This was a good summer read. A young girl in the 8th century yearns to read and learn everything she can. The problem is very few people, especially girls, are educated during these dark ages. A series of circumstances allows Johanna to become recognized as a scholar and healer – but only because she is posing as a man. While the events leading to her becoming Pope are hardly plausible, I did find the premise interesting. The romantic story line allows the book to end like the legends of Pope Joan did, but I won’t spoil that here.
Kaelesa's Blog 
I had occasion to write an essay for a trivia book (like Uncle John’s, different series) analyzing the historic merit of the Pope Joan legend. In short, the evidence in favor is a) well after the fact, and b) tainted with sectarian bias. One writer–I can look him up if you wish–wrote a book that seemed to be trying to believe, but after all that, could not find substantial evidence, and couldn’t bear to just come out and say “okay, we lost this round.” It definitely makes fertile ground for novelists, though.