Carolyn Meyer
1 Not bad
This book wasn't bad, but seemed to lack any serious plot. Isabel is forced to live in Segovia, a place that she finds tedious and dull. She is constantly being offered to various princes she should and shouldn't marry, she has a general dislike for her brother, the King, and her sister-in-law, whom on several occasions Isabel herself witnessed being unfaithful. Good as far as her thoughts go, such as being trapped in at Segovia, and not a bad read, despite the story lacking any serious plot.
2 One of the Best
I feel as though I must correct all the bad reviews that I read about this book. People are saying that Carolyn Meyer has Isabel be very mean, and domineering, and even whiny. However, that isn't true at all. And they also say they had her go to church too much. Back then, Catholics were always in chapel! Obviously the people who stated those things have no concept of a true Spanish background. (Although born in the US, I am spanish, and am proud of it.) They also said that Isabel and Ferdinand were very cruel (not part of diary, but is discussed later) to the Jews. You have to understand that although it seems cruel to us now, back then it was normal justice, and she thought she was doing the right thing. So all you out there, watch what you say about my ancestor! And for those of you who have no idea of what I'm talking about, I reccomend this book. It is very historical, and fun.
3 boring
When I first got this book, I was really excited because I love almost all of the Royal Diary books. Once I read this though, I was sorely disapointed. It was a very boring read which talked only about the people Isabel was going to marry and how she had to go to church everyday. I found myself skipping pages at a time and not missing anything important. The book could have been interesting but I think Carolyn Meyer did a poor job portraying the Spanish royalty culture. I wouldn't buy this book unless you wanted to have all the RD, because there's always the library to borrow it from.
4 A on and off book
when I first saw this book I grabbed it because It looked cool. It was, but not at first because at first it was all "el scorpian is in love with el minio" or watever. Other then that I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!
5 The Life of Isabel
Isabel, Jewel of Castilla is a fictional biography. This book is compelling with drama. The book takes place in Spain where Isabel lives. She lives in the palace along with her annoying, quite wicked brother, King Enrique, Enrique's wife, the most annoying Queen Juana, and her spoiled niece, Princess Juana. Isabel has another brother, King Alfonso, whose enemy is his own brother King Enrique. Of course, she has servants, the finest food, clothes, and luxuries. Isabel has a nice life, except for the fact that King Enrique is trying to find a husband for her, and she hates everyman that Enrique gets. But, will she marry the one she hates most, or the one she loves best?
I love this book because of all the detail and dialogue. You can feel what the character is feeling because it is written as the character's diary. All the detail and dialogue just takes you away to another place.
Now you might be thinking what the weaknesses are. But I think this book was so well written, all it has is strengths.
I think that the author, Carolyn Meyer, did a good job writing this book. Meyer kept you hooked to the book. She develops all of the main characters so much, that you feel like you know them really well.
I would definitely recommend this book to girls ages 10 and up. This is because I think boys would find it boring and girls under 10 wouldn't understand it a bit. I am very sure you won't be able to put this book down after you start reading it.
6 A good introduction to Spanish history for younger readers.
I am a huge fan of YA historical fiction, especially international historical fiction. Having lived in the lands that Isabel once ruled (Castilla y Le—n), the novel was a pleasant reminder of the many castles, monasteries and medieval buildings I visited while living in northern Spain (Burgos). When I attended the Universidad de Burgos I took Spanish history as a requirement, and we learned about many of the events covered in this novel: the Moorish conquest in 711, the centuries of the Reconquista (the attempt to retake Spain and drive out the infidels), the final victory at Granada in January 1492, the later expulsion of Jews and Moors that year, and most fateful, Cristob‡l Colon's discovery of America, as well as the political intrigue surrounding Alfonso and Enrique, Juana La Beltraneja, and later Juana La Loca.
Isabel strives to follow the instruction of her confessor (later the head of the brutal Spanish Inquisition) Tom‡s de Torquemada, but is spirited, not content with the answers she is given. With her father dead and her mother having lost her senses, Isabel is left to fend for herself and to follow her heart.
