Princess in Waiting

April 1, 2003
The fourth in the Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot, Princess in Waiting, finds Mia highly respected in Genovia for her fashion sense but criticized for her views on installing parking meters. Her heartthrob keeps canceling their dates, algebra looms, and Grandmere insists upon additional princess lessons due to the parking-meter debacle. What's a royal to do?

May 15, 2003
Gr. 5-7. The fourth installment in the Princess Diaries series first finds Mia in Genovia where she is (1) involved in a parking-meter controversy; (2) waiting to meet Prince William; and (3) missing her boyfriend Michael's calls and counting the days (on every page) until they are reunited. When she's back in New York, Mia must decide whether to play hard to get (like Jane Eyre) or to embrace her relationship with Michael. But once she decides, she's involved in an impossible tug-of-war between a date with Michael and appearing at a ball that her grandmother insists she attend. Cabot has the diaries down to a successful formula now, and like the previous books, this one is fast, furious, and mostly funny, with a clever subplot that nods to real life--a movie made about Mia's life. A teen's everyday concerns topped with a tiara; fans will adore it all. Refer aspiring princess to Cabot's " Princess Lessons," p.1657.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)

May 1, 2003
Gr 6-9-Mia is back in this fourth installment in the series. Breezy diary entries detail her adventures starting on December 21 in Genovia and ending on January 24 in New York City. Bursting with pop-culture references, the narrative bubbles along like a late hour at a slumber party. The events are busy with many trivial pursuits that readers are expected to relate to, but the lack of substance may bore them. While in Genovia, Mia is missing her boyfriend Michael, and must contend with feisty Grandmere, a full diplomatic social schedule, and parking-meter debates. When she returns to school in New York City, she still has to deal with her grandmother, and algebra, and find her missing lucky Queen Amidala underwear. In addition, she must figure out how she can go to a ball that Grandmere is ordering her to attend and still see Michael on the same night. Mia's preoccupation with figuring out what her talent is, which she doesn't recognize as her writing, is so contrived that this protagonist has lost some of her charm. Although the likable characters are intact and girls may enjoy the romance and funny details of life as a 14-year-old princess, this outing is strictly for fans.-Debbie Stewart, Grand Rapids Public Library, MI

Copyright 2003 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2003
Princess Mia is back, this time on display for all of Genovia to see--finally. In the midst of listing her daily schedule, Mia worries about whether or not her boyfriend loves her like a sister or a girlfriend, what she can get him for his birthday, and how to stop her scheming grandmother from setting her up with her kingdomless cousin. Mia's voice resonates (humorously) with the woes of being a teenager--and a royal.

(Copyright 2003 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)