Princess in the Spotlight (The Princess Diaries, Book 2)

Fifteen-year-old Mia Thermopolis, the witty, lovable star of Meg Cabot's The Princess Diaries, has had it with princess lessons, also known as torture sessions: "Do they really think anyone in Genovia cares whether I know how to use a fish fork? Or if I can sit down without getting wrinkles in the back of my skirt? Or if I know how to say 'thank you' in Swahili? Shouldn't my future countrymen be more concerned with my views on the environment? And gun control? And overpopulation?" To make matters worse, she's getting these lessons from Grandm re, a rather judgmental woman who dresses her pet in chinchilla bolero jackets and has eyeliner permanently tattooed on her eyelids. Princess in the Spotlight further records Mia's path to princessdom: her artist mother's relationship with her algebra teacher (how awkward), her forced television interview, broadcast to all of America (how humiliating), and her crush on her best friend Lilly's brother Michael (how excruciating). The result is another thoroughly entertaining diary of a very human, very self-deprecating, very unprincesslike princess. (Ages 12 and older) --Karin Snelson