Isabel's diary reads like exactly that: a diary, with long stretches of time glossed over, full of the tedious details that filled her confined life until her marriage. The extended cast of characters numbers near forty, and at times the book feels like a memory exercise. However, the author makes a brave attempt to bring to life a lost period of time when Spain was divided between Christian and Moor, and the Christian provinces were dangerous, full of outlaws and warring factions, each ruled by a separate king. Isabel's life is constantly at risk, caught in a war between her brothers, and it is her marriage to Fernando of Arag—n that finally produces the beginnings of a unified Espa–a.
Although some information is inaccurate, "Isabel: Jewel of Castilla" is full of historical details about life in Spain, the political climate of the time, popular beliefs, court life and more, and various Spanish names/phrases are used (there is a handy glossary in the back). There is an abridged family tree, photocopies of maps, engravings and statues, and a list of characters provided at the end of the book.
7 FABULOUS!
Another amazing addition to the Royal Diaires! Isabel was AMAZING! When the book begins Isabel is a timid, negative, a christan fanatic, and often feels helpless while others decide her future. But by the end of the book she is a confident, strong spirited person who destained to become a great queen (and she does). Also you can also expect a great thing between her and her future husband Fernando. You just need to remeber one thing... in the very begining (meaning the first five pages) all it seems like she does is pray but once your past those first few pages an exciting story unfoldes and you'll be begging (NOT praying) for more!
8 Excellent Book!!
Great start to a great series. I thought this book was excellent.
9 First Royal Diaries Book I Ever Read
This was the first book I read(without knowing it was part of a series) I've read&have everyone of them that has come out. Considering this was one of the first in the series I thought it was excellent. Some of the books had a few dull spots, but it was so rare to find a dull spot in this book. I felt so sorry for Isabel living with people like Enrique&Queen Juana who kept setting up betrothals to horrid men. She sounded like an interesting person, a person who it might have been interesting to be. I am now awaiting 4 books that should be coming out eventually(Elisabeth of Austria:The Princess Bride; Kristina:The Girl King, Sweden; Weetamoo:Chief of the Poccasetts, Massachusetts; and one coming in 2004 by Kristian Gregory-Catherine the Great). Keep reading!
10 Interesting Book
I liked Isabel Jewel of Castilla a lot. The characters were well developed and the plot was pretty interesting. I liked hearing what Catholics were like over five hundred years ago and I am glad I live now instead of then. The book kept me pretty interested, but sometimes it was a litlle boring. The book was great and I recommend it to anyone!!
11 How inaccurate! (i think)
I should revisit whatever i learned in school about Isabel la Cat—lica. Much of what i remember is not what this book explains. I understand that history goes through many phases of revisionism, but i have a feeling that the author dwelled a bit too much on those parts that portray Isabel as a fanatic. This book then opens for me a lot of windows, as i am now more curious about history than i was in fifth grade. Hooray!
12 A Great Book!
I had never really heard much about Princess Isabel before reading this book, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. In the Historical notes, I found out that she was involved in Columbus's discovering America. This book was very good, and kept me interesting the entire time I was reading. I read it all in one sitting. I would recommend it to anyone!
13 A Great Book!
I had never really heard much about Princess Isabel before reading this book, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. In the Historical notes, I found out that she was involved in Columbus's discovering America. This book was very good, and kept me interesting the entire time I was reading. I read it all in one sitting. I would recommend it to anyone!
14 Not Worthy!
"Isabel: Jewel of Castilla" is the worst Royal Diaries book yet. In the other books, the reader can relate to the main character. Not the case. It seems that all Isabel does is pray, do penance, or whine. Most of the other books in this series have some sort of dilemma that makes the book worth reading. For instance, in "Marie Antoinette" Marie has to get married and move to France from her native Austria, and in "Cleopatra" she is in danger of being assassinated and has to go into hiding. "Isabel" has no apparent point, except for the fact that she gets banished to Segovia, which she doesn't do any thing about. If you're looking for palace intrigue, which this seems to promise, try Cleopatra, Marie Antoinette, Nzingha, Elizabeth I or Kaiulani. You still get the diary format, but these books are more interesting, and give you a better sense of what it was like to live in the various time periods.
