More Books, Week Two

So. Last week, I read a lot of Shannon Hale. In addition to the two books I mentioned last week, I also read Enna Burning which I did not enjoy as much as the others. I still have River Secrets sitting on my bookshelf, and perhaps I'll get to it later. This week I've continued on my YA kick and turned to a new author, Meg Cabot. I was talking to a co-worker of sorts about my new YA fiction addiction (hah! that rhymes!) and she mentioned that I should read Meg Cabot. I'd heard of her, of course, so the next day I went to the library and picked up the first two volumes of the Princess Diaries.

A brief interlude. I must at this point admit my particular fondness for Disney movies and/or "tween girl movies" like What a Girl Wants, A Cinderella Story, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and yes, even The Princess Diaries starring Anne Hathaway. What can I say? I've got a sixteen year old girl living inside me somewhere. (Though if the YA books I've read lately are any indication, my 16 year old self has a much better vocabulary than most.) I loved the movie, so I should love the book, right?


Usually, I always say that the book is better. Well, I've recently read a string of books that have made me recount that statement. I'm not saying that it's a bad thing, necessarily, since the book and the movie often end up being very different creatures and are hardly comparable. (Take, for instance, The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, which I love, and the movie starring Jim Caveziel, which I also love and which have absolutely nothing in common except for France and the characters' names.) I wonder, also, if seeing the movie first prevents me from liking the book as much as I would have if I hadn't had the movie to compare it to. For the record, movies I liked more than the books: Stardust, The Devil Wears Prada, Confessions of a Shopaholic and now, The Princess Diaries (TPD). But I can also safely put TPD in the category of books and movies which have very little in common.

This leads me to another brief detour: I like Disney. I like that Disney takes sometimes unpleasant and gruesome fairy tales and makes them happy. I like that they sugarcoat the world and create a feel-good environment. Sure, I'm normally on the side of strict literary integrity when it comes to movie adaptations but sometimes, you just want something upbeat and Disney can provide that. I like TPD movie for this reason. It's cute, it's charming, it's funny. There are no Sidecar drinking, cigarette smoking, domineering grandmothers in Disney's version of the Princess Diaries. Which is exactly the kind of grandmother (the ostensible queen of Genovia) that makes an appearance in the book. In Disney movies, this type of woman would be on the bad side.

Before I get ahead of myself, I should probably explain the brief plot points of the book for those who are not familiar with it or the movie. Mia Thermopolis, a freshmen at a private school in New York City (the movie is set in San Francisco), discovers that her father (who is still alive, but in the movie is quite dead), is actually not a minor politician in a small European country called Genovia, but is, in fact, it's ruler. And, Mia, his illegitimate daughter with an American painter, is now his sole heir since he can longer sire any children after a battle with cancer. Mia must now endure "princess lessons" with her domineering grandmere (the lovable Julie Andrews in the movie is not a single thing like this grandmother). Mia must deal with her new position in life and her title, all the while battling high school stereotypes, mean girls, and unrequited crushes....and the fact that her mother is now dating her algebra teacher.

The book is, like it's title suggests, written from Mia's point of view, as if she were writing in her journal. Mia is at times selfish, self-aware, whiny, intelligent, frustrating, annoying, and delightful. Cabot's writing is, I think, very true to teenage girls but still leaves the reader a bit frustrated. (I kept thinking, "Did I REALLY do and say such stupid things when I was 14?") Despite its shortcomings, the Diaries is an entertaining and fast read. It's like a soap opera you can't stop watching. Which is why, against my better judgment, I read the second volume.

Once again, Mia writes about her struggles to accept her position as a princess, while dealing with her mother's unexpected pregnancy and marriage to her algebra teacher, a secret admirer, a primetime television interview and her still formidable grandmother. As usual, Mia's inner thoughts are a mixture of whining and whimsy as she deals with all this. But the more annoying thing is how quickly you can read these books and how instantaneously you fall right into the characters' worlds. I'm not kidding when I say it's like a soap opera you can't stop watching. And there are NINE volumes so far. Someone please stop me soon.


After reading the first two books in TPD series, I turned to another Meg Cabot book that my friend had recommended: Avalon High. Elaine "Ellie" Harrison moves with her parents (a pair of medieval scholars) from Minnesota to Annapolis, Maryland while her parents take a year long sabbatical to continue their studies in nearby DC. Her new high school, Avalon High, seems like a typical high school with the stereotypical students: Lance the jock, Jennifer the cheerleader, Marco, the bad boy/desperado, and Will, the senior class president, quarterback, and all around good guy. Eventually, it becomes apparent that Avalon High is a place where the ancient Arthurian legend is repeating itself. Will, Jennifer, Lance, Marco, and Mr. Morton all correspond to King Arthur, Queen Guinevere, Knight Lancelot, Mordred, and Merlin, respectively. If this is the case, then Will (as Arthur) is in danger of being killed by his half-brother, Marco. Ellie decides to take matters into her own hands and help Will and in the process, discovers something about herself that she never knew before.

Looking back, I realize it's a pretty shaky premise with a weak plot, but I still really enjoyed it, far more The Princess Diaries, in fact. The characters are fun and Ellie has a very distinctive voice (if similar to Mia's). I'd read it again. Then again, I'm a sucker for Arthur legends.

Now, lest you think I've completely abandoned adult works, I'm in the process of reading a biography of John Steinbeck, since I realized that I know very little about my favorite American author. It's a massive book (over a thousand pages) so it will probably be a few weeks before I come back with my review of that book.

But in the meantime, I'm wondering, are there other movies out there that you enjoyed more than the books? Do you like Disney movies? Do you have a secret love of YA books and films like me? It's okay....don't feel bad if you do. We can start a support group.