Fifteen-year-old Princess Elisabeth, called Sisi, is the daughter of Duke Maximilian Joseph of Bavaria and his wife, Princess Ludovica. She has had a carefree childhood in the Bavarian countryside. She spends as much of her days as possible horseback riding, her favorite pastime. But everything changes in the summer of 1857. Sisi's older sister, Helene, has been chosen to marry their cousin, Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria. Their mother is taking Helene to meet Franz Joseph, and has decided to take Sisi along in hopes of finding a husband for her as well. But when Franz Joseph meets Helene and Sisi, he decides it is Sisi he wants to marry. Sisi becomes engaged to Franz Joseph, but she is far too young for the responsibilities she suddenly finds herself facing as the future Empress.

This is not one of my favorites from the Royal Diaries series, but it was still an okay that I recommend to fans of the series. I only wish it could have been a little longer, as Elisabeth's diary is only 93 pages. Also, some parts really could have used more detail. ( )

Probably the weakest so far of all the Royal Diaries series! The story is very short and covers the brief period of time between Elisabeth's meeting and marriage to the Emperor of Austria. Denenberg does little to develop his character; she is concerned with her clothes and her appearance (which is true to the original Empress, who is now believed to have suffered from anorexia nervosa) and little else. It's a shallow, disappointing take on history. ( )

Saturday, September 24, 1853
Finding herself the most important person in the whole household and the constant center of attention is most unnerving and disturbing. She wish it were not so, but there doesn’t seem to be anything she can do to stop it.
She can’t go out anywhere unless everyone knows where she is because there are so may great personages an foreign delegations arriving night and day to meet her…
Possi used to be so serene and calming, but now that she has so much to do, It is far from that. She hardly has any time to spend with her animals, walk in the woods, or even ride with Poppy.
She wishes sge could go back to way things were… ( )

Written as the diary of Princess Sissi, about her trip escorting her sister to a future engagement, and how Sissi is the one who becomes engaged instead. A great series for young girls!

One feature of the Royal Diaries series is once the story is finished, the author includes a section which is only facts: pictures/portraits of the main characters, family trees, a "What life was like in (insert name) lived" to help the reader distinguish between what we know about the characters, what we assume from artifacts found, and what the author made up to help the story along. ( )