keilexandra | Entries tagged with author: cabot meg

Forever Princess
by Meg Cabot
383 pages (hardcover)
Genre: Fiction/YA

So, er, what was the big Other Thing with J.P., if not sex? I don't think I ever figured that out. Apparently this is the final book in the Princess Diaries series; I'll be sad, as they serve as very consistent fluff reading. (I think I may have missed a volume, though.( Hooray for Mia's happily ever after, at last! I pretty much skipped the romance novel excerpts after the first two, because they were terribly purple and deadly boring. Cabot actually wrote and published Mia's novel, called Ransom My Heart... I will pass, thanks.

I liked how Mia "grew up" over the course of these books; here the format is updated as well (the college acceptance letter clippings, the text messages). Tradeoff is that these books will be obviously dated in five or ten years.

Princess Mia
by Meg Cabot
274 pages (hardcover)
Genre: Fiction/YA

The Princess Diaries series is getting ever more uncreative with titles. Anyway, I predicted or suspected most of the plot points in this, but it was an incredibly fast read and Mia remains interesting, so I didn't mind. Still emotionally affecting and very easy to empathize with her--but good God, I'm scared of having a long-term relationship now. And I think what Mia did was idiotic, because it's not something I would do and therefore, given its importance to the plot, I found it a little hard to accept. That said, I really like how Mia has grown up throughout the series, while still being classically adolescent. Maybe Cabot has finally learned multi-book foreshadowing, too--Boris is acting a little suspicious.

Good book, more substantial development than some of the more recent fluff volumes in the series. Do not start reading with this one, though. It will make no sense. Go back and read The Princess Diaries if you haven't already, which sets a fair tone that is maintained.

Princess on the Brink
by Meg Cabot
238 pages (trade paperback)
Genre: Fiction/YA

Argh, I am so susceptible to bookstore advertising. This was an impulse buy, because the library only had the audiobook version (go figure) and I used to be a huge Princess Diaries fan--I own the first four books, two of them in hardcover. Cabot's novels are always very quick reads, but they sustain my interest in rereads and so are justified for purchase. So I tell myself, anyway.

Princess on the Brink is Volume 8 of the ongoing Mia series. I really like how Mia ages throughout the books, while still retaining certain trademarks (like gossipy notes). In this one, Michael is moving to Japan for a year, and Mia will do anything--even, le gasp, lose her Precious Gift--to keep him in New York. Complications ensue, of course. The ending is not exactly a cliffhanger, but certainly cruel and unsatisfying. Mia is idealistic but extremely sympathetic.

Although I wince at the cost for such a slim book, it turns out I'm still a loyal fan of the Princess Diaries. Not recommended for anyone just starting with the series, obviously, but for established readers I think it's worthwhile.

Current Mood: cheerful

Genre: Fiction/YA
82 pages (hardcover)

Despite its flaws, I adore the Princess Diaries series--I own the first two volumes in paperback and two others in hardcover, and I don't often buy books. Mia is a very real, likeable protagonist. I read these books and it's as if I'm truly peeking into someone else's life, someone with just as many issues and problems as I do. I love the fantasy genre like a firstborn child, but (well-written) young adult novels have the power to make me believe. With fantasy, there's always a little voice in the back of my head, grounding me in reality. Which can be good (especially where A Song of Ice and Fire is concerned) but sometimes I just want to read fluff and enjoy myself. I guess you could say YA is my form of escapism.

So yeah, that was my long-winded way of saying that I'm bad at reviewing fluff. If you like the Princess Diaries series, you'll like this book (though at a mere 82 pages, it's more like an extended chapter). If you've never tried Cabot before, this isn't the place to start. Only thing that annoys me, really, is how Cabot's publishers blatantly make extra money by selling tiny books for $9 apiece. If this hadn't been at the library, I wouldn't have bought it. Fluff is fluff, after all.

Still catching up on transcribing handwritten reviews.

Current Mood: cheerful

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Eschewed Obfuscation

A Booklog, Etcetera

Forever Princess, by Meg Cabot

Princess Mia, by Meg Cabot

Princess on the Brink, by Meg Cabot

Sweet Sixteen Princess, by Meg Cabot

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January 2011

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