15 Isabel
King Enrique of Spain sees his 14-year-old sister, Princess Isabel, as a pawn to be used to strengthen his rule over the kingdom. He tries to marry her off to any patron who would benefit his political cause. Luckily, Isabel manages to escape each unfavorable suitor, avert danger from warring forces in the land, and find the man whom she actually wants to marry.
16 Great Book !
This was a great book . It had a lot of events going on and ect . But , if you saw the Royal Diary show the Isabel one , the book and the show are like half of two different things . Like , Catalina her friend in the end of the show , she went to Aragon with Isabel , but in the book she died shortly after her brother Alfonso died of a disease . I'm sorry thatI gave some of the book way but , if you saw the show and read the book you would know what I mean .
17 Isabel, the Jewel of Castilla
Isabel lives in captive as her half-brother Alfredo rules Spain. She is pressured to marry some matches Alfredo makes (by the way, he makes bad matches). She instead wants to marry her Fernando, a handsome prince. She does at the end though! But read it yourself...it's so interesting.
18 Jewel of Castilla
It starts out dull but as the story unfolds Isabel lives in a world where no one can be trusted. Her brother has spies to constantly watch her and she has no one to confide in. She is devoted to her faith and often wants to be punished more than she deserves. Although sworn not to take sides Isabel in stuck in between a conflict between her cruel untrusting brother King Enrique and her loving and kind young brother Alfonso over who should be king of Spain. But when Alfonso dies from illness Isabel is is heir. Isabel must chose between continueing the conflict or letting Enrique rule. If she chooses yes she continues the bloodshed people are growing tired from or she could be deceived by her brother. If she chooses Enrique she must also be married of to someone of whom all he has sop far introduce disgust her. When in truth she wants to marry Prince Ferdinand.
19 Isabel, Jewel of the Castilla
This book is a diary about a young teen princess who is sent to live with her brother, Enrique. He takes Isabel away from their mother after their father died, because he thought this would be a bad way to raise the children. They lived in a palace where Enrique was king. Later, his brother Alfonso takes his own Palace. Since they are now separated, they have conficts. This disrupts the family.
I liked the book because many teens can relate to it. Isabel wasn't spoiled or anything, that's why i admire her. Even though she hads quite a few sins, she wrote them down, and recognized them. She was a great friend to all of the people in the Castilla, and most people liked her. Even though Queen Juana, Enrique's wife, wanted Isabel to get married to her husband, she didnt go off on her, she kept calm. I think she is a great person.
My favorite part of the book is when Isabel meets Catalina. She is beautiful in every way and her father is the keeper of the treasury. Catalina is very inspirational. Not because of her looks, but because of the fact she has a mishappen foot. This causes her to walk with a limp. No one wants to marry her becuase of this, but she still has faith and wants to become a nun. Isabel envies Catalina becuase she doesn't have to get married, and Isabel has to get married to King Afonso, or better known as El Escorpion (the scorpion).
20 Isabel, Jewel of Castilla
Absolutely loved this book! It's so cool that it's from a teenage girl's point of view and how she expresses herself about what's happening in this period of time.
21 Awesome book
Isabel is a fifteen year old girl when this book first starts. It is about her teen years as a princess. She had been ripped from her family and banished to Segovia by her half-brother, King Enrique. Along with being enslaved, she deals with her brother continually threatening to marry her to digusting old men, just to keep her in line, and choosing which brother to support for the thrown. Even though her half-brother wants to marry her off, she secretly makes plans to marry Ferdnando, Prince of Arogon.
This is an extremely awesome book and I would recommend it to anyone who asks me for a good book to read. It is a fun way of learning some history, along with any other book in this series.
22 a great book
isabel was a stupendus book. you should read it. when I read it I fell in love with the book. it was just so good. I would read it if I were you.
23 Good, but could be better.
I like Carolyn Meyer's works, but, after I finish one of her books, I always feel that she has not quite met her potential. Isabel: Jewel of Castilla, Spain, 1466 is an interesting book, but does not grab the attention. I was disappointed that the book did not have more of a period feel. It kind of felt like a girl from this age had been transported back to 1466. It did not show her up-bringing influencing her as it undoubtedly had to. All in all, it was a very enjoyable book, but did not give the feel that it was truly written five hundred years ago.
