ShahnaK'in Yaxchel Pacal, or Green Jay on the Wall, is a thirteen-year-old Mayan princess in the year 749 AD. As the daughter of the king of Lakahma, she has been chosen to marry the king of another Mayan kingdom, a man much older than her. Green Jay begins a diary upon learning of her future, and describes the home she grew up in, the customs of her people, her long journey to the land ruled over by her future husband, and the many dangers faced along the way.

I have read The Royal Diaries series since I was a young teenager, and truly enjoyed most of the books in the series. However, I really struggled with this book. I thought it would be interesting to learn about the culture of the lost Mayan civilization through the eyes of a young girl. However, the author tried too hard to give the narrator a distinct voice, rather then writing in a more modern style, and as a result the "diary" felt very detached and impersonal, making it difficult to care about the main character or what happened to her. The details of Mayan life didn't feel very smoothly integrated, and it was difficult to keep all the characters straight due to the confusing names the author used. I am older than the intended audience for this book, and even I had a hard time with it - preteens and young teenagers would probably find the book even more confusing.

I would only recommend this book to the most devoted fans of The Royal Diaries who want to read every book in the series for completion. The author did do her research quite well and put a lot of work into the book (hence the three stars), but ultimately I think the style she chose to write the book in was a poor choice, especially given it was written for young readers. ( )

I read this book yesterday morning. It's a short read.
I found it to be a disappointing entry into the Royal Diaries series. First, the names are very confusing. Kirwan switches between Mayan words and English translations constantly, and it can be difficult to keep track of everyone. There are many, many characters in Princess Green Jay's royal household and entourage, and many of them are only mentioned sporadically throughout the book. Without some sort of family tree constantly available, it's nearly impossible to keep track of everyone.

The Mayan culture is very alien to me; I haven't studied it very extensively at all. I would have been delighted with greater detail about the different gods and goddesses, and ceremonies. Or, would I have been delighted with less detail? Kirwan spends page after page describing what her character is wearing, or what the boats look like, or how the rainstorms and jungles sound. But it feels like exposition overload! Granted, it's a diary, so that limits the format somewhat, but more conversations amongst the characters would have been fantastic. ( )