Princess in the Spotlight by Meg Cabot

Princess in the Spotlight (Princess Diaries, #2)

by Meg Cabot

Having recently discovered she is the sole heir to the throne of a tiny European principality, fourteen-year-old Manhattan resident Mia writes in her journal about her attempts to cope with this news, as well as with more typical teenage concerns.

Reviewed by Joséphine on

3 of 5 stars

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Actual rating: 3.5 stars

Initial thoughts: It's interesting to see how far YA books have come in nearly twenty years. I read the first few book in The Princess Diaries series in the early 2000s and found them pretty entertaining. Writing-wise, I knew and didn't think they were particularly exemplary but it was hilarious reading a no-holds part account of Mia's life through her diaries.

Even today, I still think Princess in the Spotlight was a fun read, although there were parts that irritate me — for example, the constant repetition of her obsession with being flat-chested and wanting bigger breasts. It makes sense that there's not always going to be substance to diary ramblings but I got tired of that aspect pretty quickly.

Also, thanks to the movies, I couldn't knock Heather Matarazzo's voice as Lily out of my head, even though the book and film versions of Lily weren't entirely the same. The description of Lily and the appearance of her in the movie didn't even match up, so there's that. Not a critique of the book, of course, but it did impede a little on my reading experience, even though it's been years since I watched or read either of them.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 17 January, 2018: Finished reading
  • 17 January, 2018: Reviewed