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The Princess Diaries #1-2
The Princess Diaries Collection
What could be better than finding out you're a princess? Well, nothing. But a sparkly, cute box set containing your two favorite books comes awfully close. The Princess Diaries Collection includes the paperback editions of the first two books in the New York Times best-selling series, The Princess Diaries , and Princess in the Spotlight .
576 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
About the author
Meg Cabot
205 books35.7k followersLibrarian 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
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
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
July 1, 2013
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.
August 26, 2025
Laughed out loud not once, not twice, but many times. Cabot is just too clever.
November 11, 2019
The first two books in the series are fun and lighthearted. A nice easy read.
May 5, 2023
Eu nunca quis tanto um casal como quero Michael + Mia!!!!!!
April 14, 2020
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.
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.
December 11, 2021
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.
It didn't hold up as well as I hoped it would, but I still enjoyed this.
Did Not Finish
December 2, 2021DNF
July 24, 2026
É um bom livro. Apesar de ser muito diferente do filme, o que me desagrada um tantão, mas é até que legalzinho.
December 26, 2018
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.
December 23, 2010
'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.
April 28, 2024
Falando no geral dos dois livros. É um livro muito gostosinho e divertido de ler, a Mia é uma adolescente de 14 anos então todas as emoções e atitudes dela são compreensíveis, além de ser escrito em formato de diário – ela repete certas coisas mil vezes.
Fiquei querendo um pouco mais de Mia e Michael, ele aparece muito pouco, mas as migalhas que recebi valeram muito a pena. A Lilly pode ser chata, só que também é apenas uma adolescente, espero que ela evolua tanto quanto a Mia porque por enquanto as atitudes estão condizentes com a idade delas.
Acho que o Kenny deveria ter sido introduzido antes do segundo livro, ele aparece meio do nada no segundo. E gosto do fato de que o Josh não tenha sido deixado de lado completamente quando o arco dele acabou.
Não tem muito o que falar, o livro é sobre uma adolescente tentando lidar com a vida e suas questão e agora tem o bônus de ser uma princesa que um dia governará um país.
Fiquei querendo um pouco mais de Mia e Michael, ele aparece muito pouco, mas as migalhas que recebi valeram muito a pena. A Lilly pode ser chata, só que também é apenas uma adolescente, espero que ela evolua tanto quanto a Mia porque por enquanto as atitudes estão condizentes com a idade delas.
Acho que o Kenny deveria ter sido introduzido antes do segundo livro, ele aparece meio do nada no segundo. E gosto do fato de que o Josh não tenha sido deixado de lado completamente quando o arco dele acabou.
Não tem muito o que falar, o livro é sobre uma adolescente tentando lidar com a vida e suas questão e agora tem o bônus de ser uma princesa que um dia governará um país.
October 17, 2011
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 :(
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 :(
November 12, 2012
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.
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.
August 30, 2017
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.
June 7, 2008
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.
November 29, 2008
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).
December 17, 2008
it's super duper funny..i like it very much..
March 8, 2009
I was surprised how much I liked the book since I loved the movie.
February 28, 2010
nice book....
June 1, 2010
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!
October 17, 2011
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.
May 13, 2023
tenho bastante apego sim
February 26, 2015
Loved It!
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews























