Dan Jones reviewed The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot
Review of 'The Princess Diaries' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
I began to read this book because I enjoyed the movie adaptation, so I figured the book might be entertaining enough. Despite the fact that it's target demographic is teenage girls, it was still fairly entertaining for me in a lot of ways, but there's a lot that I really hated about this book.
The basic plot is of a high school freshman girl, Mia Thermopolis, who was apparently too much of a ditz to have figured out that her father is royalty. He is, unbeknownst to her, Prince Phillipe Renaldo, ruler of Andorra Genovia. Her parents were never married, and they decided to keep her royal status a secret from her, since, as an illegitimate child, she had no claim to the throne. However, when her father was diagnosed with testicular cancer and told he'd have no more children, she became the heir to the throne.
When she learned …
I began to read this book because I enjoyed the movie adaptation, so I figured the book might be entertaining enough. Despite the fact that it's target demographic is teenage girls, it was still fairly entertaining for me in a lot of ways, but there's a lot that I really hated about this book.
The basic plot is of a high school freshman girl, Mia Thermopolis, who was apparently too much of a ditz to have figured out that her father is royalty. He is, unbeknownst to her, Prince Phillipe Renaldo, ruler of Andorra Genovia. Her parents were never married, and they decided to keep her royal status a secret from her, since, as an illegitimate child, she had no claim to the throne. However, when her father was diagnosed with testicular cancer and told he'd have no more children, she became the heir to the throne.
When she learned the truth, she was absolutely opposed to becoming a princess. At one point, it occurs to her that she could simply refuse the crown. As she says, "This is America, and I can choose to be whatever I want to be. So I can choose NOT to be a princess." She vocalizes this idea to her father, her mother, and her grandmother. Her grandmother (the dowager princess) refuses to even consider it. Her father simply gives in to his mother. Her mother avoids addressing any of her concerns entirely, oftentimes by spending extra time with her new boyfriend, instead of talking to her daughter. Basically, none of the adults in her life care about her concerns. They never address her real issues, and strong arm her into a life she doesn't want for herself.
She starts out the book a normal, slightly awkward, teenager with normal teenage problems. By the end of the book, her life has become wonderful and happy. Basically, the author wants teenage girls to know that if their lives aren't idyllic, it's because they're not princesses.
Most of the book is fairly entertaining, but with the horrible lessons it seems to be giving, I wouldn't recommend it, and I'd especially try to keep it away from any teenage girls.