Princess Diaries

I went from the depth of complexity of the Tunnel by Gass to a lighthearted story of a young teen who discovers she is now a princess in the Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot. An interesting fact about the author of this book is that she was employed within the Office of Residential Life and Housing Services at New York University, though it was before my time here.  She worked at Hayden Hall serving as the RHRM, I believe that was the title at the time.  Mia Thermopolis is a ninth grader attending the Albert Einstein high school in NYC.  She is raised by her single mom, her Dad lives far away in Genovia, a small country in Europe.  While in ninth grade, Mia struggles with algebra, hasn’t progressed in growing breasts yet, doesn’t have a date for the prom, and is not a member of the “in-crowd.”  To make matters worse for her is her math teacher is dating her mother!  All of this changes during a visit from her father when it is leaked in the newspaper that she is in real life the Princess of Genovia!  Her life is about to change in a big way.  The boys who gave her no attention, now make her front and center!  But winning big has its down-side.  Being a real life princess means body guards, people who will use you for your wealth, and learning a whole new landscape of being rich.  I had heard of the book and the movies, but never seen them.  This is a fun read of rags to riches with a happy twist at the end.  Wouldn’t take a long time to read and yes, you will guess the ending!  Love that NYU seemingly has a connection on all popular books these days!