The Princess Diaries Complete Collection

The Princess Diaries #1-10

by Meg Cabot

Meg Cabot's bestselling Princess Diaries series has delighted millions of middle grade and teen readers, and it was turned into the wildly popular Disney movies of the same name, starring Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews. This collection contains all ten of the novels following Mia as she attempts to navigate high school, boys, and…princess training.

Includes:
The Princess Diaries
The Princess Diaries, Volume II: Princess in the Spotlight
The Princess Diaries, Volume III: Princess in Love
The Princess Diaries, Volume IV: Princess in Waiting
The Princess Diaries, Volume V: Princess in Pink
The Princess Diaries, Volume VI: Princess in Training
The Princess Diaries, Volume VII: Party Princess
The Princess Diaries, Volume VIII: Princess on the Brink
The Princess Diaries, Volume IX: Princess Mia
The Princess Diaries, Volume X: Forever Princess

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

2298 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2007

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

[Shawna Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all, let me start off with the characters I like and dislike in this series:

Princess Mia: liked. Even when she was stupidly clueless.
Michael Moscovitz: really liked.
Lilly Moscovitz: I tried to like her because I knew she was supposed to be Mia's best friend, but didn't very much. Especially in the last three books.
Tina Hakim Baba: liked, much more than Lilly.
Boris Pelkowski: Meh.
Kenny Showalter: Didn't really like him.
Ling Su and Perin: Meh.
Shameeka: Meh.
Lana Weinberger: Didn't like her at first, because she seemed like just another stereotypical shallow and snobby cheerleader, but in the last two books, Lana does show a few redeeming qualities.
Josh Richter: hated him.
J.P: hated him.
Mia's Dad, the Crown Prince of Genovia: Meh.
Mia's Mom, Helen Thermopolis: liked her. Most of the time.
Mr. Gianini: Meh.
Rocky: He's so adorable.
Fat Louie: Not even Garfield is this funny. I want a cat like him, only I wouldn't want him to eat my socks.
Lars the Royal Bodyguard: sort of liked him.
Principal Gupta: Hated her. Also thought she could be a little controlling, and harsh.
Mia's Grandmere, the Dowager Princess of Genovia: She frightened me. And yet, made me laugh at the same time.
Rommel, Grandmere's practically hairless poodle: They say he has OCD, I could almost ask: Grandmere, what did you do to him?! And laugh.

Best books of the series to me:

The Princess Diaries
Princess in Love
Princess in Waiting
Princess in Pink
Princess in Training
Forever Princess

And the worst of the books to me are:

Princess in the Spotlight
Party Princess
Princess on the Brink
Princess Mia

As for the rest, I'll say no more. I will let you read the books if you haven't yet and let you decide which out of this dramatic yet funny series you like the most.

[Niharika · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love this series so much!!! Its is absolutely amazing and though I don't connect with it much,actually at all,I still love it ! I've read it sooo many times and I can still go on reading it . Love it !!!

[Khandakako · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of the princess diaries is amazing! You have to try it.

[Catherine Johns · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my FAVORITE BOOK SERIES OF ALL TIME!!!! I grew up reading these books and the final book came out when I was in college. I still read it cover to cover in one day! Forever Princess might be one of the best series ending books of all time, and it completes a stellar series about a girl growing up in New York who happens to be a princess.
Sometimes Mia makes bad decisions, but they are forgivable and understandable for someone her age and in her situations. The lessons she learns are lessons every girl needs to learn in High School (and maybe college if she's a later bloomer). Mia goes from being a slightly self-centered introvert with a very self-righteous view of the world to a girl who has a gaggle of friends and understands that the world is complex place that she has the unique chance to change by being a Princess.
Meg Cabot is brilliant in her story telling and how she wraps all the loose threads up at the end in a way that everyone loves.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved loved loved the series overall.
Mia was entertaining and interesting throughout and I loved reading her diary entries.
I never got to read the 9th book of the series (my public library was apparently missing that one book to the series T.T), but I liked the ending to the series nevertheless. They were, surprisingly, much different to the movie version of Princess Diaries and now I love both movie version and book form all the same. :)

[Max · Rating 5 out of 5]

