Queen of the Sea, by Dylan Meconis

A graphic novel book by a Portland, Oregon author and cartoonist, Queen of the Sea is a book that I really enjoyed! Spending a few days at the Oregon coast with my humans, what better title than this to read while listening to the surf pound against the beach all day? Meconis tells and draws a tale very loosely based on the Tudor family of 1500s England, with King Henry VIII, "Bloody" Mary and Elizabeth I - "loosely" to the point where I probably wouldn't call this historical fiction, but it IS a very good read!

Margaret is the main character and narrator, and after arriving as an orphaned baby on an island run by nuns, her life and story unfold as she becomes a teenager and other people and events shape her world. Friendship, romance, mystery, history, deceit all work together to create a graphic novel that is more dense than most, but, in my pug opinion, really really good! In fact I finished this book in three days, in between watching out the window for passing whales and fishing boats, eating, and sleeping - that ranks this one right up there with some of the better books I've read!

Well written, especially if you want something more like a chapter book or novel in content, and well drawn, this is a different graphic novel than most I've seen, and I like it! 5 paws!




Side note...look into author Carolyn Meyer if you want good teen chapter books about this era, and others, in history...she writes great historical fiction, among other genres, including the era covered in this graphic novel!  :)