A Recipe for a Royal Wedding Disaster
In 2000, Meg Cabot introduced the world to Mia Thermopolis, the unsuspecting heir to the throne of Genovia, with her book The Princess Diaries (that’s right…it was a book before it was a movie.) Over the next nine years, this amazingly popular series produced 13 more books, and readers followed Mia from Manhattan to Genovia, from awkward to… less awkward (and occasionally, quite poised!), through first loves and breakups, friendship and enemies.
But this is 2016.
Time to move over, Mia. There’s a new princess in town. Olivia Grace Clarisse Mignonette Harrison, younger half-sister of the now-grown Mia Thermopolis.
In Royal Wedding Disaster, the second book in Cabot’s new series, Olivia is still adjusting to life as a princess, much as her sister did before her. Unlike Mia, Olivia didn’t come from a warm and loving family. So one of the best parts about being Princess of Genovia is having people who actually care about her. Lots of people. But just like her sister, Olivia is learning that royalty comes with lots of rules:
- No sliding down the hallway in your socks
- No fixing your hair at the table
- No chewing gum in public
There’s also lots of responsibility:
- Act confident at all times
- Behave kindly towards others, even when those others are being total jerks
- Set an example for all lesser royals (well, and pretty much anybody)
But Olivia’s biggest responsibility at the moment is preparing to be in Princess Mia’s wedding, just one week away. She and her best friend, Nishi, are junior bridesmaids, tasked with the responsibility of holding Mia’s veil and train, while walking down the aisle on national television. Talk about stress!
Then, just days before the wedding, Olivia learns she is to start taking classes at the Royal Genovian Academy. Immediately. The next day. Suddenly, Olivia faces a whole new set of challenges:
- Dealing every day with the ultra-snobby, ultra-popular Lady Luisa Ferrari. Who also happens to be her cousin (three or four times removed)
- Learning the lyrics and dance to ‘All Roads Lead to Genovia’, in traditional costume, by Friday, because it’s the school’s official wedding gift to Princess Mia. Except, somebody should probably tell Mia that
- Speaking of dancing, Olivia’s stuck dancing with Prince Gunther, who picks-and-flicks his nose, has hair dyed green from the swimming pool, and constantly flexes his “guns”
Meanwhile, at home, iguanas are taking over the garden, Grandmere is enlisting Olivia’s help (without Mia’s knowledge) to improve the wedding, Olivia’s younger half-brother Rocky would rather be in outer space, Olivia’s dog Snowball keeps getting himself into trouble, and Nishi is accusing Olivia of being too “princessy.”
It is, indeed, the recipe for a royal wedding disaster.
But somehow, as often happens in fairytales, it all comes together. Almost. Kinda. Sorta. And even if it doesn’t, readers are sure to enjoy the laugh-out-loud moments all the way, the drama, and the glimpses into palace life at Genovia, all told through diary of entries of one not-so-princessy princess.
Is your young reader a fan of The Princess Diaries?