Book Review: The Princess Diaries

Taken from www.megcabot.com

The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

Release Date: June 26, 2001
Read: June of 2010 (for the first time)
Publisher: Turtleback Books: A Division of Sanval
Format: Paperback, 283 pages

Description from Goodreads: 
Mia Thermopolis is pretty sure there's nothing worse than being a five-foor-nine, flat-chested freshman, who also happens to be flunking Algebra.
Is she ever in for a surprise.
First Mom announces that she's dating Mia's Algebra teacher. Then Dad has to go and reveal that he is the crown prince of Genovia. And guess who still doesn't have a date for the Cultural Diversity Dance?

Review: I first picked this book up five years ago. It might be hard to believe, but no, I hadn't seen the movie first. In 2010, I was at a clearance sale at Chapters and saw a three volume set of the first three books. Obviously I bought it. After reading the synopsis on the back, I knew that this was the book for me. Mia is the princess that no one expected to be. She is crazy and neurotic, but it comes off as endearing, and somehow cute.It's funny, in a zany and quirky way. One of my favorite parts of the first book, is all the pop culture references in the early 2000's. Of course, if you don't know very much about this time, it may be a little hard to follow. When I first read this, all I wanted was to be exactly like her best friend- Lilly Moscovitz. She is one of the best parts of the entire series, because she is the wild child rebel that causes trouble where ever she goes. She inspired me to listen to the news, and to not flinch away from expressing my opinion. If you still aren't sold, and are thinking "I'll just watch the movie," here's one more thing. Grandmere, is one of the biggest character changes, book to movie. In the books she is one mean, and crafty old gal. She smokes and drinks CONSTANTLY, which adds to the charm.  If you really aren't sure about reading them, Anne Hathaway read the first three books, and Clea Louis the rest. They are great, and I've listed to them about a million times. This is on of my favorite book series ever, and I recommend it to anyone who needs a long and funny series.  

Favorite Quotes: “What kind of name is Paolo, anyway? I mean, this is America, for Pete’s sake! YOUR NAME IS PAUL!!!” 
― Meg Cabot, The Princess Diaries

“You know in sixth grade, when they made all of us girls go into this other room and watch a video about getting our periods and stuff? I bet while we were gone, the boys were watching a video about how to look at each other in that infuriating way.”
― Meg Cabot, The Princess Diaries

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Recommended for People Who Enjoy: YA fiction, feminist characters, funny dialogue, princess stories

Happy reading, 

Mari