Review: Party Princess by Meg Cabot

TEEN CHICK LIT

Princesses just want to have fun.

This spring, Mia's determined to have a good time, despite the fact that the student government over which she presides is suddenly broke. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it) Grandmere has an elaborate scheme to simultaneously raise money, catapult Mia into theatrical fame, and link her romantically with an eligible teen bachelor, not her boyfriend. It's no wonder that Michael, the love of her life, 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?

I picked this up expecting a frothy, light, forgettable read, since I seem to be stuck in a phase of those types of books lately. Just the all-pink cover and title had me thinking--yep, definitely fluffy. When I read the summary, I wasn't too impressed either. At that point, I had it firmly in mind that this would be a novel with cardboard characters, a simple plotline, no character development, and a bunch of giggly, hyped up teenagers thrown together in a contemporary setting.

Wow, was I wrong!


Party Princess is hilarious, but not you-want-to-flush-it-down-the-toilet-kind-of-funny. Mia, the princess, isn't a cliche, and neither are any of the characters. She's the kind of girl you might think of ditzy at first, but when you really get to know her, it comes out that she's a loyal, kind, and caring friend who wants to make things right.

I have to say, Meg Cabot is probably a #1 New York Times Best-Selling Author because of her authentic teen voice. I totally felt like I was reading the diary of a teen girl. An absolutely normal teen girl, except for the fact that she's a princess.

In Party Princess, Mia is suddenly broke, and the whole student government doesn't have very much money left. And Amber Cheeseman, the year's valedictorian, will have Mia's head cut off, princess or not, if she finds out. Mia needs to raise money, and fast. She makes the mistake of telling her Grandmere, who decides to put on a musical with Mia as the co-star, along with J.P., the weird guy in the cafeteria who Mia has written a story about because he doesn't like the corn in his chili.

But Mia's friends have other ideas. Lilly decides to write a literary magazine, the first one ever at their school, titled Fat Louie's Pink Butthole. Fat Louie is Mia's cat, and the magazine--filled with Lilly's sexually hyped up stories, Mia's story about J.P. that she doesn't really want J.P. to read, and other submissions--costs five dollars a pop. Mia doesn't really want to have a magazine named after her cat's huge butthole, but she doesn't really want to kiss another guy for a stupid musical when her real boyfriend is so much older and sexier. But she has to raise money somehow...

I'll admit, the plotline wasn't that complex. There were a few twists and turns, but not the type you see in fantasy or paranormal books. But just because there weren't a lot of surprises and unpredictable events does not make Party Princess stupid in any way. I was laughing my head off the whole book--Mia's narrative is perfect. She's got a fresh, fun, and hilarious voice that any devoted teen chick lit reader will love.

I will definitely be picking up more Princess Diaries books soon, because Party Princess gets five stars!