The Princess Diaries

I read the first four or five Princess Diaries books back when I was a teen (I was basically the same age as Mia when they came out) and while scrolling through for an audiobook listen in my library's Libby catalogue, I decided to try revisiting them. There are definitely things that show their age particularly around body image, but also felt particularly true to my experience of being a teen in the early 2000s. And as I recalled, they are very funny and sweet. Anne Hathaway reads the audiobook, so of course her narrative voice for Mia is pitch perfect and she also does solid French accents for Mia's father and grandmother (if you've only ever seen the films, several significant changes were made when adapting). I enjoyed revisiting show more the book in this format and am planning to continue the series (although we'll see how I get on with future volumes as the narrating actors change a few times over the course of the series). show less

This is one of the worst books I have ever read. And I bought it from a thrift shop (because I was too embarrassed to have it on my library record forever - o shameful truth) - so now I'm stuck with the damn thing. Please understand, I didn't expect this to be good literature. I just wanted fluffy escapism. Instead ...
Appalling racism! I-watched-Clueless-fifteen-times writing style and twee-speak! (Was the term "Betty" ever in vogue?) Wacky proofreading errors! The main character is a total idiot!

Seriously - Mia is dumb. Okay, we know she's the princess of Genovia going into the story, but she doesn't know that, and I can forgive a certain amount of bumbling gee-whiz! in a lighthearted fantasy if it furthers the plot.
But I cannot show more forgive her adding 2+2 and coming up with 5.
Seriously. Within thirty pages, Mia tells us that her father's job is to 'control the entire country' of Genovia, and that he has the same uncommon name as the prince of Genovia
... and she is still totally fucking shocked when it turns out he's the prince of Genovia. And like any normal, rational girl, on learning she is related to royalty, she has a fit of hysterics.

UGH UGH UGH. I feel dirty. And just a little bit more stupid. show less

Clever and funny. This book is a breath of fresh air to readers of YA fiction who are tired of the two prevailing YA stereotypes: the jaded, cynical, ever-judgmental heroine or the snobby, ultra-perfect wannabe princess. Cabot's protagonist is clumsy and lovable, not in spite of her flaws, but because of them. Readers may become annoyed with Mia's incessant dislike of her body, but not enough to put down the book. Some parents may balk at the very PG-13 references to "putting out" as well a Mia's casual descriptions of same-sex couples in her New York neighborhood, but otherwise the book is pretty mild compared to other YA lit. This sometimes outrageous, always uproarious novel is saucier than the Disney movie--in all the right ways!

This was fun! I think I picked up a book in this series when I was first venturing into the libraries teen section but I used to read series out of order because I would never look up which books came first (I did the same thing with Meg Cabot's Mediator series, which I also want to go back and revisit), so I don't actually think I ever read this one. I'm very happy I did go back and read this!

I am definitely outside of the age range for this book but I still found it very entertaining, which I think is a good sign. This captures the chaos of high school and freshman year really well. I was honestly surprised how much of this book just focused Mia's daily life and issues and not even that much of the royalty element, but I really liked show more it. It made a story with a sort of out there plot seem much more grounded and I enjoyed that.

The writing style was really fun to me. It has a pretty straight-forward structure but you could really see Mia's voice in it. It truly felt like a character writing in a diary and just recounting the events of the day. Some of the passages just made me smile, which is really rare for me when reading. I just loved how much the writing in this book felt like I was reading a 14 year olds diary and I loved how the parts about her being a princess were so neatly folded into discussions of the normal problems of a high schooler.

I think I will continue this series because these are just so fun and they're really quick reads. I can't wait to see how this story continues because this book just made me fall in love with Mia. show less

Ma madeleine de Proust, ma kryptonite, ma lecture doudou.
Je pourrai lire et relire inlassablement sans m'en lasser.
Humour : check
Personnages attachants : check
Evolution de ces personnages : check
Suspense : check

C'est léger, c'est frais avec des préoccupations que la plupart des ados ont du ressentir un jour ou l'autre.

Bref mon go-to quand ça ne va pas. A peine rentrée dans les aventures de Mia, impossible de ne pas lâcher des sourires

There’s a paradoxical question about, if one had the chance to go back in time, what wisdom would they impart on their younger selves? Seeing as how I really haven’t learned much in ten years, I’m not a fan of this question. (Also, John Green dealt with it better in one of his interviews.) If I had a time machine, I would go back to two very specific times, and tell my younger self, “Heads up, this is going to be on the test.” The second of these dates is about winter on my freshman year, wherein I run into my awkward, geeky fifteen year old self contemplating the incredibly girly looking book (it’s pink and has a sparkly tiara on the cover!) . To which I, being slightly wiser about these things, hand it over and say, show more “This book is going to change your life.”

Sound presumptuous, I know. Especially when you realize that in those ten years, I’ve gone through many more books of higher quality which I recommend on a daily basis. (Ignoring the fact that many of these books weren’t around in 2001…) What is it about this book that I keep coming back to? Why do I hold this up above all of these other books and authors that I love and adore?

Here’s why: I could relate. When I picked this up way, way back in the day, I found in Mia a character I could relate to. Someone who was going through a lot of the same things that I was dealing with at the age. (Without the princess thing. Or the father’s cancer. Or my mother dating a teacher. I think the only thing I had in common with Mia was that we were both failing algebra.) At the time, I had a hard time finding books that could deliver that. Sure, I read very good YA books, but I never connected with the characters. And to this day, even on the nth-millionth reading of it, I still love this book. Sure, I think Mia’s fairly immature about certain things, and that a lot of the characters can be grossly exaggerated. But there’s still that sense of being able to relate to these characters, even if it’s more “Yup, that’s how I used to be.” It’s such a fun book, and a well-done one at that. The only real problem I had with this reread is that the copy I have replaced a lot of the outdated references, to which my mind did a mental halt whenever I start seeing Kayne West get name-dropped. (Again, I read this book all the time during my sophomore year. Yeah. Bit obsessed.)

So, yes, I’ve read much better books. I’ve found other authors to fawn over. My writing’s gotten better with more exposure. But to be completely and perfectly honest with you? The Princess Diaries has done a lot more for me, both as a writer and a reader, than most other books have.

It’s still my favoritest book ever. show less

Fat Louie is orange. Your whole life has been a lie.

I was hugely distracted trying to figure out how this Genovian monarchy works. Mia's father is apparently running the country, but he has plenty of time to spend bugging Mia in the US? Mia is heir to the throne despite being an illegitimate child? She wasn't considered heir to the throne until her father found out he couldn't have any more children to... replace his firstborn? I'm so confused.

Aside from that, overall, i did think it was cute. Mia complains a lot, but this is her diary and she does have a lot to complain about... She has grown enough by the end of the book, that i have hope she'll be more positive in the future... but i guess i'll see.

[MILD SPOILER]
I wasn't okay with a show more few references she makes to sexual assault. She makes it out like it's okay to sexually assault someone if you're attractive. She might have learned her lesson a little by the end when Josh forcibly kisses her. However, there's still a guy who she knows feels people up and she kind of explains it like it's an annoyance, but not a big deal. I don't know. That didn't sit right with me.
[END SPOILER]

It's very different from the movie. This is actually one of the few cases in which i would say the movie is better than the book. Even though the movie is a classic case of taking an already-beautiful girl with glasses and questionable hair, and helping her discover the miracles of contacts and hair straighteners, and suddenly all the boy moose go "whaaaaa!" I mean, all the boys like her.

*Review written on December 18, 2014.* show less