My all-time second favorite series as a teenager after Harry Potter. I got into the series by reading the second novel first, and I was hooked. Most of the problems Mia face, with her parents, friends, school, fitting in, peer pressure, bullying and of course sexuality, is unconventionally realistic and genuine. However, the hook of the series is that this is written in a very tongue-in-cheek, comical manner, making fun of and satirizing pop culture, materialism and even popular romance tropes. In a way that's ironic because they made two Disney movies off the series, which actually promoted everything the books were heavily criticizing, namely the condescending, adult's POV of teen problems and also glossing over all the nitty-gritty aspects of teen life (such the big no-no, sex). The irony was not lost on the author who subtly criticized the movies in later books (because Mia is a celeb, the Hollywood in her book world also makes a movie of her, seriously distorting facts of her life and making her life look like, well, a Disney movie).
Well, now on to Michael, one of the best book boyfriends ever. Michael and Mia's relationship is unique because he is more levelheaded and smarter than her, but does not dominate her in any way. He doesn't need to be a complete wuss to make Mia look better either. He is smart, patient and supportive. In any typical romance book, these traits would single him out as a "nice guy" therefore boring and unsexy. But Meg Cabot manages to make him so cool and so sizzling hot (righteously so), indoctrinating the readers (such as my teen self) into wanting a guy like Michael in real life, who'll help you be better as a person.
Some of the later books in the series, especially the 9th, was weak (compared to the early novels), but the final 10th book nicely wraps up the series, quite memorably. Thank you MC, hope you write another like this.

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best book series I have ever been introduced too, I read all 10 cover to cover within 3 days and have reread them uncountable amount of times they can transport you into a different place and time when you feel like you need to escape from the day

[R.A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series!

This is my second time reading this series. These books are still hilarious and heartwarming. Meg Cabot is a goddess of words.

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Juvenile fiction

I loved the movies, so I decided it was time to finally read the books. I also chose this book for the Brighter Winter reading challenge - read a book that intimidates you - because it was over 30 hours of reading and I'm pretty busy with a baby! 😅

In my opinion, Meg Cabot does an excellent job of capturing the typical teenage high school experience. Obviously the princess part isn't typical, but student responses definitely are! There's quite a bit of student discussion around sex, especially towards the end of the series. I could have done with less, but the discussions felt fairly similar to what I would have had as a teenager (although I definitely wasn't hoping to lose my virginity after prom, since I believe sex should be saved for marriage).

This was an enjoyable read, but I don't think I'll read it again.

[Claretabooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Empecé estos libros hace muchos años en un intento de mejorar mi inglés.
Los descubrí a través de la famosa pelicula y como enamorada que soy de las historias de princesas, me tiré de cabeza a la piscina.
Tengo que reconocer que es una historia para adolescentes, jóvenes y esa etapa me queda ya muy lejos por lo que no he sido capaz de empatizar tanto con Mia como sé que hubiese podido a mis catorce o quince, pero no puedo negar que la historia me ha gustado.
Algunas veces ella me parecia un poco torpe y tonta pero al fin y al cabo hay que pensar en como nos comportábamos todos a su edad y no me parece tan grave.
A lo largo de estos diez libros acompañas a Mia en sus años de instituto y en todas las complicaciones que le trae enterarse de que es la princesa de un pequeño país europeo. Además de en todas sus neuras y decisiones vitales. Al estar escrito como un diario llegas a entender su manera de pensar realmente bien. Y me parece entrañable que su via de escape sea siempre la escritura. Es como si poner todos sus pensamientos por escrito, hiciera que pudiera comprenderse mejor.
Es una historia muy recomendable para el rango de edad al que está recomendado.

[Shur'tugal Argetlam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started reading this series as a teenager. The butterflies when I discovered he loved her too, the warmth I felt when Mia and Micheal first kissed, the heartbreak when Mia and Lily were not friends anymore, the hilarity of Mia's and Lana's friendship, and whatever outrageous things young minds conjure. And by the 10th book, I had outgrown it. It seemed juvenile after a point. But the 4 stars are for the simpler time they remind me of, and the comfort they provide to a girl when she wants to be reminded of the roller-coaster that young love is.

[Emily Revelas · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are classics.

