What do you get when you combine the heroines and storylines of three classic works, walk-on appearances by dead composers, Mary Queen of Scots and a few quotes from a computer manual? Well, for me, I got a Christmas present--a handwritten and illustrated manuscript bound into a cardboard and aluminum foil cover with Scotch tape. I also got a unique record of what was on my daughter's mind in 2003: ballets, classical music, the Royal Diaries books and The Robin Williams Mac OS X Book. Now, in all objectivity, the writing and artwork is crude, with all the craft you might expect from a fifth grader. On the other hand, as a father, I have no objectivity, so I think it is a masterpiece, worthy of a most honored place on my shelf. Either way it's just plain weird, just like my kid. Let this serve as a warning to all of you parents who might be thinking about encouraging your child's creativity.
--J.

Excuse me, that's not true. I'm Catherine Graham author of this "book", and at fourteen I still distinctly remember that I was not into the Royal Diaries yet. For those of you who want a summary:

Carmen, Juliet and Aida, heroines of tragic plays, operas, and/or ballets, are determined to give their sisters in tragedy a happier life, and to save each other from their untimely almost-demises. Also, there's a budding romance between Mercedes, the trio's Spanish helper and James, a young man in the court of Mary, Queen of Scots (who shows up in this story uninvited). Includes pictures of "productions" and "the movie" in the back. ;)
--Catherine ( )