Middle Grade Sidekick Short Review: Destiny of the Diamond Princess (2026) Sherri Winston

cover image of Destiny of the Diamond Princess by Sherri Winston, published by Bloomsbury Children's Books, 2026.

The Basics

Page Length: 240

Audiobook Length: ~5 hours

Grade Reading Level: 3+

Target Audience Age: 9-13

Goodreads Score: 3.72 out of 5

Buy it HERE

Setting: Contemporary Washington D.C. area

Genre: Middle Grade Contemporary Fiction + Fantasy

Topics:  Heritage, Family, Adoption, African History, Museums, Horseback Riding, Fencing, African Food, Friendship, Magic, Royalty

Plot: Zahara-Grace has just turned 12, and her biggest birthday wish is to learn about her true heritage. She has a wonderful life—her mom and G-Pop (her grandfather) adopted her as a baby and have filled her world with magic! Viral TikTok dances, amazing birthday celebrations at her favorite restaurant, horseback riding, fencing, and trips to museums celebrating African culture. But none of that has filled the quiet, persistent longing inside her to know where she truly comes from.

For her birthday, Zahara receives a mysterious gift and letter from her birth mother, AND an ancestry DNA test. Together, they reveal some clues about her past. Zahara is from a small African country… and so is the long-lost grandfather who suddenly appears at her riding competition searching for her! There’s just one shocking detail: he is the king of that country, which makes Zahara a princess!

As Zahara begins to piece together her past, she discovers that her birth mother may have been affected by an ancient curse—and that it could have led to her death. Now Zahara must face a terrifying question: has she inherited that curse too?

Caught between her old life and her newly discovered identity, Zahara must figure out who she is, where she belongs, and where the voices she's been hearing in her head are leading her.

You might like this book if you like:

• Horseback riding/fencing

• Visiting museums and learning about ancient history

• African food and culture

• Books like: From the Desk of Zoey Washington, Princess Academy, Amari and the Night Brothers, A Snicker of Magic

• Shows like: Anne with an E, Secrets of Sulphur Springs, The Owl House

• Movies like: The Princess Diaries (also a book), Annie, Instant Family, Night at the Museum, Descendants, Matilda, A Wrinkle in Time (also a book)

  
  

Other books written by this author: President of the Whole Fifth Grade, Shark Teeth, The Sweetest Sound, Lotus Bloom and the Afro Revolution, The Braid Girls, The Kayla Chronicles, Jada Sly, Artist & Spy

Content

• Language: None

• Sex/Romance: None

• Violence/Scariness: There is significant discussion of adoption and searching for birth families. While not frightening, these themes could be emotionally triggering (or meaningful and helpful) for some students. The story also addresses the death of loved ones and explores grief. Some fantasy elements may feel slightly intense for sensitive readers. There is a cult attempting to break an ancient princess’s curse, including a ritual performed over a sarcophagus in a museum.

• Drinking/Smoking/Drugs: None

  
  

Book Talk Read Aloud Section

*What is a book talk? (Watch a how to video here. Read my blog post here)

If you have the physical book, read chapter 1 (p. 1-7)

If you don't, read the same pages (location 19-101) in the Kindle reading sample here.