A review by valeriabee
The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

funny lighthearted fast-paced

3.5

I mean, it's definitely a book of it's time. Very adolescent in a way that is only mildly irritating, but that is to be expected. I don't see why Mia would want to be Lily's friend, but I have definitely seen friendships like this one in real life. I appreciate why Mia wouldn't want to be a princess, but I know that at 14 I would have liked to be told I was a secret princess (and at 22, I still kind of wish I was). 
It's definitely fun to read Mia's diary, especially because her tone is very dramatic -- which I love. I also kind of like that the Michael situation is getting more time in the books. I do want to know that the age difference between Mia and her love interests is kind of creepy, at no fault of her own, but theres no reason that a boy who is about to go to college should be into a girl who has gotten through puberty. It's not much of a difference when you're in your thirties and have similar life experiences, but at that stage in your life, four years is a big difference in maturity, development, and experience. 
I don't think it helps my experience that I watched the movies before I even knew these were books, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. It's always fun to read something lighthearted. 
It was a little bit annoying to read through the ignorant privilege of a rich white girl (like she really went to France every summer and had her dad - who she wasnt living with - pay her mothers bills). Of course, she's fourteen, so I don't hate Mia. I just hope she grows to appreciate her privilege and do some good with it. I'm not really in the mood for white feminism ever.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings