Customer Reviews

Lady Of Palenque : Flower of Bacal, Mesoamerica, A.D. 749

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I started this book way back in March upon its release, and I wasn't entirely anticipating reading it after I heard that it wasn't that great. But I decided to give it a try and it didn't end well, I didn't get to page 40 before I gave up. I didn't pick the book up again until late June when I was trying to catch up on all the books I own that I haven't read. And I'm glad I picked this one up again. Sure, I stopped again around page 100 but I finally finished the book last night after deciding 5 months was enough...I have to finish this book.

The book is actually very well done. Unlike the other Royal Diaries, the writing really is authentic to the Mayan era it is set in. In books such as Weetamoo and Sondok, it is obvious the author is trying to re-construct the writing style of the character's culture & time, but in Lady of Palenque, the writing really is convincing. The entire book reads lyrically and poetically and the culture of the Maya is deeply rooted in the Lady's words. This can be both a good and a bad thing. While it makes the book seem more real and more like it would be an account of the time, it must be kept in mind that middle school kids are the people reading these books. And your average middle schooler isn't a Mayan scholar, so most of the references and cultural items in this book are going to be unfamiliar and will confuse the reader for there are whole paragraphs that center on references to Mayan culture, forcing the reader to re-read the paragraph over and over again to try and put the Lady's words into today's understanding.

I think something that does bother some people is the fact that the author keeps switching from authentic Mayan names to English translations. For example, one page you'll have Lady Palmtrees and the next you'll have an elongated authentic Mayan name. And unfortunately, there are no pronunciation guides so the reader has to sound out the name as they think it should be said (we do get the hint, on the first page, that the 'x' makes a 'sh' sound). And, let's face it, sometimes the English versions of the names seem like a joke. For example, Lord Cocoa Beans. It just doesn't sound serious.

There are some problems with this book, but I think it was overall a decent book. The story isn't really that exciting, though. Basically, the Lady spends 30 pages in Lakamha (Palenque) and then travels all across the Yucatan peninsula and the coast before arriving at the closing of the book in Xukpi (Copan). There are stops along the way, such as in Mutal, a major city of the area, and an unexpected hurrican leaves the traveling parties stranded on islands off the coast. The plot is basically that Lady of Palenque has been chosen to marry the king of Copan, Fire Keeper, to provide a relationship between the cities of Palenque and Copan against enemy forces (we find out in the historical note that this was done by many cities at the time for the same reason). Many of the characters aren't fully formed, and rather symbolize different traits. But this is faulty, for it is hard to feel the Lady's pain when a close friend of her's is lost at sea during a hurricane for he was never 3-dimensional character to the reader. The only truly formed character is the Lady herself, who is not easily hated but is also not the most enjoyable Royal Diaries central character.

Basically, this book does have faults but it also does have many good things about it. I think one reviewer said 'this is not a Royal Diaries book'. Well, I have to agree. I think this book could have been a lone novel, because, unlike the other 16 books in the series at this point, this book really does transport you back to the time and place of the character as none of the others do and the writing is so different that it easily could be excluded from the other more non-accurate writing styles of the other diaries.

A decent read, though not the best of the series. And give it some time, I'd advise you.

This book was very interesting and exciting. I really enjoyed the believable characters. It is the story of the main character's journey through the jungles of Mesoamerica. If you like historical fiction, I recommend this book. I love the Royal Diaries Series and this book is a good addition.

I love this series, I love every book in it, I own every book in it, and I read them over...and over...and over. But I may never pick this book up again. I have yet even to finish it. I CAN'T finish it. The culture and the history and informational background of this book is great and very original. But my Social Studies textbook reads the same as this book does. I can't keep my attention on this book for more than a page. Honestly, there is no feeling to this book. If I were King Fire Keeper, I'd hang myself for having to marry a wife like Lady of Palenque. (...) This isn't a diary it's like a biography. And a bad one at that. I enjoyed Kirwan's earlier attempt, Victoria, very much and I found it very good even though other fans were disappointed. But I wouldn't recommend this book at all. The writing is bland, your focus will wary, and entries go on and on about NOTHING. I remember one entry where there was a paragraph devoted to the description of a bridge. Who cares. And you'll find that although Kirwan makes the writing very Mayan and very authentic, I don't think she remembers that this is a book for 10 year olds. It makes no sense. Unless you're a nut about Mayan culture this diary will honestly not make any sense to you most of the time. Not even the glossary can help you after the first few entries. Don't waste almost 11 dollars on this book unless you collect the entire series. Otherwise, get it from the library...if you dare.

ShahnaK'in Yaxchel Pacal, "Princess Green Jay on the Wall," is 13 years old and her father King Hanaab Pacal of Lakamha, modern day Palenque, has just betrothed her to K'ak Yipyaj Chan K'awil, "King Fire Keeper, the King of allie Xukpi. When the diary begins, Green Jay is preparing to make the long journey to Xukpi to meet the husband she has never met. Green Jay is sad because she knows that the long journey from Lakamha to Xukpi will likely mean that she will never return home. Her journey will be a treachrous one, as 749 Mesoamerica is not a peaceful time in Mayan history. Neighboring tribes are not on good terms with Lakamha and anything can happen. First her entourage of guardians and soldiers travel to Mutal, a allie of Lakahma where they rest for a few days. We get to see glimpses of the Mayan culture through their celebration. As the journey brings her more closer to Xukpi, Green Jay's anticipation of what her husband is like grows until the moment they finally meet.