[Leslie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, I started listening to this series because I saw that they were narrated by Anne Hathaway, and I loved her in the movies. Turns out the books are drastically different from the movies. Let's just say they would not be Disney-approved. :) Cabot's teenage-girl voice is so very authentic, and Mia is downright hilarious. But there are also lots of vulgar parts, and sometimes the subject matter is just too "adult" for this adult. Faults aside, I would give some of the books (there are more than ten . . . and Hathaway only narrates the first few, unfortunately) 3.5 stars, but most were 2-3, and the last one was probably a 1. It kind of ruined the whole series for me. Throughout all the books, from age 14 to 18, Mia has been on a quest for self-actualization. It was a coming-of-age story. But by the end of the series I was disappointed to discover that everything culminates in more of a sexual-awakening-equals-coming-of-age story. Plus, by now Mia has written a romance novel (the nasty kind), and there are excerpts of it throughout the 10th book. Yeah, really not what I was hoping for.

[Nilufa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read The Princess Diaries when I was fifteen so I thought I'd read them and approach them more objectively - though I always liked them - and upon re-reading them at a semi-mature age, I'm still transported to Mia's world of AEHS, royal responsibilities and teen angst.

The first PD starts with a fourteen year old pubescent, non-self-actualised and non-royal Mia and ends with an eighteen year old, somewhat self-actualised Mia. We, the readers, are able to empathise and criticise her inability to confront the issues in her life - her royal status, her father's flirtatious nature, her mother marrying her algebra teacher and her undying love for her best friend Lilly's brother, Michael.

After reading all ten books again, (I'm so glad I did!) I can empathise with my teen self for looking to these books for assurance and finding that they still made me laugh and appreciate the pop-culture references and the overriding love story. Do read, even if you are not a teenage girl and can stomach a whiny but loveable girl like Mia. I'm also thrilled there will be an 11th installment in my favourite series next summer! Woo!

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I read books 1-5 in like middle school when they first came out. And I can totally see why I loved them at the time. They felt a little whiney and annoying to me now. However, books 6-10 I had never read, so that was new. I'm not going to lie, I enjoyed reading them more than I think I am even willing to admit. I actually think I cried (and read in one sitting - thank you long plane ride) through most of books 8-10. Don't judge me. I'm an now incredibly excited to read Royal Wedding. Which I am sure I will be binge reading tomorrow.

[Spammonia · Rating 3 out of 5]

These books were the only things I read when I was 13 years old. I only stuck around for Michael, since he seemed to be the smartest of the bunch. Lilly had my respect, but then lost it with her incessant need for attention. All in all, a good representation of what went through my head when I was a young teen.

[Sanvi your highness chauhan · Rating 5 out of 5]

gave it 5 stars just coz i loved reading these books in middle school...gave me hopes that i will also find love of my life in high school(which i did briefly but then reality hit hard)...pretty cute read though

[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.

[Jennine meloche · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first few book are ok but it just goes downhill from there, whining and annoying..

[Liane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meg Cabot is always a reliably entertaining read.

[mariachiara · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stelle nel complesso dei 10 libri (+vari extra) che ho letto, so che ce ne sono altri due usciti più in là, ma “Royal Wedding” non mi stava convincendo molto quindi per ora ho messo in pausa la lettura.

Ho iniziato a leggere questa serie dopo aver visto i film che sono abbastanza inaccurati sotto molti punti di vista (soprattutto il secondo) e mi ha fatto molto ridere che nella storia i film esistano e che i personaggi del libro ne commentino le inesattezze. Li ho trovati tutti estremamente scorrevoli, il fatto che fosse scritto come un diario non mi ha disturbata, anzi, col fatto che sono molto brevi se ne può leggere facilmente uno in un pomeriggio.

Ho apprezzato tanto i personaggi e credo sia la prima volta che leggo un libro dove gli adolescenti fanno gli adolescenti per davvero. Le dinamiche di amicizia tra Mia e Lilly, ad esempio, per quanto le abbia trovate fastidiose in certi punti, le ho trovate estremamente realistiche. Lo stesso si può dire dei rapporti tra Mia e la sua famiglia, soprattutto per quanto riguarda sua nonna (che non somiglia neanche lontanamente a Julie Andrews). Non sono sicura che oggi qualcuno possa scrivere di un rapporto “nonna-nipote” in questo modo senza uscire totalmente indenne dalle critiche. Da questo punto di vista si può quasi dire che questa serie sia un po’ controversa, ma è anche molto “vera”.

