onearmedqueen

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The One Armed Queen

Jane Yolen

Yolen, Jane. The One-Armed Queen. Tor Books. New York, New York. 1998.

The One-Armed Queen written by Jane Yolen, is a fantastic book, filled with humor and tragedy. This book is a wonderful novel for all ages because it is filled with dialogue that is easy to understand. It is a historical fiction novel because it is based off a real event.

The One-Armed Queen all starts with a lonely, corrupt queen in St. Petersburg, Russia during the time of the second world war. Melodie, who was fifteen at the time, was arrested for interfering with the Russians’ plans. She was fortunate to have only one of her arms cut off, since the usual punishment for spying was execution. She stayed in prison, planning her escape until she was twenty, and then she broke out.

Forty years later, she discovered a way to keep herself alive for a very long time. She tested many ways, and invented cryogenic freezing. She froze herself, so when the ice melted, she would still be about sixty years old. She chose to do this to herself because she wished to stay alive until a more peaceful time came, so she would be able to execute her plan for revenge on the Russians in secret.

In 2099, two children, Todd and Jebby, stumbled upon her hidden laboratory, and while searching, they found a frozen block of ice. They took it home with them in their parents’ car, never suspecting there was a woman in it. As soon as they arrived home, the block melted.

The queen, having been “reincarnated,” got out of the car, went into the house and scared the kids. She could only speak Russian before she froze herself, so she mistook what they were saying as threats, and kidnapped the kids. The kids, terrified as they were, agreed to do anything for her. She gave them a plan. “Go back to the laboratory, and find the nuclear bomb. Bring it back here, and then we will start WWIII!”

Jane Yolen has created a spectacular novel. It was filled with suspense and colorful descriptions. The One-Armed Queen is a novel that everyone should read.

4 out of 5 stars

Contributed by A. Diyaljee

November 22, 2011