaming it for the breakdown and destruction of her family. The nation finds hope in its young princess and Mary is threatened by Elizabeth's supporters, she takes steps to prevent outright revolt.
     Beware, Princess Elizabeth is a dramatic telling of real events in Queen Elizabeth I's childhood. Meyer paints a picture of one of England's beloved monarchs for young readers - a picture which fills history's gaps. This tale is intended for middle-grade readers and glosses some of the more sensitive realities of Elizabeth's young life.

Patience Princess Catherine

Patience, Princess Catherine by Carolyn Meyer, 2004 HMH for Young Readers

     Catherine of Aragon was imprisoned by her husband Henry VIII. When she can't produce a male heir Henry's mistress, Anne Boleyn, replaces her at his side. She begins the tale from imprisonment. 

     Catherine relates the story of the trip from Spain as betrothed to the prince Arthur. England is excited to meet the future queen, but Arthur dies shortly after their wedding the Spanish princess's future is in question. 

     The teenage widow is enamored of her royal brother-in-law: Henry is handsome and charming and flirts with the sheltered girl. While she awaits what her parents will arrange with the English king Catherine makes plans to seize her destiny as the English queen. 

     In a diary-like recitation, Catherine's story is peppered with the point of view of her future husband. Following the time between leaving her home in Spain until Catherine fails to produce a son for her second husband her life is uncertain. Patience, Princess Catherine is a middle-grade dramatization of the true story of Henry Tudor VIII's first wife. Meyer writes from extensive research and this is the second novel of the Young Royals series. 

Doomed Queen Anne

Doomed Queen Anne by Carolyn Meyer, 2002 HMH for Young Readers

     Anne Boleyn changed the course of history when Henry Tudor VIII broke with the Catholic church to be able to divorce his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Based on true events Anne joins her sister Mary at the court of Queen Catherine when Mary is rumored to be the mistress of the king. 

     Henry has tired of his wife and when he tires of his mistress her sister engages a campaign to become the king's second wife. Anne has always been antagonized by her older sister and largely ignored by her parents--she is not a beauty and even has two signs of a witch: a sixth finger and mole on her neck. Still, the king is infatuated. 

     Anne convinces Henry to request an annulment from the Pope, but he is denied. Henry then breaks with the church and declares his first marriage invalid clearing the way for a second wife: Anne Boleyn. The court hates her for her ambition and calls her a witch, Henry defends his wife until the child she bears him turns out to be a girl. 

    Three years of marriage and no son try Henry's patience and he begins to lose interest in his queen. When the Seymours place Jane in the king's sights Anne senses her position becoming more precarious. Her earlier ambitions come back to knock Anne from her throne: Jane Seymour refuses to be simply the king's paramour and even Anne's sister accuses her of adultery. 

     Anne lives out her days awaiting execution for treason in the Tower of London. History remembers her as the second of Henry VIII's six wives and the mother of Queen Elizabeth I. Written for young adult readers, some material in Doomed Queen Anne may be inappropriate for middle-grade readers. The story does have several inaccuracies but is an entertaining story. 

Exit, Pursued by a Bear

Exit, Pursued by a Bear by E.K. Johnston, 2016 Dutton Books for Young Readers

     Cheerleading is the only sport worth anything at Palermo Heights High School and it means to world to Hermione Winters and her best friend Polly Oliver. The two friends kick off senior year with cheer camp - where they act as co-captains and the year looks to be off to a stellar start.
     Camp goes well, things get a little tense between Hermione and her boyfriend, Leon, but they figure it out. The last night of camp all the cheerleaders, male and female, attend a dance - pretty much a supervised party.
     At the dance Hermione spends time with her friends, but when she suddenly wakes up in the hospital all she can think is that an entire twelve hours of her life is gone. Polly is the one who tells her - someone slipped something in Hermione's drink at the party and raped her.
     Back at home Hermione has become "that raped girl" and their small town doesn't know how to handle her trauma, and Hermione isn't going to give her townsfolk an easy way out. Hermione continues to be cheer captain, she continues to focus on her friendships, she pushes herself through the examinations and the procedures  involved in the criminal investigation, she continues to focus on what she's always wanted and try to work through the trauma of her experience.
     Exit, Pursued by a Bear is the story of how we should deal with sexual assault and a story of friendship in changing lives. Polly and Hermione have always known they will make decisions at the end of Senior Year which will take them in their own directions, but Hermione's experience reminds the girls they will still need each other for life's sudden events. Parents may want to pre-read the book prior to allowing younger readers free rein.

Mary, Bloody Mary

Mary, Bloody Mary by Carolyn Meyer, 1999 Gulliver Books

     Princess Mary Tudor is the daughter of Catherine of Aragon and King Henry VIII of England. She is his only legitimate child when her story begins and she is betrothed to the young King of France. When Anne Boleyn catches her father's eye he requests an annulment from Queen Catherine which would make Princess Mary a bastard and remove her social standing. Mary is sent from court to Ludlow and the queen is sent to the north.
     When the king makes a drastic move and separates from the Catholic Church to form his own church, then become its leader, he finally gains the power to divorce Catherine. Henry marries Anne and their union is followed by a daughter, Elizabeth. The king creates a Dual Oath which forswears the Catholic faith to declare Henry the head of the church and Anne's children the heirs to the throne.
     Anyone who refuses to swear is declared a traitor, but Mary has a promise to her mother to uphold. Anne comes after the deposed princess to strengthen her position, but Mary survives while hundreds of Catholic citizens are slaughtered for their faith.
     Meyer's novel is based in history and looks at one of England's most tumultuous eras from the vantage of a young woman at the center of the upheaval. This portrayal of Bloody Mary Tudor imagines the events which shaped her entire life and how they affect teenaged Mary. Middle level readers can relate to a girl who feels like such an outcast as her life changes drastically.