I've always been fascinated by Anne Boleyn, but I approached this book a little warily. In fact, I enjoyed it a great deal.

Henry is the younger son of the Tudor family, just as Henry VIII was. His father was a successful politician, and his brother Arthur was supposed to follow in Dad's footsteps, but he died in an accident. Henry pursued other interests, like acting, but after Arthur's death, his father's Will and his mother's will and determination were to mold Henry into a worthy successor, a replacement Arthur. What more could Henry want - everyone was sure it was in his best interest. Obviously, it would be a great choice for him to have Arthur's accomplished girl friend Catherine as his future wife.

Anne, grew up poor in rather chaotic circumstances, but her mother has married a wealthy, successful architect, and they have moved to Medina, a town founded by the Tudors. Henry falls for Anne's complete difference from the socialites that surround him, but his "friends" are all determined to expel the unworthy Anne, and get Henry back on the expected track.

I have mixed feelings about the fact that everything isn't resolved at end. It could make an interesting book discussion group, because there are so many directions in which the book could go after the ending.

How did Anne's mother and stepfather react to what happened to her?
Given Anne's self-destructive tendencies, what did she do, although she seems more mature at the end?
Did the locket really belong to Henry's grandmother, when Catherine's comment that he had given her one just like it seemed to suggest that it might not be? Did Anne keep it?

And Henry: Did he go back to Catherine as the adults around him, and possibly the other students think he should?
He meets a young woman in a coffee shop named Jane Seymour (the name of Henry VIII's wife after Anne). He's attracted to her, but I don't think that his social set would see her as a great improvement over Anne, just perhaaps not as wild, ( )

Kinda sucks when you know going into it that it's all gonna end badly.... ( )

Intriguing story that surprised me big time with its ending. Made me wish a sequel was happening, even though I realized it would be impossible. ( )

Love anything Tudorish (yes that is a made up word)
Hopefully you already know the story of this torrid real life love affair.
Well this YA book is that story, Henry Tudor dumping Catherine for Anne
then getting all fickle and then flirting with that Seymour girl. Except this story is set in the 20th century with private schools, college bound mean girls and boys and the same unfortunate events. I love a book that is fun to read and hard to put down. This was that kind of book for me.
( )

I'm barely familiar with the story of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn so I'm not sure how much of this novel takes off from their story. The novel itself is about Anne and Henry's immediate, lustful attraction when they meet at a party. There are plenty of lip-biting, stomachs in twisted knots, and sizzling sexual tension (including a sex scene). Their passion for each other borders on irrational and desperate. Add in plenty of social drinking and curse words and you've got a story of rich teens gone wild. Best suited for older teens but middle schoolers who stumble across it will likely pass it around. ( )