Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that this book is part of the hugely popular chick-lit Princess Diary series. Parents will cringe with the prolific dropping of name brands, usage of teenage jargon "like" and "she was all," and discussion of first romantic encounters. There are references to sidecar drinks, flat and big-chested girls, losing virginity on prom night, and kids using the drug ecstasy. But as a character, Mia knows who she is and speaks her mind. She has strong values and respects others (including her wacky Grandmere). Parents should also know that while this book appeals to younger tweens because of the films, the princess is growing up and her teen issues are a better fit for readers 12 and up.
Families can talk about Valentine's Day -- what is this holiday about? Is it a means for card companies to earn money or are there ways to observe that can be meaningful and cost-free? Even though Mia is a princess, how is she still relatable to readers? Also, why does Mia keep a journal? Parents can point out how journaling is a process to help kids make sense of events in their lives -- a valuable tool during the tumultuous tween/teen years.
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Pam Gelman
Hugely successful author Meg Cabot has cornered the market on writing for female tweens, having created a character that is on one hand, very relatable as a gawky high school student, and on the other, fulfilling young girls' fantasies of being a princess.
This volume in the series is also written as journal entries. In VALENTINE PRINCESS Mia is actually rereading a diary from a year and a half before her first Valentine's Day with her boyfriend Michael.
Mia's a good kid at heart with strong morals and resistance to peer pressure, but there's not much here in the way of substance or tough challenges for her to face, making her a less relatable and engaging character and this series less meaningful. Overall, this is fun fluff that -- regardless of familiarity with the rest of the series -- will be hard for readers to put down.
From The Book
But then before I could escape to my room Mom was like, "What are you and Michael planning on doing tomorrow night for Valentine's Day, honey?"
And I practically burst into tears.
I don't know what came over me. You'd have thought I was the pregnant one.
Anyway, I guess she heard my voice break when I said, "Nothing, Michael doesn't believe in Valentine's Day," since she said, all sympathetically, "Well, just because he doesn't believe in Valentine's Day doesn't mean you have to stop believing in it, too."
And I was like, "Yeah, but if I give him a Valentine, he's going to think I'm a giant dork."
And Mom was all, "Oh, honey, Michael would never think anything you did was dorky. He adores you."
"Yeah, but how lame is it to give a Valentine to someone you KNOW isn't going to give you one back?"
"I don't think it's lame at all," Mom said. "In fact, I think that's what Valentine's Day is all about -- giving without expecting anything in return. That's true love, if you ask me."
!!!!!!!!!!
You know what? For once, I think my mom is right.
Plot Summary:
Sixteen-year-old Princess Mia is sitting in her limo about to travel to Genovia for the summer. That's when she discovers her journal from one and a half years ago and finds the section about Valentine's Day with her boyfriend Michael. He does not believe in the holiday, while she finds it a special time to express how she feels about him. Friends offer input, agreeing and disagreeing. In the meantime, her Princess lessons with her Grandmere have stopped as her Grandmere has developed a friendship with a mystic Dr. Steve and has disappeared, except for appearances on talk shows.
Related Books:
Also by Meg Cabot:
How to Be Popular
All-American Girl
Other Fun Girl Reads:
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series by Anne Brashares
Fairest by Gail Levine
Sex Kittens and Horn Dawgs Fall in Love by Maryrose Wood
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Sexual ContentMentioning of being a virgin and waiting to sleep with boys on prom night. Mia kisses her boyfriend. Girls talk about breasts being huge or being flat-chested, or having implants. |
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ViolenceConcern over disappearance of Grandmere and her new friendship with a "David Koresh-Fundamentalist-Mormon-Rasputin" type. |
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LanguageVery tame. Loose teen jargon such as "sucky," "I was like," or "she was all." |
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Social BehaviorShe's a strong kid who knows herself and speaks her mind, though influences of drinking and sex are around her. |
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CommercialismAll over the pages: Maury, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, Hallmark, Kay Jewelers, Teen People, the Today Show, Michael Jackson. |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoMia fixes grandmother her mixed drinks. Mom tells story of girls who died from the drug ecstasy. |
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