Book Review: The Princess Diaries (The Princess Diaries #1) by Meg Cabot

/ Janelle @ The Meanderings of a Bookworm

Hello everyone,

Today’s review is on The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot.

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The Princess Diaries movies were a favorite of mine as a kid, and I remember when started reading the book in about 5th grade and being excited to finally read it… and if I remember correctly, there were several of us in the class who were reading it at the same time.

Before Is tart this review, I think it is important to note that there are some huge differences between the book and the movie, but both are good in their own way.

The Princess Diaries follows high school freshman, Mia Thermopolis, who feels like a freak and is failing Algebra. Then her father, who is a diplomat in the small (fictional) country of Genovia, drops a bombshell, not only is he a prince, but Mia is a princess! Her life just got turned upside down. She now has to take princess lessons with her Grandmere (who is not as sweet and kind as in the movie!) and hopefully keep a low-profile about the whole princess thing. But then the story is leaked to the press and now everyone knows about her royalty status, but on the plus side her crush, Josh Richter, is paying her some attention.

I did like this book, it was a fun read, however it is very different from the movie. I feel like Mia is more overdramatic, but again we are actually reading her diary! I do not have much say except that it was a fun read. However, I do want to note several differences between the book and the movie:

  1. In the book Mia lives in New York, whereas in the movie she lives in San Francisco.
  2. Her dad is still alive in the books.
  3. Her mother dates her Algebra teacher, whereas in the movie it is her Debate teacher.
  4. Grandmere is awful in the books, however she is very endearing in the movie (especially since she is played by the amazing Julie Andrews!).

There are probably other major differences that I have mised, but these seem to be the main ones. I’m looking forward to continuing my reread of The Princess Diaries series in the days to come. 3/5 Stars.

Happy Reading,

Janelle L. C.

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