The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot, HarperTrophy, 2000
ISBN: 0-380-81402-1

Plot Summary

Fourteen-year-old Mia’s greatest wish (besides shrinking and becoming more busty) is to achieve self-actualization. This is hard enough to do when you’re called a FUR-REEK at school and your best friend is a genius but Mia’s quest to self-actualization is made even harder when she discovers that not only is her Algebra teacher dating her mother but her father is a prince to a nation that he expects Mia to one day rule. Now, not only does Mia have to worry about passing Algebra, she has to endure princess lessons with her unsympathetic (and slightly scary) grandmother. Mia chronicles her difficult first semester as a freshman in a diary chock full of instant message transcripts, to-do lists, funny stories and various lists. A perfect blend of absurd comedy and everyday realities, it is no wonder that The Princess Diaries has captivated thousands of readers.

Critical Evaluation

Unsurprisingly, The Princess Diaries received mixed critical reviews. While Mia’s likable (and relatable) voice resonated with teen readers some critics dismissed the book as vapid and too angsty (1). However, the fact that the book series spawned two movies shows that despite some negative reviews readers overall enjoyed the book and the many titles that followed it. It is easy to see why. Mia’s voice is the most powerful part of the novel, as she relates the events of her day-to-day life. Mia’s experiences easily echo most of those experienced by women of all ages, particularly teenage girls. She worries about her height and bemoans her lack of breasts. She believes that she is talentless, although readers clearly see that this is not so. Add all these worries to the fact that she has never been kissed or had a boyfriend and you have a fairly typical teen. Sure, some of Mia’s problems are atypical—most students haven’t experienced their teachers dating their parents much less their father announcing that he is a ruler of a foreign country. But, by using such implausible situations, Cabot puts Mia’s everyday worries into perspective. She shows readers, in a humorous way, that it is acceptable to worry about becoming an attractive, mature person. By allowing readers the privilege of viewing Mia’s private diary, Cabot allows them to see what Mia cannot—that she is indeed beautiful and a talented writer. Through this realization, it is hoped that readers will see that sometimes we are not the best judge of our own perceived flaws and failures.

Reader’s Annotation

Mia thinks freshman year is hard enough without being a self-described five-foot-nine, talentless freak. But just when she thinks things can’t get any tougher she learns that her Algebra teacher is dating her Mom and that her Dad is a prince of nation that he expects Mia to one day rule.

About the Author

Meg Cabot is a prolific author with more than sixty books, two novellas and several short stories to her name. Almost half of her works are young adult titles, the most famous perhaps being The Princess Diaries series. According to her website, many of her books have been New York Times bestsellers while The Princess Diaries has been adapted into movies (2).

Meg Cabot’s story is truly inspirational for all those wishing to become famous authors. Ms. Cabot, like most of her featured heroines, grew up in an ordinary fashion. While she was involved in her school newspaper, choir, and drama she overall did not relish her high school years and, although she enjoyed writing fiction, she decided not to major in creative writing due to the advice of a guy that she met at a party (1). She instead majored in art. After school, it took her three years to find an agent and one year to find a publisher for her first book, Where Roses Grow Wild. Unlike some of the fairytale success stories you hear today of teens getting their stories published straight out of high school, Meg Cabot was thirty when her first novel was published. For quite some time she published under pen names as she had three different publishers. She finally became famous after her creation of the wildly successful series, The Princess Diaries. Interestingly, the series was rejected seventeen times before Cabot could find a publisher for it (1). Today she lives in Key West, Florida with her husband and her two cats where she is currently working on her next novel, Overbite.

(1) = Advameg, Inc. (2007). Meg Cabot. Retrieved from: http://www.notablebiographies.com/news/A-Ca/Cabot-Meg.html

(2) = Cabot, M. (2011). Meg Cabot: Frequently asked questions: About Meg Cabot. Retrieved from: http://www.megcabot.com/about-meg-cabot/frequently-asked-questions-about-meg-cabot/#birth

Genre

Chick-Lit, Coming-of-age, Epistolary, Realistic fiction

Tags

Princesses, single-parent households, royalty

Curriculum Ties

This could be tied into a journaling project or used in conjunction with studying other epistolary novels such as Frankenstein, The Moonstone, Dracula and The Color Purple.

Booktalk Ideas

--What would you do if you woke up one day and discovered you were the prince or princess of a small nation? What would be some of the things you would do as a future ruler of a country?

--Start off reading one of the funnier passages of the book & connect it to the high school experience today (ie. I’m sure lots of us have felt out of place at some time)

Reading Level/Interest Age

Reading Level: 6^th grade

Interest Level: 6^th-10^th grade (11-16 yrs.)

Reading and interest levels are according to the Scholastic Book Wizard: http://bookwizard.scholastic.com/tbw/viewWorkDetail.do?workId=1159451&

Challenge Issues

This novel could potentially be challenged because of the absent-minded, single-parent household Mia lives in. Mia describes their water being shut off sometimes because her mother forgets to pay their bills. Some may interpret this as neglect. Additional potential issues include: out-of-wedlock pregnancy, promiscuous behavior, and mild language. Librarians may possibly want to point to up-to-date statistics about modern families to defend their decision to include this book in a library collection.

Favorite Quotes

“Something really weird just happened. I got home from school, and my mom was there…[s]he had this funny lock on her face, and then she went, ‘I have to talk to you’…I was worried something had happened to Fat Louie [Mia’s cat], like he’d swallowed another sock. The last time he did that, the vest charged us $1,000 to remove the sock from his small intestines, and he walked around with a funny look on his face for about a month. Fat Louie, I mean. Not the vet” (p. 26).

Why Was This Included?

This book is the beginning of it is one of my favorite series (and guilty pleasures). It is one of the few books/series that can make me constantly laugh out loud. In addition, I believe Meg Cabot perfectly balances the realistic with the absurd in creating her compelling and believable heroine, Mia.