24 As good as the others in the series
First of all, while this book portrays Isabel in a somewhat different light than some of the others with their respective princesess, I actually found that quite refreshing. Also, while most of the others begin with princess being around twelve or so, Isabel is already almost fifteen when the book begins, and is about eighteen by the end, which I also found refreshing, since, being almost sixteen, for once I was not made to feel like an old fogey. Anyway, in this tale is full to the brim with palace intrigue, along with a well portrayed spanish flavor. Isabel lives with her older brother, who is King, while secretely feeling favor for the true heir, her younger brother. Meanwhile her older brother continually threatens to marry her off to disgusting old men in order to keep her in line, but Isabel's spirit does not flag, for she is determined to marry for love rather than convienience. Anyway, this book is great, building one what I have always known; that history can be cool! I recommend this book to anyone ten all the way up to adults.
25 Isabel
The book about Princess Isabel was quite good. I enjoyed it all most as much as the book on Princess Elizabeth. Isabel was exciting to read about becasue she told about all the hard things a Princess goes through, not just the good things. She told it how it is. I think this book is one of my favorites becasue Isabel is different from the other book in this series I have read (which by the way is all of them). This is a totally good read.
26 the real Jewel of Castilla
THIS BOOK IS ONE OF MY FAVORITES! IT EXPLAINS SO MUCH OF QUEEN ISABEL. IT HELPED ME ONE OF MY TESTS. THIS BOOK ACTUALLY MADE ME WANT TO LEARN MORE THAN SNORE THRU HISTORY. SHE IS SO COOL! NO WONDER WHY SHE IS QUEEN ISABEL! :) :) :) :) :)
27 Isabel "Queen of the Americas"
This fictional diary of Queen Isabel tells the story of her life from when she was fifteen through eighteen. During this time Isabel records how lonely she is as her bigger brother King Enrique refuses her to see her widowed mother. She writes down her thoughts and emotions as she tries to thwart every attempt her older brother has of bethoral and marriage because he wants money and riches to benefit him. As she sees more and more of Enrique's bad actions she realizes that he is a bad king and plots to get her younger brother Alfonso on the royal throne, while she also plots with her confidont ArchBishop Carrilo on her secret marriage plans to marry Ferdinado II of Aragon. This was a great diary about the queen that sent Christopher Columbus on his voyage to the Americas. I recommend this book to all enjoyers of Royal Diaries.
28 One of the best historical fiction of Isabel
Carolyn Meyer does the best fictionalized version of Isabel of Castilla I have seen yet. Out of many of the Royal Diaries, this is one of the most action packed.
Isabel of Castilla is daughter of King Juan II of Castilla and Leon, and Princess Isabel of Portugal, second wife of Juan II. After her father's death long ago, Isabel's half brother Enrique has taken the throne. He condemns Isabel to Segovia with his wanton wife, Queen Juana and his six year old daughter, Princess Juana. Isabel lacks freedom and is separated from her mother and her brother, Alfonso. Enrique is afraid the rebels will get Isabel on their side. The rebel grandes (nobels of Castilla and Leon) disapprove of Enrique and has made Isabel's younger brother, Alfonso the King. Isabel tries to be neutral but is severly angered by Enrique when he forces her to marry without her permission and by breaking a peace agreement after her brother's death. Isabel takes things into her own hands and marries in secret with Prince Ferdinand of Aragon.
The novel moved along quickly since Isabel had alot of twists in her young life at the age of 15. She had many marriage proposals but she wanted Ferindand in the end. I found her extremely brave at times but deeply religious. It showcased many exciting events to make sure the reader was not bored. Isabel was on disguise some parts, ran away to at times and risked her life throughout the book by disobeying Enrique. Meyer did a great job showcasing all the events and I learned alot in the end.
Other than Isabel's misguided 'projects' such as The Spanish Inquisition and reclaim of Granada from the Moors. Isabel, Queen of the future Espa–a led many great achievements. She has been nicknamed, 'Queen of the Americas' for funding of Christopher Columbus and making Spain, one of the most powerful, admired and cultured of that time.
