From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess

Reviewed by: Shannon Schinagl - Maine State Library, Augusta, Central Maine Library District

Review Date: September 22, 2015

Review

"From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess" picks up where the "Princess Diaries" series left off. Olivia Grace Clarisse Mignonette Harrison is a middle schooler who lives with her aunt, uncle and cousins because her father travels constantly and her mother died in a car crash. At least, that's what she thought. It turns out that Olivia is actually the sister (of a different mother) of Mia, the heroine of the "Princess Diaries" series. That means, of course, that her father is the Crown Prince of Genovia, and Olivia is a princess. When Mia comes to pick Olivia up at school one day, Olivia's life changes forever.

This is simply a fun story, whether or not the reader has devoured the "Princess Diaries" books or not. It is a typical tale of a normal kid finding out she is something special, a la Harry Potter and a multitude of others. The book is completely predictable. This is not a bad thing, as the age group for which it is written is in a developmental reading stage that adores expected outcomes. The plot is entertaining, a quick read, and absorbing. Even though it's anticipated, readers will cheer when Olivia's aunt and uncle are exposed for being the horrible criminals and relatives that they are, and Olivia is reunited with her father, sister, and grandmother. Everything is nicely wrapped up in the end. Olivia moves to Genovia, but her best friend in New Jersey has carte blanche use of the royal jet. There are no loose ends in this book!

The book also has minimal illustrations. While the story is billed as a "diary," it only partially reads as such. Despite Olivia being an artist, the illustrations (doodles that go with the diary entries) are few. Given her artistic bent, I would have expected more.

In addition, the tone seemed younger than a middle schooler to me. Not by much, but enough that I questioned Olivia's age a few times. For that reason, it will appeal to younger readers -- grades 4-6 -- rather than older middle schoolers.

Overall Book Score: very good