ARC Review: The Princess Diaries (The Princess Diaries #1) by Meg Cabot
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Series: The Princess Diaries #1
Author: Meg Cabot
Published July 2nd 2015 by Macmillan Children's Books
Goodreads Synopsis
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?
Goodreads
Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.
When I was offered with the opportunity to review the new 15th anniversary editions of The Princess Diaries, I immediately took it. Being 20, I grew up with this series, and count wait to re-read one of my favourite ever series!
I had actually forgot most of the events of book 1, The Princess Diaries, and was actually going off what the movies say. Oh, how wrong I was. First of all, Mia's father, Philippe, isn't actually dead. He's the person who tells Mia the truth about her birth and heritage, all because he is now infertile due to chemotherapy and other forms of cancer treatment. Therefore, Mia is the sole heir to the Genovian throne. Secondly, Mia's grandmother, sorry, Grandmère, is nothing like Julie Andrews. She's abrupt, and to the point, and is not the loving grandma we meet in the movies. Yes she cares for Mia, but she also has a job in transforming Mia from an average 14 year old teenager, to a princess ready to deal with all forms of diplomatic events, and one day rule a small principality. Thirdly, Mia and her mam, Helen, live in Greenwich Village, New York, and not China Town, San Francisco. Out of all the differences I'd noticed, these are the three that immediately stood out.
Nevertheless, it was still really fun and enjoyable to dive right back into Mia's life, and to, once again, see how she overcame the struggles of becoming a princess overnight.
Mia is pretty much like any normal 14 year old. She worries about maths, especially algebra with she is terrible at, dealing with issues between friends, and wondering when, actually, puberty would hit. Oh, and just getting through the school day without causing any major issues with the popular gang. She has a crush on the most popular guy at school, Josh Richter, who, unbelievably, asks her to the school Cultural Diversity Dance. However, this is not the dream date she'd always imagined it would be - he's basically only using her for her new found popularity as a princess.
I really felt for Mia having so much upheaval thrust on her in a short space of time - book 1 takes place in less than a month. And in this time she has had to deal with starting high school, finding out her algebra teacher is dating her mom, discovering her dad had cancer, being told she was the sole heir of Genovia, putting up with "Princess Lesson" with her Grandmère, and struggling with the big reveal on the front page of The Post. To be honest, Mia succeeded quite well in coping with all of this, and I definitely can't wait to read the subsequent books in the series - especially as the romance between Mia and Michael begins to hot up!
I definitely cannot recommend this series too much! It goes down as one of my all time, favourite childhood series, and I actually feel as if I've grown up with Mia, as much as I had with characters such as Harry Potter, Georgia Nicholson, etc. Congratulations to Meg Cabot on having produced such a wonderful series that has now reached 15 years old!
Dates Read:
June 10-11, 2015
Rating
5 Stars
June 10-11, 2015
Rating
5 Stars
4 comments
I have only seen the movies, but good to hear the books are enjoyable as well
ReplyDeleteThey are really good, even better than the movies. There's quite a few differences between them, especially the second movie.
DeleteI have only seen the movies myself, but I am really tempted to give the series a try - especially now that the 11th book has come out. They do sounds fun but I always worry that I will feel like I am too old for them now. I don't know though, I'm torn.
ReplyDeleteThe books are a lot different from the movies, but just as good. They may be a little young on the YA spectrum, but I didn't find it a problem reading them at 20. If you try them, I think you'll still enjoy them :)
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