29 So-so
This is a decent book, no more, no less.I understand it was very hard for an author to tell Isabel's story in diary form. Isabel's violent anti-Semitism is portrayed quite well in her daily entries, revealing her for the monster that Isabel truly was.It was also clever for the diary to be a repentance book for Isabel's sins, considering how she was supposedly a devout Catholic.Key word, supposedly. However, I think Isabel was too judgemental of Queen Juana(Did Padre Torquemada also give the queen a book to record her sins? If so her book will be filled long before mine.) Yes, her disgust at her IS rational, but Iasbel rambles on about her way too much, even though Juana was very civil, if not even friendly toward Isabel. And I didn't like how she complained about Juana Jr. For goodness sake's she is a 4 year old child! How could she be plotting against her? I did not like how the diary made Isabel seem like a whiner. But give it a try if you wish!
30 One of my Favorites
This was my second favorite Royal Diaries book after Cleopatra. I couldn't stop reading! The details were good, and I couldn't wait to find out what happened. I totally reccomend this book.
31 Fantastico Book for The Royal Diaries Series!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Isabel is the Princess of Castilla, in her diary she tells of her beliefs of her Catholic Religon and how she wishes to be freed from the rule of her brother Enrique and her younger brother Alfonso would be King of Spain. In her diary we also see how all of her suitors are picked by her brother with only intrest in money, but young Isabel wants to marry someone not for money, but for love and she finds that with Prince Fernando II. My favorite part thought is when discovers(and has always know) that her brother Enrique's wife Juana is cheating on him with his best friend Beltran de la Cueva. It is even siad around the castle that Juana and Enrique Daughter Juana, is not Enrique's. That it's the true daugther of Beltran de la Cueva, that's how she got the nick name "Juana "La Beltraneja". So I say read this Royal Diary and you wont be dissaponited, also they have a glossary for the name of the people and how to say them and what they mean and how the Spainsh language came to be.
32 Possibly the best in the Royal Diaries series
This book is wonderful. It is about Queen Isabel when she was in her preteen-teen years. The country is divided... some people support Enrique (her older half brother) as king, but others support her younger brother, Alfonso as king. While there are fights and battles going on about this, her older brother is determined to marry Isabel off to Isabel's sister in law's brother. Isabel doesn't want to marry him at all, but she really has no choice. Through out the book she finds herself almost marrying at least four people. And then she finds herself in a difficult position... the heir to the throne.
At first I thought this was a boring book, but as I went on I loved it. I rate it second in the series.
33 Not as good as the other ones.
I have read most of the Royal Diaries series and I like most of them, but this book is nowhere near as good as any of the others. All Isabel seems to care about are her religion, and who she wants to marry. The narrative can be very dull in places. I was dismayed but not surprised to learn that Isabel was the one who started the Inquisition.
34 THIS IS WONDERFUL!!
'Jewel of Castilla' is one of the best books that I have ever read. Although the diary itself is fiction, most of the material, dates. etc. are true. It is suspenseful, interesting, and intrigueing. I have read this book four times, each time I have loved it more than the first time I read it! This book is wonderful for anyone over the age of eight or so, otherwise it could be rather difficult to understand. Aside from that, this is a terrific book that should be given an award or something!
35 Loved it And will Always:
Being Spainard and of decent of some royal family I loved it. It was so in depth and educational I would definately recommend it to the "younger" girl or boy. I recommend all of the Royal Diary books because they really are great to read and fun to learn... I plan to write fiction also and these books will really help me if I plan to write about Royalty. I'm not going to tell you what its about because I don't want to spoil the book for you, but it is definately a must have for young history lovers... Thank you.
36 Isabel, Jewel of Castilla
This is an AWESOME book! It's about a princess of Spain whose two brothers both claim to be king. She is torn between which brother to side with. Then her older brother confines her to a castle and tries to force her to marry a terrible, rude, old (33), and ugly man just because he is rich. Can she escape her rude brother's rule and rule herself? Does she even want to rule? Read the book to find out.