Non nego che ho iniziato i libri solo per vedere come si sarebbe evoluta la relazione tra Mia e Michael e dire che sono stata accontentata sarebbe dire poco. Una cosa che non mi piace dei romance (e che mi porta a leggerne pochissimi) è che si focalizzano su come nasce la relazione tra due persone, il “dopo” spesso non compare o è semplicemente una litigata durante la relazione che poi finisce per il meglio. In questi 10 libri c’è un bel po’ della relazione tra i due: vediamo come nasce, ma c’è molto più di quel “dopo”, li seguiamo in ogni discussione o litigio e nelle cose quotidiane e, soprattutto, non è sempre tutto perfetto e idealizzato.

Mia è una narratrice estremamente divertente, inaffidabile (dopotutto è il suo diario) e ho apprezzato tanto la sua evoluzione, che secondo me si può davvero apprezzare nella sua completezza solo nell’ultimo libro dove si nota tanto il distacco e quanto è passato dal primo libro.

È una serie talmente godibile che la rileggerei volentieri, è diventata una delle mie “comfort series”.

[Mythili · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm so I will count this as one because I've read most of these before (...not...Princess Mia? I think).

The good: remains casually (although, given that it is set in Manhattan, not at all surprising) diverse. Mia's friends are from everywhere. Michael remains dishy.

The eh: it's harder to get behind the it's all a diary conceit when you think about it for more than a second. Like. These are looong entries for someone supposedly writing in a bathroom? Sometimes mad distracting. Also. Do your damn homework, woman. And pay attention in class.

The bad: so much more evident when read in a row, this Precious Gift virginity nonsense seems unrealistic and off-putting. Mia's dramas are so readily solved by anyone talking to anyone who is involved, it's so infuriating. And don't even get me started on Mia and Lilly calling it quits for two years over boy nonsense.

An additional thought: the two year flash forward between book nine and ten (i.e. penultimate and final) would have been the most interesting to see. After nine books of Mia being pretty (maybe realistically) immature, she grows up and steadies a lot. We get only the beginning of it at the end of nine, but it's not enough to compensate, especially not when you're reading in a row!

[Andina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, this might be a little bit embarassing, me reading this teenager book serial.. The princess diaries used to be one of my favorite readings as I was in the teenager age, so about 16 years ago😳 Probably it‘s the hormones or it‘s the fact that I gave birth to a daughter, who someday will be facing the teenagers crisis😏 that I was willing to read these books again..

Well, these books are just as entertaining as they were decades ago. Of course there were a lot of moments, where I rolled my eyes and thought about the „dramatic problems“ of those teenies. But hey, almost all of us were going through this difficult yet „hillarious“ phase.

The writing is fun and the figures are so lovable, that I would even re-read these books 20 years from now🙂

[Anoushka Agarwal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the story outline. i read the first book of the series and it was good. i like reading stories by Meg Cabot and this was another great one. The surprising elements of the story brought the glow. My favourite part was when Mia, got to know she was a princess. i have nothing in my life related to the story, but I could somehow really connect to it. The book shows a variety of relations in many different aspects. i would recommend this book to anyone who likes reading friction.

[Nátalie Colvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this series multiple times as a teenager and even now in my twenties I still find it entertaining. Meg Cabot has a way of portraying a teenager's life that is very relatable and funny. The characters may seem immature at times, but weren't we all, at their age? It's a beautiful and very entertaining coming of age series. It feels like you are talking to a friend the whole time.

[Anna ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I definitely think that after the first three books it got a little more inappropriate because there was a lot of sex later on...
I absolutely hated Lily she’s a piece of crap. Especially in the 5th book!
Grande mère was such a control freak but gentle inside!

The series in great!
Read it! 12+ rated past the 4th book.

[Milly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read these books over lockdown as I have never read them before but have watched the movie and it was very funny. When I started reading them I realised there are some parts in the books which you would only understand if you are older even though the books are aimed at younger teenagers. I would recommend reading these if you want to laugh and have an easy read!

[Khadijah · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my opinion I think this collection is one of the best I ever read,
THANK YOU SO MUCH MEG CABOT FOR MAKING THIS
COLLECTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Rachel Rohm · Rating 3 out of 5]

I may not have read all 10. I think that speaks for itself, right?

[Lucia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this in my teenage years and I still love the light humor mixed with the most unexpected and yet normal conflicts. Mia was a constant companion for me and I still see her as a kind of friend.