Princess in Pink

This production includes two books in The Princess Diaries series. In PROJECT PRINCESS, Mia Thermopolis, the intrepid princess of Genovia, spends her spring break in West Virginia building houses for the poor and squeezing in time to lock lips with her boyfriend, Michael. In PRINCESS IN PINK, Mia obsesses about persuading Michael to take her to the senior prom. Clea Lewis's youthful voice and buoyant, expressive narration sound wonderfully spontaneous. The accent she creates for Mia's grandmother, a native French speaker, sounds more like a teen mocking a French accent than a genuine accent, but it's a small indiscretion. Listeners of all ages will laugh and groan in sympathy as Mia tries to navigate life as a teenaged royal. A.F. 2005 ALA Notable Recording (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine

April 1, 2004
In the fifth book in Meg Cabot's Princess Diaries series, Princess in Pink, high school drama centers on the prom for Mia Thermopolis and her friends. A citywide strike threatens the very existence of the prom (which, horrifically, Mia's boyfriend isn't even interested in attending) and various friendships are tested.

October 1, 2004
Gr 5-9 -The fifth installment of the Princess Diaries series (HarperCollins, 2004) finds Mia Thermapolis, high school freshman and Genovian princess, encountering many of the same dilemmas she did in the previous four books. There are more princess lessons, never-ending algebra homework, the elusive accomplishment of reaching self-actualization, and a crises or two with her boyfriend Michael. However, things are beginning to look up for Mia. She is the newest staff member on the school's newspaper, albeit in charge of the weekly lunch menu, and her 15th birthday is only days away and so is Michael's senior prom. Unfortunately, Mia's obsession about attending the prom appears to be all for naught as Michael would rather go bowling than attend a "lame" dance. This shocking announcement is a precursor of things to come. During Mia's birthday dinner at a high class French restaurant, Grandmere's hairless toy poodle creates panic among the customers, causing a busboy to drop a tray of lobster bisque onto Grandmere. When the busboy is fired, Mia's best friend, Lilly, promptly organizes a service worker's strike, which in turn causes the cancellation of the prom. In the end, everything works out to Mia's satisfaction. Narrator Clea Lewis, returns as the perfect voice of Princess Mia while maintaining the ability to shift flawlessly between supporting characters. Author Meg Cabot continues to accurately portray the roller coaster emotional ride between the lows of teen angst and highs of teen love in this continuing saga. Libraries circulating the previous books in this series should continue to meet the demands of Cabot's fans with this lighthearted adventure.-Cheryl Preisendorfer, Twinsburg City Schools, OH

Copyright 2004 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.