This book is not as bad as some of the review here have portrayed it to be. I found it to have an okay storyline, though my interest did wane at some points and I had a hard time finishing the book. The names were quite hard to keep straight since they were so long and complicated. I had to check back to the glossory every few seconds to remind myself of who is who. I do believe this is the weakest Royal Diary so far but if you have some extra time on a boring day, this book might not be a bad read.

I found Princess Green Jay on the Wall to be an interesting and courageous girl who speaks truthfully about her worries about leaving home and meeting her future husband King Fire Keeper, the Holy Cornstalk Lord of Xukpi. I disagree with the comments that this story reads like a history book. This story reads like poetry! The discriptions are incredibly realistic. I could see this story as I read it which is great because the Mayan culture is so hard to imagine. Also, the book is not boring, there is plenty of action; enemies and alligators, boat wrecks, and deaths. The hardest thing about reading it is keeping track of the names which are long and might sound ridiculous to some people, but, this is a story about a very different culture, place and time. I wish there were more pictures of Mayan art at the back of the book.
I encourage readers to try this beautiful book. I think the author is really smart. I learned alot about Mayan culture and now I want to learn more.

This is easily the worst book in the Royal Diaries series. I've had it over a month and I still haven't finished it. The writing style the author uses may be "authentic" and "Mayan" but it's not appropriate for this book at all. It sounds lifeless and the character drones on and on about completely inane things, like she describes a bridge, and a dead deer in the water, and how her grandfather was in prison, and none of it has anything to do with the story. The character seems like some Mayan encyclopedia robot, not a real girl. Also, it's really confusing. I kept having to stop and reread whole paragraphs because the way the author described things just made no sense. I am 18 and the target audience for this book is 8-13 year olds, how are they going to manage to understand this book? I only gave it two stars because of the author's research which was obviously excellent. Too bad she didn't give the same effort to making her character and setting come alive. I really can't recommend this book at all, unless you must have a complete Royal Diaries collection.

First of all, I would like to mention that this boo kis incredibly boring. To any fan of the Royal Diaries, I wouldn't read this, but if you need a complete collection, you might as well buy it. The Royal Diaries have never let me down before, and a diary about a princess in the Mayan Empire sounded intriguing. Boy, was I wrong! But first, a little backround information. This book takes place in 749 A.D., in the city of Lakamha. The princess is ShanaK'in Yaxchel, and she is to be wed to K'ak Yipyaj Chan K'awil of Xukpi. So the princess must travel to her new husband. This sounds interesting, but the author, Anna Kirwan, reads like a history textbook. There is so much Mayan culture and lifestyle crammed in, there is almost no story. The book is also to long. 175 pages doesn't seem long, but it is when the story just drags on and on and on. And the characters' names! since this happened so long ago, many fictional names need to be invented, but they aren't very good, they are ridiculous and even comical. Uncut Pinebrance, Ah'Tzib, Lady Cottonblossom, It'zi Five Dawns, It'zi Three Storms, Red Cotton Yarn White Treeblossom,Lady Cedar Jaguar Claw, White-Coati-in-the-Mist, Precious-to-the-Song-God,Lightning Mountain Cloud, Jay on a Tall Red Lily, Cormorant, Bobo-Fish, the lady herself is called Green Jay on the Wall. And my favorite name of all...Lord Cocoa Beans! Also, another huge problem is there is no pronunciation guide! Seriously, this book needs it! There is so much Mayan language, I can barely read correctly without forgetting one or another name. We get a hint. On the first page it says that in the Mayan language "x" makes a "sh" sound. But that's it. In conclusion, the research is great, but no story, plot, or anything a good book has. Check out other great Royal Diaries books and leave this one to collect dust on the shelves.

ShahnaK'in Yaxchel Pacal, or Green Jay on the Wall, is a thirteen-year-old Mayan princess in the year 749 AD. As the daughter of the king of Lakahma, she has been chosen to marry the king of another Mayan kingdom, a man much older than her. Green Jay begins a diary upon learning of her future, and describes the home she grew up in, the customs of her people, her long journey to the land ruled over by her future husband, and the many dangers faced along the way.

I have read The Royal Diaries series since I was a young teenager, and truly enjoyed most of the books in the series. However, I really struggled with this book. I thought it would be interesting to learn about the culture of the lost Mayan civilization through the eyes of a young girl. However, the author tried too hard to give the narrator a distinct voice, rather then writing in a more modern style, and as a result the "diary" felt very detached and impersonal, making it difficult to care about the main character or what happened to her. The details of Mayan life didn't feel very smoothly integrated, and it was difficult to keep all the characters straight due to the confusing names the author used. I am older than the intended audience for this book, and even I had a hard time with it - preteens and young teenagers would probably find the book even more confusing.

I would only recommend this book to the most devoted fans of The Royal Diaries who want to read every book in the series for completion. The author did do her research quite well and put a lot of work into the book (hence the three stars), but ultimately I think the style she chose to write the book in was a poor choice, especially given it was written for young readers.

This book was great!!!!!!! I was reading it with my class, and I think that its better to read it slowly and kind of think about what she is saying. Sure, the names are a little confusing at first, but then it really picks up. Dispite the other reviews, I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I real
realy enjoyed this book.it is not as bad as people make it sound.