Royally Good Reads

Royally Good Reads: Books about Kings,
Queens, Princes, and Princesses

In the third installment of Mia Thermopolis’s diaries, the New York teenager (and princess of Genovia) tries to dodge kisses sent her direction by her boyfriend, Kenny, whom she doesn’t really love, and she tries to get the attention (still!) of Michael, her best friend’s brother.

In a series of funny mishaps and well-intentioned but nevertheless disastrous attempts to dump Kenny and win Michael’s love, we are treated to the complicated but very entertaining life of a typical teen trying to balance the demands of royalty with the ever-confusing world of romance. Highly recommended for fans of the two previous books as well as anyone who liked Bridget Jones’s Diary, Truth or Dairy, or any other funny, fictional diary.

Links to Other Princess Diaries Books:
Cabot, Meg. Perfect Princess. NEW 6/8/04
Cabot, Meg. Princess in Waiting. (NEW 4/2/03)
Cabot, Meg. Princess in Pink. (NEW 2/5/04).
Cabot, Meg. Princess Present. (NEW 12/16/04)
Cabot, Meg. Project Princess. (NEW 2/5/04).
Cabot, Meg. Princess in Training. (NEW 4/26/05)

Mia Thermopolis, narrator of The Princess Diaries series, compiles the advice she has received from her grandmother and her various personal advisors into this short volume of beauty and etiquette advice.

If you’ve read all the way through the series and are in need of another princess fix, you’ll love this book, which has the same sassy as humor as the other books in the series, and a healthy helping of good, solid, practical advice about taking care of yourself.

The focus here is definitely on the humor, but the advice is real, and fortunately, it is more about how people should behave than how they should look. As Mia says in the first chapter, “Being a nice person is the most important thing of all. Throughout history, princesses have been remembered not for the waist size of their 501s, but for the good deeds they performed while they were on the throne.” (I’m not sure if she meant for the humorous double-entendre of the “on-the-throne” reference or not).

In her chapters on proper manners, Mia highlights the keys to being courteous for everyone, not just princesses. “Etiquette is not, after all, only for royalty,” she says. She proceeds to advise her readers on everything from the proper terms for addressing royalty to eating soup politely to using email.

A final chapter addresses character issues, such as making friends, being (or not being) popular, and saving the planet. On popularity, Mia notes, “Worrying about where you stand in the social hierarchy of your school is pretty silly. It’s more important to have good friends than popular ones, and to do your own thing without caring what anyone else thinks.” Seems like pretty good advice to me.

Throughout the book, characters from the four Princess Diaries book author sections appropriate to their area of expertise. Grandmere, of course, offers quite a bit of advise about grooming and behavior, Mia’s father lists the essential high school courses he thinks Mia should take, and Lana Weinberger, captain of the j.v. cheerleading squad, lists her idea of the extracurricular activities a person should engage in.

A must-read for anyone who loves the Princess Diaries and Princess Mia and those readers who’d like to hear more from her and her friends and family members.

Cabot, Meg. Perfect Princess.

The fictional narrator of the Princess Diaries series, Mia Thermopolis, and other characters from the books introduce and analyze the lives and personal accomplishments of various princesses throughout history, fictional and non-fictional.

As always, the voices of favorite characters—Lilly, Grandmere, Mia, Michael, and others—are easily recognizable and familiar, making this a great read for anyone who’s on the waiting list for Princess in Pink or is anxiously awaiting the arrival of the next book in the series.

All of the entries are based historical fact, but it’s the commentaries about these real historical and fictional princesses that will appeal most to readers and fans of Mia Thermopolis! A fun, easy read.

Goldman, William. The Princess Bride.

My all-time favorite princess story is the tale of the beautiful Buttercup, who is the most beautiful girl in the world and the object of farm boy Westley's adoration. Their love is put to the test in many ways, but perhaps most so when Westley's ship is capture by pirates and Buttercup is destined to become the bride of the prince.

Sixteen-year-old Alex Varenhoff is suddenly yanked from his boarding school by his parents and informed of a stunning development in his life: unbeknownst to him, his family is heir to the throne of a small European country called Rovenia, and Alex is the Crown Prince.

Soon, Alex finds every detail of his daily life managed: a butler insists on dressing him, he is not allowed in public for safety reasons, a publicity expert coaches his behavior and advises him on his appearance. and he is tutored in Rovenian history and proper royal behavior by a personal assistant named Stefan deBatz whom he finds abrupt and controlling. His parents are rarely around, and he is hounded by media wherever he goes. Although he yearns for his old, normal life, his parents insist that the Rovenian people long for a symbolic monarchy, and that they owe it to them to be the figureheads they desperately want to reinvigorate the Rovenian people, their culture, and their economy. Perhaps the only good thing about his new life is his new friend, Sophy, whose mother is his publicity manager.

When Alex meets Isabella, a princess from a neighboring country, he falls for her sophisticated and beauty, and admires the bold way she escapes formal events and seems to elude the press. When photos of the two of them appear in gossip magazines, however, it ignites a controversy in the Varenhoff castle and eventually, Alex makes a disturbing discovery about Isabella and her motives.

Readers who enjoy stories of royalty will enjoy Alex’s story, although it’s a much different tale than The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot, which has a similar theme (ordinary teen plucked from ordinariness and told s/he’s royal). Alex’s story is much deeper and in many ways, darker, than Mia Thermopolis’s, as Alex is forced to make more difficult moral and ethical decisions and challenged in more realistic ways. The “what would you do” element make Raising the Griffin a compelling read, and offers readers much to think about. The author’s website offers some terrific behind-the-scenes information, including Rovenian history and an alternate ending to the story. Check it out at www.melissawyatt.com.