Lady of Ch'iao Kuo: Warrior of the South, Southern China, A.D. 531 (The Royal Diaries)

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Summary: Lady of Ch'aio book review-by brooke b.
Review: Lady of Ch'aio Warrior of the South, by Laurence Yep, is an amazing story that will take you through the diary of a Hisen princess. This story takes place in Southern China, A.D. 531, in the Great Forest. Some main charictars are Princess Redbird, the owner of the diary, her older brother, Little Tiger, Mother, Father, and her teacher, Master Chen.

Princess Redbird is sent to Master Chen, an elderly scholar, to learn how to read and write. While she is there, another tribe called the Dog Heads start a war. With all this fighting and killing, she doesn't know what to do. The reader will love this book because it really shows happy emotions and sad emotions throughout the pages of this diary. You will really get a feeling of what it was like in Ancient China.

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Summary: Lady of Ch'iao Kuo: Warrior of the South
Review: The Lady was sent from Southern to Northern China. She was to learn the Chinese language (what was it? Cantonese? Maderin? :S ) by Master Chen because she was to be an interpreter for her father. When the enemy (Dog Heads) striked, they murdered nearly everyone there, but Princess Red Bird saved a few people and some scrolls. She reads the scroll of Master Meng which talks about peace. The princess wasn't sure whether "peace" existed or not for she lived in a dangerous and dark time. The Hsien learns about a traitor, but they don't know who it is. The young aristocrat thinks of a way to stop the Dog Heads and unmask the traitor...

The diary of the Lady of Ch'iao Kuo was yet another great piece to the Royal Diaries! I was excited to know about an Asian princess coming out because I thought they would all be European or something. Anyway, this book was a masterpiece and I had tons of fun reading it!

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Summary: A must for the Royal Diaries collection and Laurence Yep fan
Review: The year is 531 A.D., southern China. A sixteen year old Princess Red Bird (later Lady of Ch'iao Kuo) of the Hsien people is living through a time when China is slowly gaining back power and where land is always fought over. Red Bird is an educated princess as she is sent often to learn chinese and academics from a chinese colonist family lead by Master Chen. As she is the only one in her family who can speak and understand chinese, she is imperative for diaplomatic missions as an interpreter. As the Dog Heads, an enemy people of the Hsien and Chinese, start attacking, Princess Red Bird must help her people survive. She wants to join two cultures in an alliance, the Hsien and the Chinese. With her effort and wise, natural leadership skills she will shape her people.

I might be biased when I say I love this book as I am from Southern Asian descent. However, Laurence Yep gives his smooth historical fiction effort as usual and if you have a penchant for his books, it's a definite read. For everyone and the Royal Diaries fan, this shouldn't be a miss. It is far more longer than most of the other Diaries and has more plot incidents than many of the others. A very educational read for anyone interested in asian history. It's a definite recommended read. Go for it!

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Summary: A Girl Looks For Peace
Review: This book is about a Hsien Princess who goes through troubled times. She is sent to a Chinese settlement to learn how to speak, read, and write Chinese from her teacher, Master Chen. At the town she is named Princess Redbird, but is regarded to as a savage. Soon a hostile tribe called the Dog Heads start attacking the Hsien and the Chinese colonists. Princess Redbird is called upon to be an interpreter.They form an alliance but soon find there is a traitor in thier midst; For Princess Redbird's father's group is ambushed and killed. Her brother, Little Tiger, is named king. Soon the Chinese settlement was overrun by the Dog Heads. She sneaks there to find her Chinese family had been enslaved or killed, including her beloved teacher, Master Chen. Princess Redbird has to collect the broken pieces, defeat the Dog Heads, and uncover the traitor. During all this she finds time to read. She reads about Master Meng and how he describes peace, though it doesn't seem real to her. In her reading she was able to come up with an idea to defeat the Dog Heads. All she needed was careful planning and a little bit of magic. You must read this book to see how the brave princess defeated the Dog Heads and bring peace to her people and the Chinese. I never knew there had been a South China monarchy. I also didn't know there had been feuding tribs in South China. This book is a great learning source and I would recommend it to any reader.

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Summary: Amazing!
Review: When I first read this book I thought, how boring, it's just a bunch of rambling about war and junk. Well I decided I'd give it another chance and I think it's fabulous. I guess that now that we are caught up in a war ourselves I can really relate to what she is saying. This book has humor, action, adventure, and really corrosponds to what is happening in the world today. I reccomend this book to everyone and encourage those of you who disliked it at first to give it a secound chance.