Every little girl dreams of being a queen, at some time or another. But for Catherine Howard, the dream of becoming the Queen of England was something that was not so far fetched. After all, the powerful and influential Howard family prided themselves on raising and preparing their women for the probability that someday they would be considered as possible candidates for the wife of King Henry VIII. After all, the family had already had one Howard woman in the slot -- wife number three -- Anne Boleyn. In Diane Haeger's novel, THE QUEEN'S MISTAKE: IN THE COURT OF HENRY VIII, she takes a fascinating in-depth look at the life of Catherine Howard, her childhood, her journey to Henry's court and her incredibly short marriage to the ruthless monarch. Sponsored by her uncle, The Duke of Norfolk, Catherine was a vivacious addition to the English royal court. She started out as a lady of honor for Anne of Cleaves, Henry's unattractive but kind German wife. Life changes drastically for Catherine when she catches the King's attention. He begins to pursue the young girl, going so far as to have his marriage to Anne annulled after four months. Catherine is flattered by the King's admiration, but is also repulsed by his obesity and his ill-health. He was, after all, nearly 30 years her senior. But forced by her family into accepting the King's proposal of marriage, Catherine became Queen of England, and did her best to be loyal to her marriage vows. But when the King discovers that Catherine's past was not as pristine as he was lead to believe, he accuses her of infidelity, and ...well, we all know how life turned out for most of Henry's wives. They couldn't seem to keep their heads, for some reason. Fans of tales of royalty will find Heager's novel both historically accurate and sympathetically written. Even though I knew what the outcome was going to be, I for one couldn't help but pull for Catherine to somehow live happily ever after.