Meg Cabot

Review of The Princess Diaires, Volume ll: Princess in the Spotlight

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Synopsis:
Just when Mia thought she had the whole princess thing under control, things get out of hand, fast. First there’s an unexpected announcement from her mother. Then Grandmère arranges a national primetime interview for the brand-new crown princess of Genovia. On top of that, intriguing, exasperating letters from a secret admirer begin to arrive. Before she even has the chance to wonder who those letters are from, Mia is swept up in a whirlwind of royal intrigue the likes of which she’s never before witnessed.

Review:
“Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

These books just read so quickly. I absolutely love reading from the perspective of our young princess protagonist. It’s so fun to see into her mind about what she worries about, thinks about, and how she tries to hard to be a good person, even when it means agreeing to things she really doesn’t want to. Her reactions are priceless, especially since I could see myself (or others of that age) reacting in the same way. I actually have found more and more dislike for Lilly as I’ve been reading, and wish she’d spend more time with Tina.

It is so amusing to read the books and keep in mind what Mia is supposed to look like versus Anne Hathaway/the movie crew. In the descriptions used I still see the same Lilly in my head. I think it was a grave disservice to cut out Tina from the film, but it was clear that they could only do so much with a limited timeframe. Regardless of however I feel at the end of the book series, the movie is, and will forever be one of my favourite feel good movies. Whenever things are really horrible and I’ve been truly upset, it always helps bring back some joy and happiness.

That being said, this book series is truly enchanting, and one you start a book you’ll be hard pressed to set it down until you’re done with it.

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Review of Enchanted to Meet You by Meg Cabot

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Synopsis:
It’s Magic When You Meet Your Match

In her teenage years, lovelorn Jessica Gold cast a spell that went disastrously wrong, and brought her all the wrong kind of attention—as well as a lifetime ban from the World Council of Witches.

So no one is more surprised than Jess when, fifteen years later, tall, handsome WCW member Derrick Winters shows up in her quaint little village of West Harbor and claims that Jess is the Chosen One.

She’s the Chosen One

Not chosen by West Harbor’s snobby elite to style them for the town’s tricentennial ball—though Jess owns the chicest clothing boutique in town. And not chosen finally to be on the WCW, either—not that Jess would have said yes, anyway, since she’s done with any organization that tries to dictate what makes a “true” witch.

No, Jess has been chosen to help save West Harbor itself . . .

As Summer Ends, Her Power Grows

But just when Jess is beginning to think that she and Derrick might have a certain magic of their own—and not of the supernatural variety—Jess learns he may not be who she thought he was. 

And suddenly Jess finds herself having to make another kind of choice: trust Derrick and work with him to combat the sinister force battling to bring down West Harbor, or use her gift as she always has: to keep herself, and her heart, safe.

Can she work her magic in time?

Review:
I started reading this book while sitting in the hospital waiting room with my cat Abby(who is featured on the website banner). It was the absolute perfect thing to take away worries and bring you to a completely other, though entirely realistic, place. There were so many things I adored about this book that I actually bought a hardcover as soon as I finished reading it on kindle.

The book starts off completely immersive, bringing forth vivid imagery and locking you in place with a timeline that seems completely plausible about when girls do things. There were lots of sweet little witchy “suggestions” from Goody Fletcher’s book in the beginning of the chapters which I thought was very cute. There were definitely times reading that I wondered why there wasn’t more threefold law taking place with a certain annoying blonde character, but in the end, I quite enjoyed the book and would highly recommend it to anyone who loves modern romantasy.

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

**I finished this book in February, however, due to Abby’s hospitalization, many things (book reviews included) were pushed off.

Review of The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

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Synopsis:
Mia Thermopolis is pretty sure there’s nothing worse than being a five-foot-nine, flat-chested freshman, who also happens to be flunking Algebra. Is she ever in for a surprise.

First Mom announces that she’s dating Mia’s Algebra teacher. Then Dad has to go and reveal that he is the crown prince of Genovia. And guess who still doesn’t have a date for the Cultural Diversity Dance?

The Princess Diaries is the first book in the beloved, bestselling series that inspired the feature film starring Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews.

Review:
This book is GOLDEN. I absolutely loved everything about this book. This book was so different from the movie and yet it still sparkles and shines on its own and didn’t at all make me dislike the movie. I am a bit sad that not all the characters made it from the book to the movie because boy is there some good characterization! So this book takes place in NYC versus San Francisco which is pretty cool. I love the way Mia never really thought to question the places she’d been with her dad, or all of her grandmother’s eccentricities. I love that this book is very much written as Mia’s journal and everything in it is very relatable and believable (I’m horrible at math too, Mia!) I loved how Mia would relate things to pop culture, like how her full name “sounds like the name of some stupid line of makeup, or of somebody form a Disney movie who’s been missing and just recovered her memory, or something”. I also love how a big part of her worries are that her grandmother wouldn’t allow her to have her giant fat cat with her in the palace; as someone with bed sleeping cats, I can understand! This book just made me want to read all of the diaries about Mia’s life!

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Review of Teen Idol by Meg Cabot

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Teen Idol
By Meg Cabot

Star Rating: 
Genre: YA

Number of Pages: 320

Date Started: January 4, 2016
Date Finished: January 5, 2016

Synopsis: (From Amazon)teen-idol
High school junior Jenny Greenley is so good at keeping secrets that she’s the school newspaper’s anonymous advice columnist. She’s so good at it that, when hotter-than-hot Hollywood star Luke Striker comes to her small town to research a role, Jenny is the one in charge of keeping his identity under wraps. But Luke doesn’t make it easy, and soon everyone – the town, the paparazzi, and the tabloids alike – know his secret . . . and Jenny is caught right in the middle of all the chaos.

Review:
Like so many Meg Cabot books, this novel shows that sometimes it’s easier to get along with everyone and blend in than it is to speak up and be yourself. Jenny was an extremely likeable character, and even the characters that were somewhat annoying grew during the novel, developing into people you could empathize with and care about.

Another amazing lesson that this novel shows is that relationships, even chance meetings between people, can be very touching to all involved. No matter age or occupation, there is always something you can learn from others, and what that something is can often be surprising.

Although this book originally came out in 2004 it seems a bit dated, perhaps because technology has evolved and cell phones have become almost essential to today’s youth. Despite that, the book was still a pleasure to read, and had great morals.

meg-cabotAuthor Biography: (From Amazon)
Meg Cabot was born in Indiana during the Chinese astrological year of the Fire Horse, a notoriously unlucky sign, but has been working hard ever since to give herself a happy ending. Her books for both adults and tweens/teens have included multiple #1 New York Times bestsellers, selling well over 25 million copies worldwide. Her Princess Diaries series has been published in more than 38 countries and was made into multiple hit films by Disney. Meg’s numerous other award-winning books include the Mediator series and the Heather Wells mystery series. Meg Cabot (her last name rhymes with habit, as in “her books can be habit forming”) currently lives in Key West with her husband.