The Princess Diaries

July 2, 2001
A teenager living in modern-day Greenwich Village in New York City discovers that she is now the heir apparent to the throne in a European country, in this novel, soon to be a motion picture starring Julie Andrews. Ages 12-up.

October 30, 2000
"This is how NOT a princess I am. I am so NOT a princess that when my dad started telling me I was one, I totally started crying." Raised in a Greenwich Village loft in New York City by her flaky-but-loving artist mother, ninth grader Mia Thermopolis is shocked to learn from her father that she is now the heir apparent to Genovia, the tiny European kingdom he rules. Her paternal grandmother further disrupts Mia's life when she comes to town to mold the girl into a proper royal. Cabot's debut children's novel is essentially a classic makeover tale souped up on imperial steroids: a better haircut and an improved wardrobe garner Mia the attention of a hitherto unattainable boy. (Of course this boy isn't all he appears to be, and another boyDthe true friend Mia mostly takes for grantedDturns out to be Mr. Right.) A running gag involving sexual harassment (including a foot fetishist obsessed with Mia's best friend Lilly Moscovitz and a sidewalk groper dubbed the "Blind Guy") is more creepy than funny, and the portrayal of the self-conscious pseudo-zaniness of downtown life is over the top (Lilly's parents, both psychoanalysts, get Rolfed, practice t'ai chi and attend benefits for "the homosexual children of survivors of the Holocaust"). Though Mia's loopy narration has its charms and princess stories can be irresistible, a slapstick cartoonishness prevails here. Ages 12-up. (Oct.) FYI: Plans are in the works for a Disney film to be directed by Garry Marshall and starring Julie Andrews as the grandmother.

July 9, 2001
Youthful actress Hathaway, who stars in the forthcoming (Aug. 3) Disney film version of Cabot's novel, reprises her role as the reluctant royal Mia Thermopolis on this perky audio adaptation. Hathaway convincingly voices every nuance of exasperation, humiliation and anxiety that Mia feels as a gangly, flat-chested high-school freshman facing some king-size changes in her life. Mia thinks things can't get much worse when her artist mother starts dating her algebra teacher. But her "normal" days as a stressed student are numbered when she learns that her father is the prince of a small European principality called Genovia and she is not only a princess, but is next in line for the throne. Soon, the whole school—and all of Manhattan—know about Mia's title, something her never-married parents had agreed to keep from her. She's faced with taking princess lessons from her authoritarian grandmother, putting up with a bodyguard and fighting off paparazzi and false friends. Contemporary phrasing and slang—and Hathaway's comfortable mastery of both—give this recording a kick that's sure to capture a teen audience. Ages 12-up. (June)FYI:A sequel,
Princess in the Spotlight, was released simultaneously as a HarperCollins hardcover and a Listening Library audiobook, also read by Hathaway, on July 1.

September 1, 2000
Gr. 7-10. Teens like novels written in diary format, and you can bet they'll be lining up for this hilarious story about a gawky 14-year-old New Yorker who learns she's a princess. Mia spends every available moment pouring her feelings into the journal her mother gave her: she writes during algebra class, in the ladies' room at the Plaza (much nicer than the one in Tavern on the Green), in her grandmother's limousine. She writes down her thoughts on everything--from algebra and her mother's love life to her jet-setting father's announcement that she's the heir to the throne of the principality of Genovia. Then, of course, she records Grandmother's efforts to turn her into a princess, her dealings with classmates, the press, and a bodyguard, and also her attraction to the most gorgeous guy in school and her attempts to be assertive and happy with her new life. She whines; she gloats; she cheers, worries, rants, and raves. Reading her journal is like reading a note from your best friend. Cabot has a fine grasp of teen dialect (and punctuation), an off-the-wall sense of humor that will have readers laughing out loud, and a knack for creating fully realized teen and adult characters that readers will miss when the story ends.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2000, American Library Association.)

October 1, 2000
Gr 7-9-Insecure Mia Thermopolis, 14, discovers that she is actually Princess Amelia Mignonette Grimaldi Thermopolis Renaldo of Genovia. In her diary entries, which cover almost a month, she writes about going to a private school in New York City and living in Greenwich Village with her avant-garde artist mother. She fights with her best friend, struggles to pass algebra, and worries that she is the only one without a date for the Cultural Diversity Dance. On top of that, her divorced mother begins dating her teacher; her father visits and reveals that she is his heir; her intimidating grandmother gives her "Princess lessons"; and she has to contend with the embarrassment of having a bodyguard and reporters who follow her everywhere. Readers will relate to Mia's bubbly, chatty voice and enjoy the humor of this unlikely fairy tale. More accessible than, though perhaps not as clever as, Louise Rennison's Angus, Thongs and Full-frontal Snogging (HarperCollins, 2000), this funny, fast-paced book should appeal to hip young women, including reluctant readers.-Debbie Stewart, Grand Rapids Public Library, MI

Copyright 2000 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2001
Mia is a typical combat-boot-wearing, animal-rights-loving, algebra-failing New York teen until her absentee father reveals that she's the heir to the throne of a small European principality. Media exposure, princess lessons from Grandmere, and attention from dreamy senior Josh follow. The stream-of-consciousness narration drags occasionally, but anyone who's ever wondered what being a princess would be like should enjoy this fable.

(Copyright 2001 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)