HicksĬategories Categories 1/5 2/5 3/5 4/5 5/5 Angie Sage Anne of Green Gables A Series of Unfortunate Events Brandon Sanderson Brian Jacques Brotherband Chronicles Children's Chris Riddell Christian Cinda Williams Chima Daniel Handler Dear America Diana Wynne Jones Dystopian E.

Secrets of Shakespeare's Grave by Deron R.

Aunt Maria: The Only Diana Wynne Jones Book I Don't Really Like.

Spirit Animals: Wild Born: The Cover Is Cool, But That's About It.

Series Week V: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.A Reflection on Make It or Break It: What It Did Right.After: The Summary Made Me Hesistant, But The Ending Was Glorious.A Reflection on Make It or Break It: What It Got Wrong.Info: Barry Denenberg published 2003 by Random House Genre: Middle Grade, Historical Fiction Warnings: None Recommended Age Range: 10+ Denenberg remains my least favorite of the authors writing these books, as he was with the Dear America series. However, this book compared to the other books in the series is relatively tame in terms of insight into the period and the Austrian culture in general (though it does maybe relate something in terms of the Hapsburgs), so it’s not memorable or particularly interesting.

And, of course, what these books have always done well is show just how sumptuous being royal is, with lengthy descriptions about dresses, manners, customs, etc. What Denenberg does get across is Elisabeth’s attention to her hair, appearance, and figure, as well as the general public’s adoration of her and the Emperor. Denenberg tries to include some moments with Archduchess Sophie, presumably to indicate her controlling personality that led to some of the revelations in the epilogue, but he definitely doesn’t do enough to soften that jarring blow, which is the complete opposite in tone to the entire book. Rating: 2/5 It’s an odd tonal shift when a book’s entire plot is about a girl excited to marry the person she’s been rhapsodizing about for the entire book, then the epilogue basically drops the tone five octaves and states, “AND SHE REGRETTED IT FOREVER.” But that’s exactly what Elisabeth: The Princess Bride does, detailing Elisabeth, Princess of Bavaria, meeting Franz Joseph I of Austria and the whirlwind courtship that followed, then driving things headlong into the ground with a biting conclusion that basically states that Elisabeth was miserable for the rest of her life.

Elisabeth barry denenberg