The Princess Diaries Book Club 6 and 7

17:30 Cilla 2 Comments

The Princess Diaries Book Club is an ongoing collaboration with my friend Cam. We decided that we would reread this series, at our own pace, and always come back to our blogs and each other to discuss the story and how we feel about it now. If you are interested in joining us, please do!

Title: Princess in Training (Princess Diaries #6)
Author: Meg Cabot
Publisher: HarperTrophy//Gramedia Pustaka Utama
Source: Bought
Synopsis: Princess for president!

Student body president, that is -- nominated by her power-mad best friend, Lilly. This is not how Mia imagined kicking off her sophomore year, but as usual, she has bigger problems to worry about, like Geometry. And now that Mia's one true love, Michael, is uptown at college, what's the point of even getting up for school in the morning? But the last straw is what Lana whispers to her on the lunch line about what college boys expect of their girlfriends. . . . Really, it's almost more than a princess in training can bear.

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Review:

 So far, this is my favourite installment in the series. Mia experiences the weight of leadership as a princess, and must prove herself a worthy one in a student government election. Up until this point, her journey as a princess seems to prepare her more as a symbol (how to prevent your tiara from slipping off, how to address foreign heads of state and so on) than someone who actually has to make decisions for the country. So it's fun to watch her watch the consequences of her decision as a princess. Lilly's manipulation of Mia continues to make me uncomfortable, but in this instance she provides an opportunity for Mia to assert herself.

Mia also asserts herself to Michael instead of agonising until the last minute, finally. They have a conversation in which she holds her ground. Considering that Mia usually agonises and beats around the bush with Michael, this is a big step up, especially considering the topic they were discussing. Here, with the portrayal of Mia's concerns about sex, I'm reminded of why I loved her. I hope to see more of such moments in the rest of the series!


Title: Party Princess
Author: Meg Cabot
Publisher: Harper Trophy/Gramedia Pustaka Utama
Source: Bought
Synopsis: Princess just want to have fun . . . And Mia does too, despite the fact that the student government over which she presides is suddenly broke. But Grandmere's got a wacky scheme to raise the money, catapult Mia to theatrical fame, and link her romantically with an eligible teen bachelor who's not her boyfriend. No wonder Michael seems to think she's a psycho, or worse: not much fun. Is it possible that Mia, soon-to-be star of the stage, president of the student body, and future ruler of Genovia, doesn't know how to party?

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Review: 

This is a nice, fun installment, but I expected more from it. I wanted to see Mia stand up to Lilly about the presidency, but that took place off-screen. She continues to see Lilly as superior and excuses her behaviour due to her IQ. A part of me gets it; Mia is so self-conscious that it makes sense that she defers to Lilly so. At the same time, it frustrates me that moments in which she has acknowledged and confronted Lilly's hurtful and selfish behaviour never stuck. Also, what happened to talking to Michael about her concerns?

Grandmere's musical was silly, but I didn't mind it. In fact, I found it amusing. I forgot all about JP until I re-read this book. I thought him to be a decent guy, and I enjoyed his conversations with Mia. I mentioned this to a friend, however, and she went, "Ummm..." So I'm guessing my first impression isn't correct. xD 

I enjoyed that Mia got to learn a bit more about leadership in this installment, but I feel the biggest point this book makes about her character is how absorbed she can be in her own thoughts that she misses what's going on with her friends. I'm interested to see if that will come to play in the next installment.



Reading this book contributes to the following challenges:
  • Goodreads Challenge
  • Around the World 2016
  • The Backlist Books Reading Challenge
  • #RockMyTBR Challenge

2 comments:

  1. Catherine6 March 2016 at 01:38

    It's so confusing how the books all have different titles in England - or the versions I read did anyway! I think 6 and 7 are my favourite two though :) I like that Mia does stand up to Lilly a bit (although like you said, it'd be better if we saw it) and I love her student president speech - and the play :D

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  2. Geraldine @ Corralling Books11 March 2016 at 19:20

    I love all the Princess Diaries books, but I can never distinguish them to save my life! xD
    It's so great you how and Cam are reading through these books - they're honestly so much fun, and it's good to remember what happened in each book! :D

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Thanks for reading! It makes my day to hear your thoughts and I will respond asap. :)

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