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Story Summary Well, the story is called The Princess Diaries and it is about a New York teenager finding out she is a princess of a small European principality called Genovia. Mia Thermopolis, as she is known to her classmates and friends, must be heir to the throne of Genovia because her father has testicular cancer, and cannot sire anymore offspring. So Mia, the illegitimate daughter of Prince Artur Cristoff Phillippe Gerard Grimaldi Renaldo, Sovereign Prince of Genovia, and Helen Thermopolis, an outspoken, liberal artist. Mia was never really the popular type, and she is not happy about being the princess of anywhere. Racked with insecurities, she'd rather have larger breasts, and be a fully self-actualized individual with a boyfriend...and good grades, particularly good Algebra grades. Mia's friends include Lilly Moscovitz, Lilly's brother Michael (whom she has a crush on), and later in the book, she'll become friends with Tina Hakim Baba, the daughter of an Arab sheikh and a British model. Mia is constantly tormented by a snobby cheerleader named Lana Weinberger, and Lana is frequently mentioned in Mia's diaries. First, she falls in love with Lana's boyfriend, BMOC Josh Bryant, but then he humiliates her and she realizes her feelings for Michael, her best friend's brother. Then, just as Mia thinks she has the whole princess thing in control, she has a secret admirer. The secret admirer isn't all he's cracked up to be--in Mia's mind anyway--so Mia has to deal with that, and telling Michael her feelings for him...and there's Mia's trip to Genovia--her first as hereditary princess. The books show Mia's progression in her role as a princess--which includes dealing with being in the media spotlight--and her life as a student of a New York private school. They also show Mia's passion for animal rights and equality among her school mates. Currently, there are four books. Here are their titles and summaries: The Princess Diaries Obviously, this is the first in the series. Mia finds out she's a princess after finding out her father is sterile due to chemotherapy treatments for testicular cancer. Mia, who has always been shy, awkward and a bit of an outsider--certainly not a member of the popular clique--finds it difficult to take on such a public role. But, Mia learns to use her newfound popularity for good. However, it is still a bumpy ride, with getting a date to the Cultural Diversity Dance with the best-looking boy in school, senior and class valedictorian Josh Richter, and dealing with Lana Weinberger's cruel taunts. Mia also makes a friend after falling out with her activist and outspoken friend Lilly Moscovitz, which doesn't make things any better. Add to that her aristocratic, old-fashioned and rather ignorant grandmother, Clarisse, the dowager princess, who comes to New York along with her father to teach Mia on the ways of being a princess. Clearly, things will never be the same for Mia now, but how will she deal with her newfound status? The Princess Diaries, Volume II: Princess in the Spotlight The school year goes on, and Mia's still coming to terms with her role as Genovia's future sovereign. As a part of Mia's royal training, she must do a primetime interview. Plus, her mother and her Algebra teacher, Mr. Gianini, are getting married as a result of Mia's mom's pregnancy. Grandmère wants to arrange a celebrity-packed royal wedding for the couple at the Plaza, but it is obvious that Mia's mother will never go for it. But, there's one good thing going on--letters from a secret admirer. Is it the love of her life...or that freaky guy from the cafeteria, the one with the thing about corn in his chili? The Princess Diaries, Volume III: Princess in Love After all this time, Mia finally has a boyfriend, but he is not the love of her life. The winter holidays has made Mia a very busy princess, what with meeting her future step-grandparents on Thanksgiving, and figuring out what to give her family for Christmas. Then she finds out that she will have to work during her Christmas/New Year's vacation. Instead of skiing in Aspen or lounging on the beaches of Miami, or even staying home in New York with her mother and step-father, she will have a punishing schedule of royal duties, including a nationally televised address to the Genovian populace. Will Mia even have time to study for her final exams? Will she have time to break up with her boyfriend, and capture the attention of her true love? And what about the princess thing? Will she be ready for the Genovia by Christmas? The Princess Diaries, Volume IV: Princess in Waiting It's been quite a few months since Mia found out she was a princess, and now she's in Genovia. Sitting in Parliament, meeting various dignitaries is a bore as far as Mia is concerned, and she cannot stop thinking about her new boyfriend, who she barely has any time to talk to, since her schedule does not give her any time to talk to...well, anybody. Mia hasn't done so badly, but giving the nation her opinion on day-trippers, pollution, and installing parking meters on the streets of Genovia has made her grandmother think twice. Plus, Mia gets to meet Prince William...how will that go? Will she bungle that up? And does Michael really truly love her? Mia makes it her mission to find out, along with dealing with her title. The Princess Diaries, Volume V: Princess in Pink Two big events are coming up in Mia's life - her fifteenth birthday and the school's senior prom. Fortunately for Mia, she has a senior for a boyfriend, so her dreams of being a prom princess might come true! Unfortunately, an incident involving Grandmere, Rommel, and a busboy at her birthday dinner causes restaurant workers all over New York City to strike. Then Mia's birthday party goes wrong, with Lilly cheating on Boris and Michael expressing distaste at attending his own senior prom. Worse of all, the restaurant workers' strike puts the senior prom in jeopardy. Can Mia save the prom and persuade Michael to attend? The Princess Diaries, Volume VI: Princess in Training Mia and her friends are beginning their sophomore year in high school, and Mia now has a baby brother. Lilly nominates Mia as a candidate for the class presidency against her will, and Lana, who ends up getting nominated as her opponent, tells Mia that all college boys expect their girlfriends to Do It. Will Mia win the school election, and more importantly, does Michael really expect her to Do It? |