Reviews with content warning for Cancer - The Princess Diaries

This had a particular charm and enduring quality. Was a good amount of it because my queen Anne Hathaway was narrating the audiobook? Quite possibly. I picked this up partially because of that fact, partly because I love the movies, and partly because Gavin Reads It All is reading all of these books this month for a video (the fact that Anne Hathaway narrated the audiobook definitely pushed my decision to read this over the edge, though). This was lighthearted, with a good amount of humor, however, the fact that this was released in the early 2000s is quite clear. I enjoyed a majority of this, but there were a good amount of throwaway lines that were either insensitive or borderline offensive (or outright offensive), which made me uncomfortable. Mia is 14, so of course she is not the most self-aware or empathetic person in the entire world. All in all, she is relatively open-minded, but there are definitely some blindspots. Just like with the movie, I am not a fan of Lilly. She is rude and mean, and, in the book, sometimes encourages Mia to be so as well. She also often gives off the vibe of a typical white person enraged at the injustices of the world, while also lacking the understanding of them (she's, again, is 14, so there is some leeway, but it still annoyed me). Mia's grandmother is quite rude and has some problematic views that I wasn't a fan of, though this is kind of made fun of and pointed out to be outrageous and wrong, so at least there was that (this type of thing happens a good deal, and I'm not the biggest fan of it, but it doesn't completely ruin the book for me). The fact that Mia somewhat has to parent her mom in terms of responsibilities (i.e.: making sure to pay bills on time) made me a bit sad. Her dad (who was alive in this one) was unobtrusive in regards to my enjoyment. Mia's bodyguard (due to his name) reminded me of Rhys Larsen. Mia is delightfully (and a bit exasperatingly) naive and clueless in regards to Michael's crush on her. Mia's random opinions are usually humorous and interesting, though sometimes includes the problematic throwaway lines. Why is there so much sexual harassment in this? There's literally so much for a story about a 14 year old. It matches the vibe of the time period, but it's really strange how much is included. Overall, this was a relatively enjoyable read (though I suspect a good amount of my enjoyment is because of Anne Hathaway's delivery), but the problematic aspects definitely tampered down my enjoyment. I'm not entirely sure whether I'll continue the series. I might just leave it off here.

Content Warnings

yvo_about_books's review against another edition

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2.0

Finished reading: August 30th 2023

“Maybe nobody has a right to tell anybody to shut up. Maybe this is how wars get started, because someone tells someone else to shut up, and then no one will apologize.”

WARNING: it's unpopular opinion time yet again!!

It's true that I don't read a lot of YA anymore, but I needed a book for the lost royalty prompt for the Beat The Backlist Bingo challenge and there weren't many options. Add the fact that I really enjoyed the movie back when it came out, and I ended up actually being quite excited to revisit these characters and read the original story. I sure didn't expect to come very close to DNFing instead! Whatever The Princess Diaries is, it is nothing like the movie adaptation. I don't say this often, but the movie is in this case WAY better than the book. I'm actually glad I never read the book as a teenager, because I don't think I would have watched the adaptation otherwise... Mia is just SO incredibly unlikeable in the book, and I started to hate her more and more with each chapter. The constant repetition, the whining, the complaining... It was just all way too much to be entertaining. I wasn't a fan of the writing style either, with the constant interruptions, random notes and math. I get that this is supposed to be a diary, but it just really disrupted the flow of the story. Nothing much was happening either; the book only covers part of the first movie, and not the most interesting part at that. The characters in general were rather dull and unlikeable, and I confess I only made it to the end because I started skimreading. I guess that it won't come as a surprise that I won't be continuing this series... I'll stick with the movie instead.

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abby_can_read's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

📱
Cute book. I enjoyed and I found it rather funny.

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izypup's review against another edition

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lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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caitlin_doggos's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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emmahe's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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thesicaeffect's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

FIRST READ:
objetivamente, es un libro de tres estrellas, pero aún así, es un libro muy bueno y yo como adolescente me he sentido identificada jsjs.

el diario de la princesa siempre ha estado presente en mi vida, recuerdo que desde pequeña veía la película, y entre mis constantes cambios de domicilio, lo único que permanecía siempre ahí era el disney channel, donde obvio pasaban la peli. en primero de secundaria descubrí que había libros and i was shocked, siempre los quise leer pero nunca supe donde conseguirlos, hasta que el guadalupe reinas 2k19 me alentó a leerlo, por eso hago tantos book challenges lol. anyways, loved it, mia is a savage.

creo que podría ser un buen libro para acompañar a cualquier adolescente, asi como la película me acompaño a mi por muchos años. meg cabot dijo que su inspiración para el libro era que las niñas tuvieran alguien a quien admirar y con quien relacionarse, y con mia dio justo en el clavo, y no creo ser la única con esa opinión.

SECOND READ:
esta vez escuche a nada mas y nada menos que anne hathaway narrando el libro, was amazing, obviamente ella entiende el personaje y lo interpreta excelentemente. it got a bit long towards the last half, pero nada insoportable

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valeriabee's review against another edition

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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.

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