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One minute Mia's totally normal. Next minute she's heir to the throne of Genovia. Well, her dad can lecture her until he's royal-blue in
the face, but no way is Mia going to behave like some posh princess. And
they think she's moving to Genovia? Er, hello? |
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This was an easy, quick read with a few humorous moments. As far as great literature is concerned this was pretty light-weight with a slight charm, but little substance. Mia, is a fairly typical upper middle-class kid growing up in New York city. Her father is absent and lives in his home country of Genovia, where he is (at least Mia thinks) a politician. She lives with her mother, who is an artist, in a Manhattan loft apartment. Her best friend is Lily, the daughter of two psychiatrists, who sees herself as a protester and protector of causes. Lilly has her own cable TV show called Lilly Tells it Like it Is which Mia helps her film, along with her brother Michael. I set the scene so you can see where the logic sort of fails. After her father has surgery for testicular cancer Mia is informed that, as he can't produce any more heirs, she will inherit the thrown of Genovia upon his demise. Instead of thinking 'cool, every little girl wants to be a princess, and now I am' Mia freaks out. She refuses to tell anyone about her new found title, especially Lilly who is anti-monarchy even if the monarch is benevolent and well liked. Instead Mia, who is uninterested in grooming and fashion, is forced to take 'Princess Lessons' by her gruff, chain-smoking grandmother in preparation for her future role. As her appearance begins to change Lilly takes it as a sign that their friendship has reached a crisis and begins to tease Mia. The two fight and Mia goes it alone. So it's an ok story, but the book sends out a bunch of very confusing mixed messages. None of the relationships in the book are fleshed out enough to be interesting; Mia's father is distant and cold, and no real reason (apart from him being a head of state) is given for the strained relationship. Mia's mother is dating her Algebra teacher, a subject she is failing, but Mia's feelings about this aren't really discussed in any detail beyond her being a tad uncomfortable. Lilly is the real mystery. Why the two girls are friends at all is a mystery to me, as Lilly only seems to like Mia when she's being ordered around and doing what Lilly thinks she should do. There's no real warmth between them, and so the break up is fairly clear...though the reasons defy Earth logic. The basis for the problems with this book are simple; what Mia is really afraid of with regard to being a princess is never touched upon. Sure, at her age no one wants to be seen as different from their peers, but Mia is already an outsider. She is to be allowed to stay at school, and spend her time during the holidays dealing with affairs of state...so what's the big? Mia incessantly exclaims 'Oh God, I'm a princess!!' and refers to her situation, but never justifies her rejection. It's hard to read this without comparing it to the more interesting, funny and tender The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾. The two are as alike as two completely dissimilar things in a pod. Adrian Mole deals with the angst of growing up in a way that this book misses entirely. There's no real heart to the story, though it's kind of nice and harmless. I don't think I'd be in a hurry to read it if it wasn't part of the Big Read though, or read the many sequels. I think if I were about twenty years younger it would be a different story, as reality isn't that necessary in children's books if there's enough fantasy and wishful thinking involved.
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