Queen of the Sea is a beautifully illustrated historical graphic novel for teen/older children readers, though I enjoyed it as an adult too. The story is loosely based on Queen Mary and Elizabeth I, and centres on Queen Eleanor's exile on a remote convent island off Scotland where women and children enemies of the crown are held prisoner. Events are seen through the eyes of Margaret, a 12 year old whose grown up on the island but doesn't know why she was left there. Margaret's observations of the world around her are charming and funny, and I loved her bravery, quick thinking and determination. This is a lovely book to get younger readers into history, although the ending felt abrupt, perhaps to make way for a sequel to Margaret and Eleanor's adventures,

Queen of the Sea by Dylan Meconis

This is a graphic novel. Great story with amazing illustrations.

I would like to thank Net Galley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great historical fiction graphic novel for young readers. I love how brave young Margaret is.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this in exchange for an honest review.

Historical without being historical. There was an excellent mirroring of some actual events from history combined into this brilliant story. I can't wait to read the next book.

I hate when we only receive a portion of the story. It doesn't allow me to truly understand the context and the story as a whole. Queen of the Sea is one of those titles. At the very least, the page where we can request an egalley should state whether or not it will be a complete galley or a partial one.

First of all, I want to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. This graphic novel intrigued me from the start because it was a reimagining of the exile of Queen Elizabeth I. As I have a master's degree in English literature I was immediately drawn to this synopsis.

The story centres around Margaret who has spent most of her life on the island being raised by nuns. She slowly starts to discover everything about the island, the people who live there and the people who arrive.

Margaret's budding friendships were fun to read about and her loyalty knows no bounds. Her character was well developed but I often thought it was too convenient to have Margaret think of all the best solutions.

The art style is rather simplistic but it fits the story wonderfully. I would have preferred it if the story was either as historically correct as it can be or not based on history at all. I often found the characters resembling the royal family jarring because they acted and looked more or less the same but had completely different names.

The plot of Queen of the Sea moved quite slowly but this is fitting because time on the island would have moved slowly as well.

All in all, I did enjoy this graphic novel but if you are looking for a Queen Elizabeth I graphic novel you might be disappointed. If you are looking for a graphic novel set in a historical time period with new characters you might enjoy this a lot more. I gave Queen of the Sea 3 stars.

A wonderful graphic novel that manages to combine a compelling narrative and illustrations to create a wonderful experience for the reader.

Margaret lives a simple life on an island convent. She's the only child on the island, until William comes to live with her, the sisters, the three servants and the animals. But then William's mother dies and he is sent away, and the next person to come to the island is an angry young woman who used to be queen...and Margaret discovers her own secret history.

This is a riveting hybrid graphic novel (there's a lot of text in addition to illustrations) that is an alternate history version of England, Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth I. While it's not a direct retelling, it does pull rather liberally from the history books, particularly with Mary's feud with Elizabeth and her subsequent exile while Mary was queen.

Margaret was a lively narrator, with a sense of humor that really brought life in a 16th century island convent to life (those illustrations omg), and I loved all of the sisters and the servants, who all lived on the island for various reasons—the sisters because they had been imprisoned noblewomen, and the servants because that is where they worked.

The sense of history and politics and religion was well-wrapped into everything, along with the ancient peoples who had populated the island before it became a convent-prison. I really enjoyed reading about the lives of noblewomen and the power and fickleness of monarchs, and the bonds of people living in a very isolated community together—and how they all raised one special child.

This is a lower YA graphic novel that upper MG readers would probably also enjoy (along with adults and those who like reading about English history, the Tudors, and alternate history).

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

*thank you to Netgalley and Candlewick Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

4 stars.

I really enjoyed this. I didn't think I would as I didn't like the illustrations right at the beginning but they grew on me and actually suited the story. It's a historical retelling of Queen Elisabeth and Queen Mary. I basically had no really knowledge about them so this Graphic Novel was a really good introduction. While it's not all fact, and is only loosely based on the sisters, it's still a great read.

I'll admit, it did take me a while to get into the story. But im so glad I persisted. This tale is inspired by some historical events, and it does a good job of showing some of the hardships of the time. I loved the art style, and it was well writtern to be in the perspective of a 12yr old girl as well. Id definitely be interested to read future books by Dylan Meconis. 3.5 stars

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for this early copy!

I decided to pick up this graphic novel mainly because the plot. I found some parts of it a bit wordy but overall I really enjoyed it. The plot was unique and the art was well done.

