Anastasia: The Last Grand Duchess, Russia, 1914 by Carolyn Meyer

THE ROYAL DIARIES SERIES

Anastasia: The Last Grand Duchess, Russia, 1914 by Carolyn Meyer

Scholastic

Published in 2000

ISBN 0439129087

214 Pages

PLACES TO BUY FROM:

Amazon (Hardcover)
Barnes & Noble (Hardcover)

CHECKED OUT THE BOOK FROM MY PUBLIC LIBRARY.

APART OF THE GOODREADS 2011 READING CHALLENGE.

Review/Rating:

4 out of 5



The story of the very last Grand Duchess of Russia, Anastasia, told through a fictionalized diary by Carolyn Meyer in the Royal Diaries series/line.

Let's start with what urged me to check it out from the library. I decided to checked it out because I just love The Royal Diary series and the Dear America series since I love historical fiction. :D

I know this is for middle school and below, so it won't have all the elements that a young adult or adult book will have, so I will try not to go into the lack of details. For a middle school book, it does have the right amount of details and big words. Though, the one thing I can't forgive is how the diary entries are so out of place in the beginning that it is actually kind of boring, but it gets interesting once War World I starts up. Once those entries show up, it isn't that boring since they come pretty much in order and you can make sense of it. Yeah, so that is only thing I really don't like about the book, and that is the only reason why it is a 4 star instead of a 5 star. ;)

Now for the things I loved. I just loved how you can tell the author did her research over the matter, and she tried to keep it as accurate as she possibly can. Also, you can almost imagine how it might of felt like to live during World War I as Anastasia --- or, maybe, as any young, rich noble girl in Russia. Second thing I loved is that you can almost sense almost the kind of personality Anastasia might of have --- the mischievousness and playfulness almost pop out of the pages. And like all the Royal Diaries, I like the history notes, pictures, and other information the books usually come with. Also, I like how both the Royal Diaries and the Dear America books are pretty much fast reads --- I finished this one in pretty much 1-2 days. :D Oh, I also love the historical aspects of the books. :)

While like with most of the Royal Diaries or Dear America books, if you know the history, it already kind of spoils it, but what really makes these books special is how the authors in those series can pull off how a young teenager might have felt during that time and give that person a personality you can imagine relating to. So, despite being an adult, I still enjoy these book series because of the history and the other things I mentioned above.

Other Reviews/Author Site:

Carolyn Meyer
Goodreads: Anastasia: The Last Grand Duchess, Russia, 1914 by Carolyn Meyer
Library Thing: Anastasia: The Last Grand Duchess, Russia, 1914 by Carolyn Meyer
The Book Lover: Anastasia: The Last Grand Duchess, Russia, 1914 by Carolyn Meyer