37 Being a princess isn't always easy...
"Isabel: Jewel of Castilla" was another good book in the "Royal Diaries" series, telling the difficult life of this teenage princess, who later sent Columbus to America.
Isabel lives in fear of marriage betrothals constantly broken, renewed, and thought up, mainly for political reasons. Living in the castle that her brother sent her to for safety, she plots to find a good marriage, and to get out of her "prison"...
This book was very interesting, but I only gave it four stars because it was pretty dull until the middle of it. It gets exciting towards the end, however! You may also enjoy the other "Royal Diaries" books, and also "Mary, Bloody Mary".
38 Great Book
Very interesting book! I enjoyed learning more about Isabel and her history. The story takes place when Isabel is 15 years old. Her father has been dead for several years, so her half-brother Enrique claims the throne. However, there are some who believe that Isabel's younger brother Alfonso should be king. So during this time of political unrest, Isabel is growing up and thinking of the future.
Isabel receives a total of six different marriage proposals from different countries. Enrique promises that he will not force her to marry, so long as he approves her choice. Again, his promise is broken, as it is many times during this book, and Isabel decides to make her own plans, despite her brother's wrath.
39 Isabel : Jewel of Castilla
I read "Isabel : Jewel of Castilla" after reading the first three books in the Royal Diaries series. When I compared "Isabel" with the others, I was a little dissatisfied. This book didn't give as many details about Isabel's day-to-day life as the other books gave about the everyday lives of their respective heroines. Also, there are extremely long gaps between certain entries -- anywhere from a few months to nearly a year. This book also centered too much on Isabel's feelings against Queen Juana (one of the main antagonists in this volume). As far as I could discern, Queen Juana was actually quite friendly to Isabel. I could understand part of her loathing toward the Queen for having attempted to murder Alfonso, but her constant tirades against Queen Juana quickly became boring, as do her monotonous complaints about her six ladies-in-waiting and her successive critiques of Enrique's clothing. Isabel goes a little too far in complaining about "La Beltraneja," or Princess Juana. For God's sake, Princess Juana is a four-year-old child! How could she possibly be a part of her mother's schemes to seat her on the Castillan throne? The section toward the end of the book when Fernando finally manages to broach the borders of Castilla and meet Isabel was, to me, inadequately written and difficult to understand, as were the entries about important events such as the liberation of Segovia. Overall, this book wasn't VERY poorly written, but it isn't up to par with the other books in the series. However, since most people seemed to like it, it wouldn't hurt to give this book a try.
40 Cleopatra, Daughter of the Nile, Egypt, 59 BC
I like this book because the way it was written. Even before I read the book, I knew a lot about Cleopatra. But I didn't know that she had two sisters and one was strangled and the other one exucuted( meaning having your head cut off.). It made her seem like a young, innocent,adventoures child, even though I know she exucuted the rest of her brothers and sisters. If you liked this book, you would like,ElizabethI,Red Rose of the House of Tudor, in England, Isabel, Jewel of Castilla, in Spain, Marie Antoinette, Princess of Versialles, in Austria AND France. I am also looking forward to get Nzingha, warrior Queen of Matamba, in Angola, and Anastasia, the last Grand Duchess, in Russia. I also want to get ElizabethI, which I do not have.
41 Isabel: Jewel of Castilla is a Jewel of all Books
When I first began my adventure into the life of Isabel, I wasn't sure how my feelings would be toward it, I knew very little about the actual history of the real Isabel, and I had not been completely pleased with another Royal Diary book. This book, in the end, turned out to be a favorite of mine for the writer I thought very cleverly created a plot inside of the real history, and the different twists and turns and the culture of Isabel's time mixed with her feelings I found fascinating! Plus, the plot was very interesting and the different surprises were fantastic!
42 Isabel:Jewel of castilla
When I started this book I thoght it was never going to get intresting then it got really good and it was so good that i couldn't put it down so I finished it that day! If you like to read about royalty then this is a book for you.
43 Fabulous
This is truly a great book. Here are words I would use to describe it- Great- ravishing, expressive, wondrous, amazing! I truly reccomend this book to anyone, anywhere, anytime!
