Queen of the Sea is a loose reimagining of Queen Elizabeth I’s exile by Queen Mary. It takes place on an Island occupied only by a convent. The main character, Margaret, has lived on the island since she was an infant and seen anything else. She knows nothing of her origins, and the one person who knows the information is unable to tell her. The story follows from when Margaret is about 6 years old, and an exiled noblewoman and her son, William, arrive on the island, to the end of Queen Elizabeth I’s, or Eleanor’s, exile on the island.

I thought the relatively loose derivation from the plot from history was a really interesting storytelling method, and I think it definitely created an interesting story. One thing I’m unsure about is that the book definitely seemed to be setting up for a sequel, but the author seems not to have announced or confirmed one yet. It definitely does not feel like a standalone book, so whether or not a sequel ever comes out could affect my opinion of it.

I really liked Margaret. She was very optimistic and trusting, and having been raised by a convent, very moralistic. Throughout the story her loyalties are tested as she starts to determine her origin and tries to decide what she thinks is right. I’m unsure how old she is supposed to be during the bulk of the story, but if I had to guess, I’d say she’s 11-14 years old.

I feel like we could have gotten more characterization of William, Margaret’s friend, and his mother. They ended up being forced to leave the island early on, but I also think that, if there is a sequel, William would definitely be a prominent character in that, so it’s possible that was intentional.

I didn’t love Eleanor, but I don’t think we were meant to. She’s based on Queen Elizabeth, and she stood as a foil to Margaret, which ultimately helped drive Margaret’s character development. I think she’d loosen up and become more likable if we ever got a sequel.

I think this book did a really good job of developing most of the minor characters; I even felt like most of the nuns had their own personalities, despite having only. a few lines each in the books, which took a lot of skill to convey by the author.

The art style of this book was gorgeous. I really enjoyed the variance in formatting from more traditional graphic novel spreads to pages with diagrams, or one illustration and a block of text. It was narrated by Margaret in the 1st person, as if she was recounting the story. I thought it was really interesting how, when the young Margaret in the midst of the plot was telling a story within the narrative, such as when she was telling the story of her island’s patron saint during the storm, the art turned much more juvenile, reflecting her age as the story is being told.