Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

‘You’re not Mia Thermopolis any more, honey,’ Dad said. ‘You’re Amelia Mignonette Grimaldi Thermopolis Renaldo. Princess of Genovia.’

A PRINCESS?? ME??? Yeah. Right.

One minute Mia’s a totally normal Manhattan 14-year-old. Next minute she’s heir to the throne of Genovia, being trailed by a trigger-happy bodyguard, taking princess lessons with her bonkers old grandmere, and having a makeover with someone called Paolo. Well, her dad can lecture her till he’s royal-blue in the face, but no way is Mia going to turn herself into a style-queen. And they think she’s moving to Genovia? Er, hello?

So far I've reviewed adult romance novels, but it's time to do some expanding into YA romance, into one of my top 10 favourite (if not my favourite) book series. I've always been a big fan of Ms. Cabot's writing, but there truly aren't enough good things that I can say about this book series.

This book stands out from 99% of all other books simply due to the format of it's writing, mostly written through diary format, occasionally following other forms of written media including notes to other characters. Rather than losing information from this format, it actually gives more insight for the characters, and it just truly brings the emotions to life, making this one of the most poignant series for me. I've re-read this series too many times to count, and as I've aged, I find new nuances to smile about, and lessons to be learned. Princess Mia (book 9 of the series), particularly deals with depression and losing people close to us, and Ms. Cabot handles this phenomenally well, and it's always been a constant re-read for myself.

Mia starts this book as a 14 year old adolescent, and we end the series with her being a full-fledged adult, and this growth brings her first romance, love, heartbreak, and navigating life's up and downs. Love threads through the overall series, encompassing platonic, familial, and romantic love, and still manages to make you laugh and cry. This is truly a series like no other, and purely just a phenomenally written series.

Rating: 5/5

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