Princess in the Spotlight

Mia Thermopolis really just wants to be a normal NYC high school student. But as the crown princess of a small European country, she has to deal with primetime interviews and princess lessons instead. Then her mother drops a bombshell on her, and Mia begins receiving letters from a secret admirer. Will it all be too much to handle?

Boy, Mia sure does like to complain. I mean, I get that she has a lot going on, but it seems like every diary entry starts with her exclaiming about how something terrible has happened. And yet, I still enjoyed the book. It did get a little much when she made such a huge deal out a really low temperature when she got sick, and I couldn't tell if she was exaggerating or if she/the author really thinks that a show more 100-degree temperature is really a big deal.

I think what keeps all of this from making the story annoying is the writing style. Things move quickly, the writing is easy to read (or in my case, listen to), and Anne Hathaway does a great job with the narration (I mean, she basically is Mia anyway). I can't say I love the way Mia seems to treat her best friend, considering that she almost never shares any big news with Lily, leaving her to find out some other way. Lily gives as good as she gets, though; it's a wonder these two are friends. Lest this review sound like a negative one, though, the book is fun and feels like a real diary from a teenager around the beginning of the millennium. show less

The second Princess Diaries book sees Mia dealing with her mother's pregnancy, her mother's forthcoming wedding to her algebra teacher (which might just be highjacked into a major royal event by grandmere), her continuing crush on Michael, and notes from a secret admirer.

Continues to be fun although again it shows its age in spots. Anne Hathaway's narration is perfection.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series and was pleasantly surprised when it was different from the movie, I was again happy to find that this installment is a continuation of the last diary and I really got into it. I sat down with this book to take a break from another one and ended up reading through it in one sitting.

Mia is still getting used to the princess thing and now she has so many other things to deal with. Slowly her life seems to be unraveling more that she thought it could and it doesn't help that her grandmother is the root of all the evil.

Reading Mia's diary is hilarious, it reads like a teenage girls inner monologue perfectly and it is an easy read since it is in diary entry style. I know that this isn't a long show more review but I don't want to spoil the first book or this one for anyone intending to pick it up. I can say that I will definitely be grabbing the next in the series. show less

One of the big problems I have with many long-running series—Princess Diaries in particular—is the point where some books start becoming filler as opposed to actual plot development. (Wait ‘til I get to book seven.) Technically, this should be one of the filler books, but it’s not. I tend to see the first three books as a mini-trilogy, and Princess in the Spotlight is a good bridge between books one and three. I like the further insight to Mia’s princess lessons, and how quickly she does have to adapt to the public eye, the romantic subplot is fairly engaging, not to mention the fact that she’s willing to try to be with Kenny. (Also, the continuing references to the “Corn-in-the-Chili" boy is even funnier after reading the show more whole series.) However, this also shows a lot of the weak points in the series. The constant pop culture references are jarring and shows how much the book is dated (again, reading an “updated” rerelease, the find & replace is really noticeable). This is also the first book where I really start to dislike Lilly as a friend—she’s exploitive of Mia, though not to the extent of Lana or Josh Richter, extremely dismissive, and is actually pretty rude to her friends. (In contrast, Tina Hakeem-Baba is my favorite character in the whole series. She is awesome, that is all.) My other big complaint, which is really going to show for the next few installments, is how fast the plot moves in the series’ timelines (again, we’ll touch on this a little later). Still, for all of the flaws, it’s still an enjoyable book, and I still had a ton of fun revisiting it. show less

I definitely liked this book better than its prequel. Character development kicks into high gear. Mia is progressing with her lessons, and her struggle with them is probably what prevents her from becoming completely self-absorbed. Lilly is... meh. She's got some serious exploitative flaws that make me dislike her as a friend. First and foremost, though, I will always love the romance with Michael. It has its issues and they're not perfect, but they find value in what they have anyway, and I really like that. Good job, Meg Cabot!

OK so these novels are essentially a 400-page book divided into 100-page segments printed in a size 18 font so each can pretend it's a 250-page novel, right? I got no problem reading the rest but I dislike the fact that each of these leaves me feeling that the story is incomplete. It's like watching a movie and realizing only after it has ended that it was just the first episode of a series.

I'll probably read some more episodes though.


P.S. This Lilly girl is one of the worst, most annoying friends a person could have. I know it's all supposed to be funny, but that's one borderline abusive friendship. I mean filming you while you are asleep and broadcasting it on TV without your concent? Hell no.

I hope it all turns out to be show more misunderstandings, or false, or something because unreliable narrator etc but the chances of that happening are slim. show less

I'm trying to separate these characters from their movie versions. The names may be the same, but the people are different and, frankly, not as likable. Mia is oblivious and whiny, Lilly is overbearing and judgmental, and Grandmere truly sucks as a person. I adore Michael, and Mia's mom seems far more competent than Mia makes her out to be. I'll keep going, mostly to see if Mia gets herself together and if she and Michael figure their relationship out.