Review - The Princess Diaries (Vol. 1) by Meg Cabot (audiobook)

Did you know it's National Audiobook Month? Pick out an audiobook to listen to and enjoy!

Hoosier Author Week on my blog continues with Meg Cabot. Meg was born in Bloomington, Indiana (near where I grew up!), and even though she doesn't live in Indiana anymore, she considers herself a Hoosier. Somehow I'd make it this long without reading The Princess Diaries, so I knew I had to fix that this week! Here's my review: 

Mia Thermopolis lives in Greenwich Village with her artist mother and attends a private high school. She's in ninth grade and does well in every subject except for algebra. What could be worse than failing algebra? Finding out your mom is dating your algebra teacher - how mortifying! To make matters even worse, Mia's crush, senior Josh Richter, seems oblivious to her existence, and she feels like a freak with her huge feet, flat chest, and triangle-shaped hair. Mia's life becomes even more complicated when she finds out some big news - her father is not just a politician, he's the prince of Genovia! Soon she realizes what this means for her. As his only heir, she is the princess. Mia is a reluctanct princess, and she loathes the "princess lessons" her grandmother subjects her to. As Mia deals with the reality of being a princess, she keeps her royal status a secret from her best friend Lilly and ends up alienating her. Will Mia finally learn to accept her fate as a princess?


I listened to this unabridged audiobook which was narrated by Anne Hathaway. Anne does a great job portraying angst-ridden Mia. It was really fun to listen to, but at times I was a wee bit tired of Mia's complaining. Mia doesn't really have it THAT bad. However, I think that Mia grew and matured over the course of the story, and in the end she turned into a great role model for girls. I liked the diary format. I would recommend this book to teenage girls and to anyone who just wants a fun read. It's the first in a series, so it you want to know what happens to Mia, you'll have to keep reading (or listening, in my case)!

Rating: 4/5

This review is cross-posted on goodreads and my library's blog.