Heavy is the Teenage Head Who Wears the Crown
Author: Meg Cabot
After finishing the absolutely delightful and side-splitting Heather Wells series, I was desperate for another Meg Cabot fix. The Princess Diaries, progenitors of many sequels both of the film and book variety, is a title you can’t miss hearing mentioned – again and again. I’d never read it, however, since it seemed like a teen/chick-lit book which embodies the exact sort of reading experience I avoid. However, Cabot had convinced me with her spunky, self-derogatory, and continually imperiled Heather Wells that she could take any storyline and make it utterly mesmerizing and plausible, so I gave into the cultural peer pressure and checked out book one in The Princess Diaries.
It all begins with Mia Thermopolis, down-and-out teen who only cares about passing Algebra and making her extremist social causes friend, Lily, happy. Combining the selfishness of youth and the tongue-and-cheek sarcasm of the innocent, the story starts off annoying and a little bland. A fourteen year-old girl’s big events and dreams are not especially interesting, particularly when represented in unfortunately realistic diary form. But then, everything changes and yesterday’s nonsensical Algebra problem is the least of Mia’s worries.
Living with her artistic and semi-eccentric mother, Mia has only ever known her father in an off-and-on sort of way. Imagine her surprise then when he comes to her and reveals that he is the king of a small European country called Genovia (think of Monaco, if you will) and due to some unforeseen circumstances and a medical kerfuffle she is now his heir apparent. While many girls would scream with delight at being transformed from nerdy school outcast to internationally watched princess, Mia has an entirely different outlook, especially when princess lessons begin with her odious and snobbish Grandmere. From worrying about what will happen to Fat Louie, her cat, to the extra unwanted attention at school and the disapproval of her best friend, Mia is desperate to avoid this entire princess thing. She’ll even make a deal with her parents to keep it all on the down-low and her normal life just that – normal. Of course, nothing stays under wraps for long and the evolution of one mousey girl into a princess is fraught with frustration, laughs, and some enlightening moments of growing-up and developing compassion.
The story introduces Mia with a hint of overplayed churlishness, ranging from forced dramatization of school projects to uncomfortable “funny” desires for the death of a snobbish and annoying grandmother. Readers start out at first oblivious and then grow to a state of disconnection peaked by moments of irritation. Yet, as the narrative continues and Mia’s old life becomes background, her character arc shows significant improvement. True conflicts with friends, potential boyfriends, and family open Mia to more amusing and sometimes titillating situations but also enable her character to grow in adult understanding and compassion.
The dread Algebra becomes a sideline instead of the main horror and when Mia’s mother begins dating the Algebra professor –the continual embarrassment and “what will my school friends think” wanes into insight and understanding, showing that a transition to princess is not the main change here but instead a coming of age story that involves heartbreak and hope. That being said, it’s hardly the most epic or even the most amusing read but it was enjoyable and ultimately cute in the delightfully flippant yet temporary way of a beach-read. Knowing that Meg Cabot’s work matures like a fine wine, and having enough interest in the evolving character of Mia, I do, however, see myself returning to this world and cozily rolling into the shenanigans of book two.
– Frances Carden
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