**Spoilers** Summary of The Boleyn Inheritance (Philippa Gregory)

Philippa Gregory's The Boleyn Inheritance precedes her novel called The Constant Princess. In such regard, the novel recounts the tales of three different women that all have two things in common: 1) they are, at a certain point in their lives, a lover to King Henry VIII and 2) they all have had their chance in immersing themselves in the Boleyn Inheritance.

The novel takes place towards the middle of 1500s, after the death of King Henry VIII's third wife, Jane Seymour (Katherine of Aragorn being the first wife and Anne Boleyn being the second). The King is once again on the prowl for a new wife. He has his eyes settled on Anne of Cleves. Jane Rochford, after a long stretch of time, comes back to Court. She is the widow of George Boleyn whom was executed along with Anne Boleyn having to be accused of adultery, incest and treason for plotting against the King. It is because of this that Jane Rochford does not have many pleasant memories of Court life. At the same time, a woman by the name of Katherine Howard also enters Court by decree of her uncle to attain high reputation amongst reputable people.

Throughout her life as the new Queen, Anne of Cleves has trouble getting along with King Henry VIII, especially her step-children, since it enrages her husband. She speaks very little English and even mistakes the King for a worthless drunk upon her arrival. Although she tries to make amends, the King is scornful towards her. King Henry VIII questions his marriage with Anne of Cleves, but he does so anyway, perhaps to win the eyes of the public around him. Anne of Cleves has a plain appearance: this is noted in the novel in the perspective of Jane Rochford and Henry VIII himself. Everybody is surprised by the way Anne of Cleves carries herself; she does not dress in high fashion, but rather like a country bumpkin. All in all, it only takes a few months after their marriage that King Henry VIII is already tired of his wife and wishes to get rid of her. In addition to Anne's story, her marriage with King Henry was never consummated. She was eager to sign an annulment that says that she was previously engaged to Francis of Lorraine. Whatever the case, King Henry VIII has already set his eyes on a new woman: Katherine Howard.

King Henry VIII quickly divorces his fourth wife and marries Katherine Howard, one of his previous wife's lady-in-waiting. Again, there is much tension for fourteen year old Katherine Howard. This seems to be a trend for all of King Henry VIII's wives. However, Katherine is infatuated with one of the King's favorite courtiers, Thomas Culpepper. Not only that, but she is unable to win over King Henry VIII's step-children, especially Mary, who thinks that Katherine Howard is too self-indulgent. She is at first in love with the idea of being Queen; however such thoughts began to spiral downwards once she begins to take notice of a few things surrounding her. For one, King Henry VIII is showing age and he has now put on a few pounds. He is disgusting at this point, since he is now too heavy for her liking. He also has a tumor in his leg that is always leaking pus and blood. She begins to sneak out of the King's bedchambers at night to accompany Thomas Culpepper in his room at night, having her friend Jane Rochford guard the door.

Katherine's life takes a turn for the worse towards the end of the novel as an old flame shows up in Court. She gives her former lover a position within her household, but has negative feelings towards this. Her affairs with Culpepper is then found out by her close friends and enemies. Everyone around her deserts her in order to avoid getting themselves into trouble with the King. Katherine becomes frightened and hysterical as she is investigated. She is then found guilty of adultery and treason, executed at the age of sixteen, alongside Thomas Culpepper and all those that were involved, including Jane Rochford.

**Spoilers** Summary of The Constant Princess (Philippa Gregory)

The novel starts out when Catalina (Katherine of Aragorn) is about five years old. She is with her sisters and mother during a time period of great tension between the Catholics and African Muslims. The novel refers to the African Muslims as Moors. These Moors are being persecuted because they refuse to accept the Catholic religion. There is a scene where the girls are expressing their concerns for the Moors that are coming into their encampment. Queen Isabella I of Castile (Catalina's mother) tells her that she will return for her daughters when she is finished taking care of state matters. At the end, the Queen returns and asks her daughter if she was afraid-- in which Catalina says that she was not afraid at all during her absense, thus resulting in the readers to take notice that Catalina, even at a young age was proud to own the title of Infanta of Spain as well as the Princess of Wales, since her betrothal to marry Prince Arthur of England.

The story then skips over to when Catalina is older. She finally meets her fiance, Arthur Tudor, and his father King Henry VII. King Henry VII is strongly attracted to Catalina and Arthur does not seem to show much appeal towards her. Once the two are married, Arthur is nervous to consummate their marriage. The first few months of their marriage is seen to have much tension and awkwardness. The two newlyweds do not understand one another very well. Arthur then orders Catalina to accompany him on a journey to Ludlow Castle; which results in her to become ill because he did not look after her. She was left in a litter just about the enter way in freezing weather. She becomes very frustrated and confronts her husband about how he mistreats her as his wife and as a woman. He acknowledges her needs to having a better husband. The two, at this point, begins a happy and honest marriage. Catalina and Arthur have a deep conversation with one another about what they would like to see changed for England, the customs that her people follow (differences and similarities between her people and the Moors), what sort of family they would have together, etc. Their happiness ends with Arthur falls ill and dies from the sweating sickness. On his deathbed, he asks his wife to promise that she will marry his brother, Henry VIII so that their dreams for England may come true with Catalina as Queen of England. After Arthur dies, King Henry VII proposes to Catalina. He is rejected, gets angry and doesn't allow her to marry his son, Henry VIII.

It isn't until King Henry VII dies, that Henry VIII and Catalina get married. She changes her name to the English “Katherine” when she finally becomes queen. Catalina pretends to be a virgin during her wedding night with King Henry VIII. She is very careful in how she does this. In the novel, she describes herself cutting the bottom of her foot to smear the blood on the sheets, walking limply around for people to see. She makes it apparent to others that she is tired and that she needs rest. Her first pregnancy results in a miscarriage. Because she is desperate to have a child with her new husband, she consults a Moorish doctor since they tend to be more knowledgeable. While Katherine is away having her child, it is discovered that Henry is having an affair with a woman named Anne when he is told that Katherine was not a virgin. With that, the novel ends with the start of King Henry VIII's scandalous relationship with one of Katherine's lady-in-waiting, Anne Boleyn.

Thoughts on YA Literature: Princess of the Midnight Ball (Jessica Day George)

Jessica Day George's novel Princess of the Midnight Ball was rather enjoyable. I was not able to make many connections between what happened within the plot and my own life. I suppose the reason why it was satisfactory is the fact that I grew up reading and watching videos that had to do with the Disney Princesses. I think that being able to comprehend the plot within any novel because of your experiences is an important factor. Students oftentimes pick novels to read for pleasure based on the idea that the novel's central theme is around something that they are interested in and/or have experiences in. For the most part, young adults that are athletic and/or merely just have an interest in books will pick up books that are centralized around sports. The same applies to young adults that have experiences and preferences about fantasy-- princesses that live in large castles with a white knight in shining armor to whisk them away towards a life of perfection.

My favorite character is Pansy. She is (I believe) the youngest sister out of the twelve. She plays her role very well within the book, especially when Galen sneaks into the Midnight Ball to “figure things out” about the princesses. Her status among her sisters allowed readers to identify her as the naïve sister that is easiest to sway. This type of personality adhered to Pansy as a character was then used as a literary device in order for the progression of the plot to take place. It is from Pansy that Galen finds out a bit more from one of the sisters as to why they disappear from their chambers in order to escape below the Earth to participate in the Midnight Ball against their wills.

I wish that the story was not as predictable as it was laid out to be. It is perhaps that I grew up reading materials such as Princess of the Midnight Ball that I have become quite jaded. I find that the repetition of such turns of events has become overused. Although the text itself does not say that the characters all lived happily ever after, it was implied. And such an ending truly bothers me. Although this “happily ever after” sense is supposed to bring closure to readers, like all matters, it becomes old after a while. In a way, I felt cheated because the novel followed a similar plot line to what I am used to: Princess is under distress. A Prince-like figure finds out. He snoops around. Finds a way to save said Princess. He saves her. They marry. Happily ever after.

Thoughts on YA Literature: The Wednesday Wars (Gary D. Schmidt)

I was excited to be starting The Wednesday Wars. I thought it was going to be a very interesting read since I had finished many of the other texts that were brought about in the classroom. Though the content itself brought new perspectives and new light for me, it was very difficult to get through the pages. I believe I may have skipped a few scenes that may or may not have been important to the plot. I would oftentimes have to re-read the passages to make sure that I was not missing anything for later parts of the book. Even through my attempts in keeping this novel satisfactory for me; I decided that it was just not a novel that I could digest as quickly with understanding like the other novels that I have thoroughly enjoyed.

I believe that this novel cannot be understood without reading it from front to back multiple times. It is very important that the reader decides to take another look if he or she does not understand it the first time. Because of this, I would perhaps like to read this novel again. I do not believe that Schmidt's concepts in this novel are immediate to interpret. One must be able to critically think once the events are introduced in order for them to be pieced together. I know as a first-time reader of The Wednesday Wars, that I would often find myself wondering how Holling Hoodhood is feeling as a young boy literally being separated from the rest of his class on Wednesday afternoons with a teacher that does not seem to like him. I was thoroughly surprised when I found that the two characters were getting along as time progressed. It reminded me of the possibilities I forming a better teacher-student relationship with my future students. Oftentimes, I would see that some relationships in the classrooms that I have entered, the teacher may or may not show much of an interest with the student, or the student just does not care much to be cooperative and/or willing to do better in the class.

I like the way the author manages to have a background story for each of his characters. Each individual within the novel had an actual part to being at Camilo Junior High. I did not feel as if the characters were merely created to fill a gap. I have read novels where some characters did not have an actual role at all; they are merely cameos that usually end up non-existent after a while.

If I were Holling Hoodhood, I would have perhaps been so stressed with the amount of things that are happening around me. The seventh grader is not only dealing with the Vietnam War happening right outside his neighborhood, but he is also dealing with tension that is a part of his family and school life. I found his parents to be especially translucent to his needs. They did not seem to be fully interested in what he has to say or do. His father especially had his eyes on his business-- in which his son will inherit once he retires and/or passes away. I wonder why the author made the story of Holling Hoodhood this way?