I'm waiting for the next sequel! (Someone make me stop the puns!)

Just a warning: epinions apparently has some bug where it lists reviews for The Princess Diaries under all the sequels. So if that's where this appears, now you know.

Quite a few people have heard of The Princess Diaries. They're about Amelia (Mia) Thermopolis, a freshman living in New York City who has a number of problems. In the first book, she finds out, much to her chagrin, that she's the princess of a European nation: Genovia. (For all you dorks out there checking maps: It's not a real country :D) Life is hectic as she deals with the press and her newfound popularity, as well as her makeover. In sequels two and three, Princess in the Spotlight and Princess in Love (which I read but can't review as I've turned them back into the library,) Mia agonizes over various problems, including her mother's relationship with her algebra teacher, her mother's pregnancy, and her insane crush on her best friend Lilly's older brother Michael. Michael likes her too, and this is glaringly obvious, but Mia isn't the sharpest (insert sharp thing) in the (insert place where sharp things are stored) so she doesn't know. At the end of Princess in Love, Michael asks Mia out; she's overjoyed; woo yay. Unfortunately, she's whisked off to Genovia right away, and that's where this book begins.

While Mia is in Genovia, Michael is in Florida, and Mia is constantly wondering if, during her abscense, Michael has hooked up with some "Kate Bosworth"-like chick. She begins to fret because she can't weave seaweed bracelets, and is convinced Michael only likes her as a friend, and this is when we realize: Mia is a moron. She takes her psycho grandmother's advice and goes for the Jane Eyre approach: not letting a guy know you like/love him. (Can you say pish-aw? It's obvious from the start that this will NOT work, but Mia doesn't catch on quite as quickly.) Mia is also a moron because she second guesses herself ALL the time, says the wrong thing, and is generally clueless. But hey: That's what makes it funny!

About halfway through the book, when winter break is over, Mia returns to NYC. Here, she helps a friend cope with a break-up, along with constantly worrying that her own is inevitable. She is quick to point out that Michael is talented and good looking, while she is unattractive and (in her opinion) useless. She spends the course of the book trying to figure out her "special talent."

Mia's parents (her mother, an artist, and her father, the King of Genovia. They were never married.) make very few appearances in this book, and for that matter, the same is true for most of the characters. Lilly, Mia's best friend, shows up but doesn't do a lot; I'd say Tina Hakim Baba (Mia became friends with this daughter of an oil mogul when she first became famous) plays a more important part as an expert on romance. This book is really about Mia and Michael, with the occasional appearance of Grandmére, Mia's havoc-wreaking-dowager-princess-absolute-nut grandmother.

This book is appropriate for most ages; kissing and a few words I had to look up are in this book, but there's no swearing or violence. I think most teens will enjoy this: It's far superior to the movie, which spans about the first 3 books.

I hate ending reviews abruptly, but I never have good conclusions so

(Ha... get it? It's a joke... Ok, nevermind.)