This is a wonderful coming-of-age story for pre-teen and early teen readers. There is some difficulty with names and geography (some of this is addressed in the back of the book), and it does at times detract from the story. I would have personally liked a little more with her husband, Fire Keeper. The little bit we get at the end makes me think he was a good man and honestly loved and cared for the Lady of Bacal, his young wife.

There are times however that the writer (Lady of Bacal) seems stilted and two-dimensional. I struggle to feel what she is (or to even care). Other times the feels are vivid and raw to the point you can't help but at least feel an echo. ( )

I don't know what it was about this book, but I just couldn't get into it as much as I would have liked. It was still a good book, I still learned a lot about Mesoamerica, I just couldn't connect with the main character. I can see where this would appeal to kids of the right age group though. 3.75 out of 5 stars. I would recommend it. ( )

I absolutely love the entire Royal Diaries series. They are all incredibly brilliant. MY favorite are Jahanara, Eleanor and Lady of Ch'iao Kuo. They're a great way to learn history. ( )

ShahnaK'in Yaxchel Pacal, or Green Jay on the Wall, is a thirteen-year-old Mayan princess in the year 749 AD. As the daughter of the king of Lakahma, she has been chosen to marry the king of another Mayan kingdom, a man much older than her. Green Jay begins a diary upon learning of her future, and describes the home she grew up in, the customs of her people, her long journey to the land ruled over by her future husband, and the many dangers faced along the way.

I have read The Royal Diaries series since I was a young teenager, and truly enjoyed most of the books in the series. However, I really struggled with this book. I thought it would be interesting to learn about the culture of the lost Mayan civilization through the eyes of a young girl. However, the author tried too hard to give the narrator a distinct voice, rather then writing in a more modern style, and as a result the "diary" felt very detached and impersonal, making it difficult to care about the main character or what happened to her. The details of Mayan life didn't feel very smoothly integrated, and it was difficult to keep all the characters straight due to the confusing names the author used. I am older than the intended audience for this book, and even I had a hard time with it - preteens and young teenagers would probably find the book even more confusing.

I would only recommend this book to the most devoted fans of The Royal Diaries who want to read every book in the series for completion. The author did do her research quite well and put a lot of work into the book (hence the three stars), but ultimately I think the style she chose to write the book in was a poor choice, especially given it was written for young readers. ( )

The diary of Princess Green Jay on the Wall, of the Kingdom of Bacal.