Reviews

Fatal Throne by Candace Fleming, Stephanie Hemphill, Deborah Hopkinson, M.T. Anderson, Linda Sue Park, Jennifer Donnelly, Lisa Ann Sandell

Only show reviews with written explanations

dyerra's review against another edition

3.0

I think that the idea for this book was better than the execution of this book.
It was absolutely brilliant to have each queen written by a different author. The authors were given a lot of freedom as to formatting as well, and it really made the queens come to life. It worked really well and I appreciated that aspect of the book tremendously.

This book fell flat for me because I thought it was going to be more about the queens, and instead it was more about Henry VIII as told by the queens. I know this seems like splitting hairs, but I had just read Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, which has a theme of how women bond together and get by and make their own society in a domineering and controlling patriarchy, so I was hoping for something more along those lines. I do think that this was present for some of the wives, especially the last few, but I just wanted more of it. I would have liked to read more about who the queens were outside of their marriages to the king, and instead the book treats them largely as though their existence began with Henry VIII noticing them.

I think another thing that would have helped me enjoy this book more is if it were written chronologically. It is formatted so that each queen has her chapter in chronological order of her rule, but I started getting confused when the queens began to overlap (for example, Anna of Cleves was the last wife to die, and the book focuses on her death during her chapter, but she was the fourth queen, so she is talking about events that take place after she dies in the book, if that makes sense). This might have been more to coordinate between multiple authors and possibly a logistical nightmare, but I would have preferred if the format of the book were that each queen got a chapter in each year that she was alive, from her perspective and what she was doing.

I had a very hard time getting into this book, though it did get easier as I went along, and I'm not sure if that's because I liked the later queens better or what. It took me a very long time to read, and the library is mad that I still have it. I'll bring it back tomorrow, though!

sarahjolioli's review against another edition

Go to review page

informative medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

morgtamm22's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

What an interesting way to tell seven different stories, and I learned a lot about the wives that you never seem to hear about. It must have been very fun for the authors to weave these stories together into one book.

internationalkris's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

This was a fascinating historical fiction novel created by seven top YA authors. The 6 queens (divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived) of Henry the VIII all come to life beautifully in this wonderful account. Each story unfolds from the moment of impending doom as the queen realizes that it is all over for her in Henry's eyes. The different voices of each writer accentuate the varied personalities of each of these unique women of their time. Interspersed between each queen is M. T. Anderson's masterful rebuttal by Henry himself. Fantastic and so readable for teens!