Beautiful, amazing, wonderful! Such a rich story, matched by a rich visual world. Perhaps a bit overlong, but still completely engrossing.

I gave this book 3.75 Stars.
This was such a charming, creative graphic novel and I was pleasantly surprised at how much I ended up loving this. It was so unique and I think it would be perfect for people who are wanting to test out historical fiction or for kids. It has a really cute art style that coincides with the story and has really great explanations told through words and the use of pictures which makes it really easy to understand. It’s honestly so charming and I felt all the emotions reading this. I really want another book in this world following these characters because I’ve become attached.

I was so confused the entire time I read this book. I'm not sure if the pages were all jumbled up or if that is how the story is but honestly, I couldnt and had a really hard time reading this book. The illustrations were nice but everything else about it, I just really wouldn't recommend anyone to read it.

Well written, alternative history, loosely based on the exile of Elizabeth by her sister Queen Mary, when they were fighting for the crown. Actually, it is not only an alternative history, it is an alternative universe, very much like our own, but with the names changed.

I loved the detail of the story of Margaret, exiled on an island in what would be the outer Hebrides in our world. She does not know why she is on the island of nuns, just that she is. And since she is the narrator, she lets us know what she does every day at the convent, how the prayers go, how the tasks go. That part seems to be well researched

What is odd to me how the pictures are drawn to look like Queen Elizabeth I, and King Henry her father, despite that this is an alternative take on the matter.

But the story of how Margaret slowly learns why she is in exile, with the former queen, is quite engaging, and draws you in. Great story. Highly recomended.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-5137" src="https://g2comm.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Screen-Shot-2019-05-02-at-9.19.34-AM.png" alt="" />

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-5138" src="https://g2comm.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Screen-Shot-2019-05-02-at-9.02.34-AM.png" alt="" />

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

A great GN. The artwork is gorgeous and I love the historical details that truly make this story come alive. The main-character Margaret is a character you want to root for.

What an engaging way to get younger readers interested in history. If I'm being honest, it worked on this older reader as well. This graphic novel does a great job of articulating important concepts relating to royalty and privilege without getting bogged down. This keeps the narrative flowing pretty darn effortlessly. I found myself racing to get to the next page and then having to remind myself to look at the beautiful illustrations. Like most books, I'm sure not everyone will agree with me but if you have even an inkling of the history bug, you'll probably enjoy this. A reminder that it is a reimagining of history, it uses the story Elizabeth I and her sister, Mary to shape the contours of this fictional tale. That doesn't mean, however, that there still isn't a lot to learn about social order and the lives of women during the sixteenth century. For a contained narrative (on an island) this story never feels stifled or claustrophibic. Instead, you constantly feel an urge to explore and break free, much like the main protoganist. Hope to read more for this author and cannot wait to see the artwork IRL.

A loose historical reimagination of based off of the exile of Queen Elizabeth I by her sister, Queen Mary depicted through a graphic novel.

The premise sounded really interesting and it exceeded all of my expectations. Although Queen of the Sea is kind of wordy for a graphic novel, it does a superb job weaving the historical context and folklore with the plot. The art is stunning and I liked that the text/dialogue is woven into the story rather than being two discrete aspects of the book.

Margaret was a worthy protagonist- Dylan Meconis did an excellent job balancing Margaret's naivete and childhood innocence whilst also showing the new views on the world around her as she realizes that life isn't simply black and white. Also, Sister Agnes was my favorite side character.

The only thing I wasn't happy with was the ending- it's so abrupt and way too open-ended. I'm hoping for a sequel/companion graphic novel because I'd like answers and perhaps some closure. 7/10 would recommend especially if you enjoy historical fiction.

*Thank you to NetGalley and its publishers for providing a free ARC*

Beautiful illustrations of a story that is very, very, very loosely based off of Elizabeth I and her sister Mary. Because of how loose this "history" is, I wish that it was billed as an alternate history as to not confuse readers new to the story of Elizabeth I versus Mary. That said, I definitely enjoyed reading it!

Excellent fictional tale based (very) loosely on Queens Elizabeth and Mary. The connections to real historical figures are too obvious to not note (and the author specifically indicates he borrowed portions of there history), but it reads more like a traditional fantasy than anything else. The ARC illustrations are intentionally downgraded for ARCs so it's hard to say much about the artwork but it does look appealing.