Author: Ellen Emerson White
First Published: April 2001
Publisher: Scholastic
Series: The Royal Diaries
237 pages (hardcover)
Another Royal Diaries read for me! The Royal Diaries books can be a hit or miss since they all have different authors; I’m happy to report that this one is definitely a hit, for me. This one is on Kaiulani, the last princess of Hawaii. I had no idea Hawaii used to have a monarchy, so this book was very interesting and a big eye opener for me. I don’t know much about Hawaii, I never even been there before, so this book has been the most educational experience for me.
Fourteen year old Kaiulani is a princess of Hawaii, second in line to the throne (her uncle is the king, and next in line is her aunt (the king’s sister), then her). Kaiulani is half Hawaiian and half Scottish, actually (on her father’s side), but she considers herself very much a Hawaiian person all around. Knowing her destiny is to sit on the Hawaiian throne, her family sends her to be educated in England for a year or two. Kaiulani is a dutiful and obedient girl so she does as she is told, even though it breaks her heart to be away from her family and her beautiful Hawaiian nation.
Even though England is often chilly and nowhere as colorful and vibrant as Hawaii, Kaiulani enjoys her time at boarding school, applying herself so that she may become a properly educated princess. However, bad news travels to Kaiulani about her beloved country back home — the Reformers from America are illegally taking over their nation and forcing the monarchy to dissolve. Kaiulani desperately wants to save her country, but she is on the other side of the world, what can she do?
I really enjoyed this book. I love learning about Hawaii and its sad history. This book is a children’s book so it doesn’t dive into the nitty-gritty political details too much but you get the big picture — Hawaii is full of profitable natural resources which the Reformers want to take advantage of. The Reformers want to annex the nation to the USA, but of course, the monarchy does not want that to happen. Obviously, you know what ends up happening to Hawaii due to its present day situation as the US’s 50th state, so you know the book is not going to have a happy ending for Kaiulani, making her efforts to save her country seem even more tragic.
Kaiulani herself is an admirable young girl. Even though she is only fourteen when the book begins, you sense an air of maturity around the young lady. She loves Hawaii dearly and you can tell it breaks her heart to be far away from her nation and her family. She is also very much in control of her emotions and appearance, as evident when the reporters swarm around her in America and in England. She knows her role, she is a princess, and she acts accordingly. I think Kaiulani would have made an amazing queen for Hawaii if she hadn’t fallen ill and died shortly after Hawaii fell to America. Romantically, many like to believe she died of a broken heart.
This is definitely one of The Royal Diaries books that I highly recommend. She’s not a very well known princess, admittedly, but this book does a great job providing an introduction to Kaiulani. As with all of the books in this series, it is a middle-school book but even for adults, an interesting (and short) read.
My Rating: 4/5
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