The Redheaded Princess

Nothing doing. I just have to say it, I've read quite a few Elizabeth books (both before and after she was crowned) and this one just didn't connect.
Okay, this may just be wrong and I'm completely off my rocker, but in every other version of history I've heard, Elizabeth did not spend her whole life thinking about what she would do "when she was Queen." It just felt like the author was trying to bring across the fact that she was "born ready to rule" or something, and it just felt off. Elizabeth was third in line for the crown, and she spent a large amount of her childhood cut out of that line altogether. I don't really think she spent the entire time dreaming about the day when she knew she would be Queen.
And, I have to say, there show more were just a few too many references to affairs and dreamy guys to really be enjoyable. It wasn't even good romance in any way shape or form, and yes everything is very much based on actual fact, but it still felt sort of dramatized. At the very least, one guy treated her poorly (nothing R rated, but slightly suggestive) - while married. He even claimed he only married the woman to get close to her. And then there's the other guy, who's also married and sending her flowers by the end . . .
Anyway, my advice? Don't read this book. If you want a good Queen Elizabeth book (or a book about any British royal!) just ask me. This one isn't going on the list. show less

An easy read of a period of Elizabeth I's life not often studied. The book begins when Elizabeth is a child and ends when she is made Queen. In between, we learn of how she was a Princess one day and a "mere lady" the next, only to have her title and her place in the line of succession to England's throne returned to her, all at the whim of her father, Henry VIII. We hear of how she was treated when her brother Edward was King, and when her sister Mary was Queen, and how she observed the reigns of her father and siblings closely and took lessons from them that would help her when it was her turn to be Queen.

Although this book does little more than gloss over the turmoil of the time and the factions warring for the throne, this is a good show more book to read for anyone interested in a basic outline of what Elizabeth's life was like before she became Queen. show less

I enjoy the writings of Ann Rinaldi and this one is no exception. This was a quick read on a day when I was low energy. It is obvious the author did a lot of research regarding Elizabeth I. Rinaldi packed a lot of information into the pages without making it boring, or melodramatic.

A delightful, easy read which is a good example of historical fiction that can prompt the younger reader into learning more regarding this subject.

Considering that this historical fiction book dealt with themes (royalty, power struggles, royal love scandals) that don't really interest me, I was surprised that I still enjoyed reading it. The book was remarkably well-written: good word choice, believable characters, and authentic voice. I learned something, too, about the Tudors and all those complicated relationships -- Ann Rinaldi made all the characters' connections and motivations seem obvious and straightforward.

Reviewed by The Compulsive Reader for TeensReadToo.com

In Rinaldi's spectacular new book for young adults, she's moved beyond American history to British, and the tale of a young redheaded girl who yearned to be queen.

Despised by her father and sister, shoved aside by the nation's leaders, and motherless, young Elizabeth I grows up at her country estate where she learns from a young age the dangers of crossing paths with monarchs. She realizes that even though her sister and her brother stand between her and the Crown, she will one day be queen.

THE REDHEADED PRINCESS is her sharp, fast-paced, and beautifully wrought story of how that came to be.

Wonderfully detailed and breathtakingly accurate, this is perhaps the most engaging book that show more tells of Elizabeth's plights and triumphs. show less

I have always loved historical fiction and Ann Rinaldi writes great YA level books in this genre. I find that she writes books that pretty accurate factually and that also have great characters who I am interested in learning how they live in the time period they exist in.

Just another Elizabeth I story. Moves somewhat slow and it's hard to like this Elizabeth, because she is constantly talking about how she knows she will one day be Queen.