I received an electronic copy of this book for Netgalley and in return, here is my honest review of the book.
Before now, I had never read a book in the Princess Diaries series, despite the film being one of my favourite films of all time. I love the book just as much.
In order to review this book, I’ve compared it to the film. So if you haven’t read the book or watched the film, read at your own risk as there will be spoilers.
It shocked me that the film is so different to the original story, although this doesn’t make the film, or the book, bad. It just means that some details have been changed that change the story somewhat.
The plot is the same; a geeky girl discovers she is the heir to the throne of Genovia, gets a makeover and is outed to the public. The characters have the same names for the most part, except the bodyguard is not Joe and I loved Joe in the film.
The book is set in New York City, rather than San Fransisco. I can’t decide which works better, but it made scenes harder to visualise because I remember the conversations being had riding down the hills of San Fran rather than walking down Manhattan. But I love both places so ultimately I didn’t mind.
Her ‘outing’ is done by a completely different, and unexpected, person - which came as a complete shock to me as I didn’t expect that detail to be changed. I think the film works better in that respect.
The biggest shock of the book is that Mia’s dad is alive. In the film, he died a few months ago, prompting her grandmother to visit and announce that she is now the sole heir to the throne. In the novel, there is less urgency to get her ready to be royal, as she has both her grandmother and her father to follow before she would become Queen.
Another thing that surprised me was her relationship with Michael, as it was portrayed a lot differently in the film. In Mia’s diary entries, you can see that there are some feelings lingering under the surface for Michael, whereas in the film it seems he likes her and she is completely oblivious. I suppose going from book to screen with diary entries is problematic, and it was easier to show the romance through Michael’s eyes.
I found it funny that the Queen demands that Mia addresses her as Grandmére, and I wish that it had been included in the film. I could imagine Julie Andrews doing that in her role as the Queen, but then again the family dynamic is slightly different from book to screen. In the film, she had never met her grandmother, whereas in the book, she saw her every holiday.
This was a wonderful, hilarious book that I am so glad I got around to reading, and despite it’s differences I loved it just as much as the film. I can’t even decide which I prefer! I will definitely be reading the others in the series. ★★★★★
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