The Burning Queen by Kathryn Lasky
Published by HarperCollins on October 29, 2019
ISBN: 0062693301
Pages: 336
Genres: Fantasy
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads

Book two of this series falls prey to the curse of the dreaded sequel. This installment again focuses on our main character Rose as she travels between present day Indianapolis and 1553 Tudor England. What was bearable and somewhat cute in the first book becomes hard to bear in the second. The repetitive use of the phrase “you have such a way with words Rose” to address the fact that Rose is not blending into the historical time period and that people are noticing really starts to shock you out of the story. Though this book does do a great job of having inclusive characters and focusing on the relationship between peers I would skip adding it to a collection unless the first in the series circulated well.

Reviewed by Sophie Gagnon, Skidompha Public Library, Damariscotta