Gr 4 & Up – In this richly imagined historical novel, Diane Zahler brings to life the later years of Eleanor of Aquitaine as she journeys to her daughter’s court and selects a granddaughter to marry the French king. Readers follow Blanca (also known as Blanche), the unsuspecting granddaughter suddenly chosen for this royal duty, and her best friend Suna as they travel to France and face the realities of political marriage. Blanca’s perspective provides an accessible window into the world of arranged alliances, courtly expectations, and the heavy responsibilities of leadership. Zahler’s portrayal of Blanca is engaging and relatable, balancing pluck and vulnerability as she navigates friendship, duty, and identity. The immersive medieval setting, woven with vivid details of court life and society’s rules, adds depth and authenticity. VERDICT: A strong purchase for middle grade collections. Both a captivating coming-of-age tale and an introduction to Eleanor of Aquitaine’s legacy, this novel will appeal to historical fiction fans and readers drawn to stories of courage, growth, and navigating destiny.

3.5 ☆
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC of this book to read and review!
I really enjoyed reading the majority of this book, and I loved the fact that a lot of the story is based on real people and real events.
In The Queen's Granddaughter, Blanca of Castile, an infantana, is suddenly being forced to go to Paris with her grandmother and marry the young Prince Louis. Blanca is furious at first, because all she wanted was to discourage her grandmother from picking her older sister, not choose her instead. On the journey from Castile to Paris, Blanca must sort through her feelings and learn what it really takes to be a good queen.

I only have two complaints: 1, a lot of the chapters, especially in the beginning, felt very long (my kindle often showed a chapter would take me 14 minutes to read). 2, the ending felt a little odd to me. I was expecting the book to end with Blanca in Paris at her wedding, or just after her wedding. Maybe there is meant to be a sequel book in the future? Either way, the ending left me feeling as if I was missing extra information or a cliffhanger.

Aside from all that, this was a great book! I always love a good fiction book based on something from history that really did exist.

This book was a fun one! It was enjoyable and fast paced. I liked all the characters, especially the relationship between Blanca and Suna, they were the best of friends. It was cool to see Blanca navigating life and the unknown. Their journey was fun to read about and all the obstacles on the way. I would have really liked this as a kid! Can’t wait for others to read this!

Exceptionally written story for young people and all lovers of historical-fiction 👏🏽

This was my first time reading a book by Diane Zahler and I absolutely loved it!

I read this aloud with my 12 and 14 year old daughters—we were hooked from the first page until the very end! Well-written, engaging, fascinating.

This story is historical-fiction based on real people from the 12th century. The people and places come to life through Zahler’s writing!

Age recommendation: middle-grade/teens and adults. Themes of death, illness, peril, violence, loss present. Nothing explicit. No language.

The Queen's Granddaughter is a historical middle-grade book. It follows Princess Blanca who is from the family Castile. Her grandmother, Queen Eleanor of England, is journeying from England to Palencia to arrange a marriage between Blanca's older sister and the dauphine of France. It is a beautiful story of family, friendship, and compassion for your fellow humans. There is an adventure that takes place that kept me hooked. I can't wait for my own daughter to eventually read this book.

Thank you to author Diane Zahler and Roaring Brook Press for an ARC to review. All expressed ideas, thoughts, and content hereafter are my own.

I was interested in this book because I haven't read a good historical fiction novel in awhile, the cover art caught my eye, and I've always been fascinated with Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine. It seemed serendipitous timing, too, as I'd been doing research into King Charlemagne, Robin Hood, and the Magna Carta. The writing is very approachable (seeing as it's middle grade, it should be), but still challenging enough maybe for someone who is not yet widely read. Following Blanca's growth from a young girl to a young woman was pleasurable, though I do wish the novel had continued on a bit more before stopping where it did (refraining from specifics here to avoid spoilers). I loved that Blanca had a best friend (Suna), and that Eleanor presented a decent role model. For a younger me, this book would also have been a joy to read. This is the first novel I've read from this author, and I'm curious to see if this one becomes a series. Slight nitpicks I have with it are certain words and/or place names that seemed odd, and upon looking them up, were not used or did not exist until a few hundred years after the novel takes place. Other than that, a fun, beautiful read.

The journey of Blanche becoming queen was very nice to read. Honestly this reads like a modern day Royal Diaries or Dear America, but without the journaling format. I think it being in first person really ended up lending to that narrative in my mind. This would be such a good read for any young reader obsessed with history and princesses!