44 Supercalifragilisticexpeealidocious
I have read all the Royal diaries and am fascinated with all. If you like historical fiction, read the royal diaries! I am the best reader at my school and have read a lot of books, so I know quality work when I read it!
45 The Best!
This book was absoulutly terrific! I loved it so much! It is about a princess and how her life goes everyday. She is torn between her two brothers one who she favors and the other who has more power.
The characters are described very well in this book and so are the settings.
Of course this is a fictional book but is based on true facts. I would give this ten stars if I could! I would definitly recommend this book!
46 The Greatest Book on Isabel of Spain
When I first picked up this book I thought, "How STUPID!" But when I started reading it, I realized, Hey, this isn't soo bad!
This story shows how young Isabel felt about the world around her, her main concerns were mainly frienship with one of her brothers, and lack of friendship with another. This book also explains how life was when diseases such as the plauge were common. The sad backround also talks about Isabel's mentally ill mother. (Who was not ALWAYS that way) And how Isabel felt about her life. When the Spanish princess is being backed into corners and forced marriages by her older brother, she must find a way to escape them, and the choicees she must make are severe risks.
In this book there are very sad parts and very happy ones.
Yes this is the Isabel that sent Christopher Comlumbus to the Americas. But the book doesn't go that far.
In Comparison to the Other Royal Diaries Books, this would probably be ranked second, under Cleopatra. Others you would probably like, if you like this book are: Cleopatra, Daughter of the Nile Elizabeth, the Red Rose of Tudor AND, Marie Antionette,Princess of Versailles
If you liked and of the other books in the Royal Diaries series, or even In Dear America, you'll love this book!
47 Loved it!
i loved this fictional diary. I love all of the books in the royal diaries series. i think that this is a great story that anyone in the right mind would love!
48 A Great Royal Diary!
When I started this book I could not put it down. Even when you're just on the first page it's interesting. Sometimes it got a little ongoing on a subject that didn't need that much explaining but other than that it was really good. Isabel jewel of Castilla truley is a jewel.
49 Fantastic!
I love this book so much when I started reading it I couldn't put it down! It is amazing how the author describes every detail!
The book is about a princess who is torn between two brothers ,both kings with a lot of power. She tries not to be on either ones side. But one of her brothers wants her to marry someone she absoluty hates. He even tries to force her to marry him. But she has a plan that will change her life forever in the best way she can imagine.
This book is really great. I truly recommend you read it.
50 best book i ever read
this book is the best book i've read! u just have to read it for yourself to find out how good it is! whenever i left off, the book just left you hanging! i mean, it really doesn't take long at all before you can't stop your self! i wish this book would never end!
51 A "Jewel" of a Book!
This book is one of a kind! It tells of how a young princess Isabel is forced to put up with a very difficult childhood. Everything is hard for her because she must also remain mutal between her two fighting brothers; one she loves and one she dosen't.
All of the characters in the book are exciting. I loved reading them grow in different ways all through out the book. Also, the historic background is very well reserched and dislpayed.
I think this book is great for anybody ready for a good read!
52 The Best Yet
Isabel's diary is the best. It was well written and had many lessons. I felt bad for her since Enrique made every choice. Princess Mary is in two Royal Diaries:Isabel and Elizabeth.Mary is Isabel's grandaughters. You have to read this fantastic book!
53 A fictionalization of Queen Isabel of Spain's teenage years.
This fictional diary of Queen Isabel of Spain begins when she is a lonely fifteen-year-old princess, forced by her brother, King Enrique, to live away from her widowed mother. She plots to bring her other brother, Alfonso, to the throne, while thwarting her brother's attempts to arrange a marriage for her. She decides to take matters into her own hands and arrange a marraige that will bring her happiness and political prosperity. This was a wonderful book that brought Isabel to life, not just as a royal figure, but as a teenager with feelings and dreams. I highly reccomend this to historical fiction fans, especially if you enjoyed other books in the Royal Diaries series.
54 A Excellant Book
This book is great! The queen of Spain, who later in her life allows Christopher Columbus to go on his historical voyage to America, is very interesting and the book was very well written. I would give this book on a scale of 1-10, a 9.5.
