Once a Queen Review by the Hobbit. This post contains affiliate links, you can find out more on our policies page or in the disclaimer at the bottom of the blog. 

Know Before You Read

Book: Once a Queen
Author: Sarah Arthur
Publication Date: January 30, 2024
Pages: 385
Reading Age: 12 and up
Warnings: See below. Also, the death of one major secondary character.

Quick Once a Queen Summary

“These things…are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never yet visited. Do you think I am trying to weave a spell? Perhaps I am; but remember your fairy tales. Spells are used for breaking enchantments as well as for inducing them.

—“The Weight of Glory” by C. S. Lewis, 1941.”

This quote, which is included as a part of the story, summarizes the story in a nutshell.

Fourteen-year-old American Eva Joyce has been raised on stories about an imaginary land known as Ternival. She has never seen her grandmother, who lives in England, but this summer she and her mother go to spend several weeks there. She discovers that her mother, her grandmother, and the manor staff are hiding secrets – and that Ternival may not be as imaginary as she thought.

Sarah Arthur is the author of several devotionals for young adults/teens based on Lewis and Tolkien – Walking with Bilbo, Walking with Frodo, and Walking through the Wardrobe. She has also authored A Light So Lovely: The Spiritual Legacy of Madeleine L’Engle, and several other books. This is her first fiction work directed to young adult/teens. As you might assume, she draws on her familiarity with these authors.

Once a Queen Review

Arthur uses the technique of giving the reader a piece of the stories of Ternival (some pretty short, others long), then cutting back to the “real” world. She thus slowly introduces us to the story behind the story (my one issue is that I wish there had been more of this upfront – although I suppose that may have been confusing for some younger readers).

Eva discovers links between the Ternival stories and her grandmother – including that the manor once belonged to the author of the stories. As Eva uncovers more links, it becomes more apparent that her grandmother did, indeed, spend time in Ternival – as a queen. Can she thwart the evil that is in Ternival? Can she convince her grandmother to remember?

While overall a good first entry into a new high fantasy series, the book covers a lot of ground in trauma and the effects of trauma. Eva’s grandmother’s behavior is tied to long-lasting trauma over the death of several people she was close to. This may go over the heads of younger readers. It could be a trigger. Overall, it is a good means to potentially broach what can be a difficult concept.

Continue reading for our Once a Queen Review, Quotes, and Discussion Questions.

Favorite Once a Queen Quotes

“In all the old stories, in those fairy tales I still half believed, this was how it happened. Ordinary kids were visiting relatives, maybe. Or stuck at boarding school. Alone. Uncertain. Yearning for adventure. And before long, adventure came to them. They took a wrong turn, were chased away from everything familiar—and suddenly a door opened to another world.”

“When you are young so many things are difficult to believe, and yet the dullest people will tell you that they are true—such things, for instance, as that the earth goes round the sun, and that it is not flat but round. But the things that seem really likely, like fairy-tales and magic, are, so say the grown-ups, not true at all. Yet they are so easy to believe, especially when you see them happening. —The Enchanted Castle by E. Nesbit, 1907”

“It never leaves us, really. The question is whether it will become our truest hope or deepest wound.”

“…once I’d become a teenager, grown-ups tended to give me space. And most of the time, I did want space. Sometimes, though, I just wanted a grandmother.”

–Once a Queen Quotes

Once a Queen Discussion Questions

1. Which character did you relate to the most? Why?
2. You may remember that white stags have shown up in other fantasy literature (Both Narnia and Harry Potter, for instance). Why would you choose a white stag (may take some research)?
3. There is a LOT of secret-keeping in the story. Does keeping secrets always work as planned? What are some examples?
4.  Eva’s grandmother was still affected by the deaths of those she loved years ago. Is this hard or easy to understand?
5. English manor life is a bit different. How do the manor staff relate to Eva? Does this change over the course of the book?

Thanks for reading our Once a Queen Review. If interested, you can purchase your own copy here.

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