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A review by laertes
A Royal Disaster by Meg Cabot
4.0
We rejoin Mia in A Royal Disaster, the second book in Meg Cabot's The Princess Diaries series. Now that Mia knows she's a princess, her life hasn't got any simpler. If anything, it's complicated further by the fact that she now has a full-time bodyguard, doesn't fit into any of the school cliques, and wants some boobs and a boyfriend more than anything else in the world. Or one boyfriend in particular, anyway.
Although Mia is clearly not an everywoman, she's still entertaining, witty, and relatable. It's impressive that she's never anything other than herself, even on national television, and she has a self-deprecating humour that makes her massively endearing despite her privileged circumstances. We can't help but laugh at life right along with her. In this volume, we meet Mia's maternal grandparents - Mamaw and Papaw - and their grandson Hank (who has become a bit of a hunk since Mia last saw him...) They're in New York to attend Mia's mother's wedding, an event which (to say the least) does not come off as planned. Meanwhile, Mia is still obsessing about Michael Moscovitz, is still struggling with algebra, and still has no breasts to speak of.
The humour with which Meg Cabot carries all these things off is the best thing about these books. They offer a kind of "think you've got problems?" break from the real world, and they remind me at least that, whatever happens, it's always possible to laugh about it, and carry on. They're frivolous, yes, and insanely hyperbolic, but that's part of their hugely warm-hearted charm. Essential reading for put-upon teens everywhere (and, perhaps, stressed twenty-somethings too!) Launching straight into the next one is clearly the only recommended course of action.
Visit my blog for more reviews: http://scheherazadereads.blogspot.co.uk/
Although Mia is clearly not an everywoman, she's still entertaining, witty, and relatable. It's impressive that she's never anything other than herself, even on national television, and she has a self-deprecating humour that makes her massively endearing despite her privileged circumstances. We can't help but laugh at life right along with her. In this volume, we meet Mia's maternal grandparents - Mamaw and Papaw - and their grandson Hank (who has become a bit of a hunk since Mia last saw him...) They're in New York to attend Mia's mother's wedding, an event which (to say the least) does not come off as planned. Meanwhile, Mia is still obsessing about Michael Moscovitz, is still struggling with algebra, and still has no breasts to speak of.
The humour with which Meg Cabot carries all these things off is the best thing about these books. They offer a kind of "think you've got problems?" break from the real world, and they remind me at least that, whatever happens, it's always possible to laugh about it, and carry on. They're frivolous, yes, and insanely hyperbolic, but that's part of their hugely warm-hearted charm. Essential reading for put-upon teens everywhere (and, perhaps, stressed twenty-somethings too!) Launching straight into the next one is clearly the only recommended course of action.
Visit my blog for more reviews: http://scheherazadereads.blogspot.co.uk/