Mia Tells It Like It Is

The Princess Diaries #1-2

by Meg Cabot

Mia may be a princess, but she doesn't have to like it.

In Volume I, Mia discovers she is the heir to the throne of a small European principality (Genovia; pop. 50,000), and is properly horrified. Also: paparazzi, Algebra, an unethical beau, and a wholly inappropriate Sidecar recipe.

In Volume II, Mia takes matters into her own hands by calling her first press conference. Also: a secret admirer, an unexpected elopement (but not by Mia!), and a surprise ending fit for New York's most reluctant royal.

Immortalized by the silver screen, The Princess Diaries' Princess Amelia Mignonette Grimaldi Thermopolis Renaldo has a life most can only dream of. Now read in her own words the (fictional) story of a real American princess.

Genres: Young Adult, Chick Lit, Fiction, Romance, High School, Childrens, Teen

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Librarian note: AKA Jenny Carroll (1-800-Where-R-You series), AKA Patricia Cabot (historical romance novels).

Meg Cabot was born on February 1, 1967, during the Chinese astrological year of the Fire Horse, a notoriously unlucky sign. Fortunately she grew up in Bloomington, Indiana, where few people were aware of the stigma of being a fire horse -- at least until Meg became a teenager, when she flunked freshman Algebra twice, then decided to cut her own bangs. After six years as an undergrad at Indiana University, Meg moved to New York City (in the middle of a sanitation worker strike) to pursue a career as an illustrator, at which she failed miserably, forcing her to turn to her favorite hobby--writing novels--for emotional succor. She worked various jobs to pay the rent, including a decade-long stint as the assistant manager of a 700 bed freshmen dormitory at NYU, a position she still occasionally misses.

She is now the author of nearly fifty books for both adults and teens, selling fifteen million copies worldwide, many of which have been #1 New York Times bestsellers, most notably The Princess Diaries series, which is currently being published in over 38 countries, and was made into two hit movies by Disney. In addition, Meg wrote the Mediator and 1-800-Where-R-You? series (on which the television series, Missing, was based), two All-American Girl books, Teen Idol, Avalon High, How to Be Popular, Pants on Fire, Jinx, a series of novels written entirely in email format (Boy Next Door, Boy Meets Girl, and Every Boy's Got One), a mystery series (Size 12 Is Not Fat/ Size 14 Is Not Fat Either/Big Boned), and a chick-lit series called Queen of Babble.

Meg is now writing a new children's series called Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls. Her new paranormal series, Abandon, debuts in Summer of 2011.

Meg currently divides her time between Key West, Indiana, and New York City with a primary cat (one-eyed Henrietta), various back-up cats, and her husband, who doesn't know he married a fire horse. Please don't tell him.


Series:
* Airhead
* The Princess Diaries
* Mediator

Reviews

[Briony · Rating 4 out of 5]

My parents bought me this book years ago when we were on holiday, but I'd never got around to picking it up until now. At the age of 22 I thought I'd be too old to appreciate Mia's adventures, but I was wrong. Cabot's writing is funny, addictive and believable. I was drawn into Mia's world and I loved it. In fact I only took a short break between reading the first and second instalments of the series, but even then I found myself missing Mia and her crazy adventures. My only disagreement with the novel was the age of Mia and her friends. Call me a prude, but I felt they were just a touch too young to be approaching some of the topics that they did. Overall though I picked up this book because I enjoyed the film and I wasn't disappointed. It was one of those instances when the book was better than the film and I'm looking forward to following Mia in the rest of the Princess Diaries series.

[Sage Showers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Laughed out loud not once, not twice, but many times. Cabot is just too clever.

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first two books in the series are fun and lighthearted. A nice easy read.

[Tami · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was a little child I saw that movie on TV.. it turned out that it was later my favourite movie. Years later - that time I watched the movie another time - I thought it would be a good idea to read the book, too.
I really had high expectations but they were fulfilled. Especially for teens or young adults (like me) this book is definitely a suggestion for someone who loves reading and forgetting everything around.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mia is a lot whinier than I remembered. Lilly is a horrible friend. Tina is adorable, though, still one my all time favorite characters.
It didn't hold up as well as I hoped it would, but I still enjoyed this.

[Nora]

DNF

[Martyna Piwowarczyk · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Personally, I find Mia very immature and self-centered in these first two books of the Princess Diaries series. All she cares about is finding a date and getting a boyfriend.

[Tammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

'Mia Tells It Like It Is' is composed of the first two books in 'The Princess Diaries' series. I watched (and liked) the movie years ago, and it is, in comparison, surprisingly, a notch more Disney. Like the movie, it's cute and amusing, but a tad less warm and fuzzy (still fairly saccharine though). It's written like a journal, with each entry taking about a page or two, interspersed with various academic notes and todos, so it is a ridiculously fast read. It is also completely filled with NYC references, which I always appreciate, (now I miss Balducci's! and have some restaurants I want to try), and cultural references I actually recognized from my high school days (DS9, Xena, Buffy -- okay, I saw Buffy in college, but still...). I suppose it's all dated now, but for me, it's vaguely nostalgic. The todos also reminded me how repetitive math homework was in high school (do problems 1-54, evens only). I wonder if those satisfied or caused the ocd addictiveness that 'games' like farmville take advantage of.

[Ayunda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, after watching the movies and knowing the series for years I have finally decided to read it. I expected quite a lot, since I have read some of Meg Cabot's stories and liked it. She was actually pretty smart to be able to write on a diary kind of format, and to write it as a teenager.
I can relate to Mia most of the time, but I just didn't like the story. I like the idea and the characters but I just hated the plot. It's a little too short (I don't get it, was it intended for younger people or does she just want it to be short and easy to read?) and frankly, I like the movie a little better than the books!
Honestly!
I'm sorry Mrs Cabot, I just didn't like it :(

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Princess Diaries is very cute. Meg Cabot does a good job of taking a scenario that isn't quite so realistic (your dad is a prince of a country, and you don't know that even though you've had to research it for school? Come on now) and somehow making it believable, and even realistic. I'm a fourteen-year-old princess, sole heir of the throne of Genovia? Pfft, not so far-fetched. But Meg Cabot makes it work. I don't know how she does it, but she succeeds every time.

As for the rest of it, Mia is your ordinary 14-year-old girl growing up in NYC. She has normal problems, goes through normal issues, and comes out of it unscathed. Fun read. I'll probably eventually read more of the series.

[Preethi Suresh · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's an awesome book. "Mia Tells It Like It Is" is a combination of Book 1 - The Princess Diaries and Book 2 - The Princess In The Spotlight. In love with the series. The series are beautifully written by Meg Cabot. I enjoyed the flow of the story. A perfect dreamy one.

[Kristine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of fun. I did have to consciously leave all of my "preconceived notions" (supplied by the movie) behind in order to really enjoy this, but once I did, it really was fun.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

July

[Sadistic · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this series, it's cool to read the adult version of the series. I've read both now (or I will when I finish this one).

[Ynna · Rating 5 out of 5]

it's super duper funny..i like it very much..

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised how much I liked the book since I loved the movie.

[Finella · Rating 5 out of 5]

nice book....

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought I might be too old (28) to enjoy this book... But I was wrong! Now I want to read Mia's other stories!

[Jess · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really hate every single book in this series--they all read like an idle 1997 IM chat session between two 13 year-olds. No matter how old Mia gets it's still the same tone, no growth or maturity.

[Luna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved It!