Princess in Waiting: The Princess Diaries Vol. IV

Just what I've come to expect from a Princess Diaries book. Lots of fun, confusion and the drama that seems to surround 14 year olds. More scheming from the grandmother (I swear I like her better in the movie version) and more condescension from the "best friend" Lilly (dig her more in the movie as well) But we get to see more interactions with the Genovian society as well as more interactions with Michael and I can't help but think these books are adorable, regardless of the fact that they are quite obviously written for someone younger. I truly think anyone middle school or older who enjoys a light romance would enjoy these books. As well as fans of the movies.

Mia was a lot whinier in this book than the others so far. I don't know if it was her character, or the new narrator in the series. Clarice was her usual conniving self though, and that made for great entertainment at times. Lily vs the tv producers was another bright spot in the story. Hopefully Mia is less whiny in love" in the next book because I am enjoying the series more than I ever thought I would."

I am so glad to not be fourteen anymore. Every stupid thing I ever did at that age was pretty much captured in this novel, making it difficult to read and very cringeworthy. I'm glad Mia is with Michael, but all her insecurities drove me nuts. I felt for her, but as an older woman, I also just wanted to smack her. I liked the interactions with her psycho Grandmere and the whole subplot of the parking meters.

I know that I have said this about the other books in this series, but I am finding these books hilarious and very entertaining. The diary format makes them SO easy to read and I have been reading them in about one sitting as a break from my never ending To Read pile of other things.

Princess in Waiting follows Mia to Genovia during the holiday break while she tries on her new princess title where she is the princess, needless to say it all goes a bit awry. Even though I have been enjoying the series, this was the first book were I really felt Mia's age - she was boy crazy and kind of whiny most of the time. The plot was still fun though, Grandmere is still ruining her life, her dad is still pretty oblivious, and Mia continues to spazz over the littlest things.

Another fun book in the series, I am gonna grab the next one soon.

And now we begin with the real filler. The biggest problem with the Princess Diaries is that it’s supposed to cover Mia’s high school career, and when the first five books detail just her freshman year, there’s going to be some issues filling all of that up. That said, this is not a bad book. Yes, it feels like filler—given that the main plot of the book is Mia discovering her ‘talent,’ when she’s not obsessing over Michael—but it’s still a fun book. I liked that we finally get to experience Genovia for the first half, although I would have liked to have seen more of it in the series proper. This is another book with a ton of pop culture references, the most glaring being the “Oh I see what you did there” mentions to the movies and the books “based” on Mia’s life. Again, not bad, I really did like this volume, but I could really see the filler.

Mildly less preachy than the last, but how many times is Mia going to fall for her grandmother's schemes before she finally realizes that no matter what, she cannot be trusted? ESPECIALLY if she's showing some kind of emotion. I work with a LOT of students in Mia's age-range and few of them are as dense as this girl (in MANY matters, not just with regards to her grandmother). I've decided to classify this series as "crack" fiction (much like the works of Francesca Lia Block and Stephanie Meyer); it isn't written particularly well, the characters are unappealing, and the characters' interactions with each other and the events of the story are unrealistic...yet for god only knows what reason, I "enjoy" it and I usually end up feeling better about myself...probably because I see these horribly unworthy "heroines" and realize that I (and most of humanity) am a crap-load better than these people.

This book is ok I guess. I didn't like it all that much because it was in the form of a diary when it was written and I don't really like that form. But it did go well into depth.

Wednesday, January 20th.Grandmere wants to destroy my love life because she doesn´t like Michael. Michael makes me very happy, but Grandmere doesn´t care about that. She doesn´t like Michael because he isn´t a member of a royal family.Mia´s first official visit to Genovia has been a success, and she´s finally going out with Michael, the boy she loves. It seems that nothing can spoil life for New York´s only princess! Nothing, that us, except Grandmere, who has her own plans for Mia...

Mia is now with her crush, but has to spend Christmas break in Genovia being the 'princess.' She's not very happy with having had to kiss and run, so spends the entire book agonizing over being apart from the boyfriend. Really cute.

Mia really does seem to stress herself out way more than she needs to be. But I think a lot of us are like that, well girls anyways, we overthink things. Before she overthought whether Michael was her secret admirer or not. Then she was trying to break up or not break up with Kenny. In this novel, she's trying to figure out whether Michael loves her or is IN love with her, even though he pretty much told her to her face that he loved her and had made out with her since. I certainly don't kiss my friend's brothers, much less love them. haha. But Mia... well, she does keep me amused. Which is why Volume 4 has been read and reviewed already. Well, in process of being reviewed.I'm a little surprised at Mia for being so gullible about her Grandmere. After all that she's been through with her grandmother manipulating her, you would think that she can figure out this grandmother of hers. But I suppose we are weak when it comes to family obligations, especially since Mia's has to do with duty to her country as well.I loved how Meg Cabot incorporated the movie into this book. How Mia's life story has become a movie and the injustices the characters (mainly Lilly) may feel towards their portrayal. As I keep reading, I realize just how much they changed Grandmere's character. I can't see Julie Andrews maniupulating Mia to the extent she goes through. She's much too kind and sweet in the movie version. Despite the fact that there are differences... I'm going to have to say that I still love the films as much as I used to. Sure, there are differences. But the books are good as books. The movies are good as movies.

OK, in this book Mia is just annoying, she harps on and on about how Michael will dump her if she tells him the she has to miss their first date, because her grandmother is forcing her to attend a ball on the same night.I suppose because I try to confess things as soon as possible and get it over with, I have little patience with Mia's agonising for ages about how Michael will break up with her for being busy on one night. Break up with her because she's being such a baby, more likely.Although Clea Lewis does a good job narrating, it was jarring to have a new voice, Anne Hathaway narrated the previous three. It took me a while to get used to Grandmere's accent, it seemed different. But by the end of the story, I stopped noticing.

Why I Chose This Book: I love Meg Cabot's books for adults and YA....I want to finish this series before the 10th book comes out:)What I Thought: As usual loved her writing, laugh out loud funny:)

Mia Thermopolis is still having troubles { a great book}

Another good episode in the series, although this one is not my favorite so far.

I loved this book along with the two preceding ones i think every teenage girl can relate to mia on some level. This series is a must have in your collection.