Reviews

Sondok: Princess of the Moon and Stars, Korea, A.D. 595 by Sheri Holman

bergha1998's review against another edition

medium-paced

4.25

Sondok has an unusual hobby for a girl of her time, she loves astronomy. Except everyone thinks her skill & dedication is a bad thing. Especially when she disagrees with the Chinese ambassador.

sunscour's review against another edition

4.0

Looking for more information on Sondok, had a list of resources in the back. Written in diary format.

emmarj's review against another edition

2.0

This was written as letters to her grandmother. So it was really weird how she would say things like, "grandmother, you remember how we do xyz cultural tradition," it was just so unnatural and weird. Then the author stopped doing that about a third of the way through the book, which almost makes it more weird I think. 🤷

racheljoy7's review against another edition

3.0

This is decidedly not how a fourteen year old girl thinks or writes, but maybe that's not the point of The Royal Diaries books.

Years ago my daughter collected all the books in this series and read them all. I borrowed this from her in order to fulfill some tasks on a couple of challenges, and out of respect for her I finished it. The book is filled with interesting historical facts about the people and the era they lived in, but it lacks any depth of feeling for the characters and their ordeals.
Maybe it's just the particular author of this one book, as the books in this series have all different authors.

beammey's review against another edition

3.0

I liked the book! I thought it was good, but not amazing. I did like the astrological aspect of it though and I did stay interested. For a person in the right age group I can see how this would be a big hit. Very good. 3.75 out of 5 stars. I would recommend it.

augustgreatsword's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

khaleesimod93's review against another edition

informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

I've been needing to read something uplifting yet something that reminded me of my childhood. Luckily, I had the entire royal diaries series. And this is the first one. I only remember reading one or two of the royal diaries series and so glad I'm able to start at the beginning. I loved the simplicity, the research, and the way the story of Sondok was told. Her voice is clear and pure. She's intelligent, kind, and observant. It hurt reading as Lin Fang tried to diminish her and how her father started treating her. Small men have no use for strong women. Even though she made herself small, in the end, she grew and became her true self. It's a beautiful story done with simplicity, but done well. 

eirenophile's review against another edition

3.0

An improvement on the Nzingha book but not as captivating writing as the Indian Princess of Princesses, which is too bad as her life was obviously fascinating. Still, a solid 3 stars (not a rounding up as in the case of Nzinga).

wishwash06's review against another edition

3.0

Being that it was written for the middle school ages, I can over look the style and some of the blatant bow tied plot devices. Having a epilogue history and background explanations were a definite plus.

missmeddler's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5