From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess (From The Notebooks Of A Middle School Princess # 1)

A sweet fantasy, both funny and highly satisfying.

Cabot’s perennial popularity ensures that younger readers will receive strong word of mouth from moms and big sisters. Be sure to have a couple of copies on hand.

This spinoff story will feel delightfully familiar to fans of the original series (or the movies).

The nation of Genovia gains a new resident in this amusing spin-off of Cabot's Princess Diaries series: self-effacing, biracial Olivia, a 12-year-old aspiring wildlife artist who discovers that she is the half-sister of Princess Mia Thermopolis. Because Olivia's long-dead mother insisted that Olivia live in New Jersey with her aunt and uncle (who are only slightly more benign than Harry Potter's kin), Olivia doesn't know that the father she has never met is the prince of Genovia. Princess Mia dramatically appears at Olivia's private school just as an angry classmate, Annabelle, is preparing to pummel her; she whisks Olivia off to Manhattan to meet her father and Grandmere, who wastes no time in informing Olivia how a princess ought to comport herself. Though there's a bump in the road to Olivia's new royal digs, she at last lands in Genovia, where plans for Mia's wedding are in full swing. Text-message exchanges and Cabot's own b&w cartoons further enliven Olivia's entertaining and candid notebook entries, which will have readers looking forward to her future escapades. Ages 8-12. Agent: Laura Langlie. (May)

Return to the world of Cabot's widely popular series in this sweet and sassy spin-off featuring the younger half sister of Princess Mia Thermopolis, Olivia Grace Clarisse Mignonette Harrison. Olivia, a biracial sixth grader with dreams of growing up to be a wildlife illustrator, believes herself to be completely ordinary and average. In fact, that's how she's being raised by her Aunt and Uncle O'Toole. Consumed with texting her BFF Nishi and avoiding an afternoon scrape with Annabeth, the most popular girl in middle school, Olivia's world is about to become a reality show when her sister Mia arrives in a chauffeured limousine, ready to whisk her back to her rightful home in Genovia. Readers familiar with Cabot's previous books know that these princesses are made of tough stuff and use their brains (as well as their bodyguards and limousines) to save themselves and make the world a better place. Olivia's voice comes through strongly in the text, though her overuse of exclamatory phrases can be a bit off-putting. VERDICT This bubble-gum flavored contemporary tale will be a perfect fit for Fancy Nancy alumni and readers not quite ready for Cabot's longer novels.—Meg Allison, The Moretown School, VT

"Olivia has an amusing and self-deprecating wit that makes the narration breezy and accessible, and Cabot's black and white illustrations liven up the tale. Youngsters who aspire to be the next Kate Middleton will find this enchanting and perhaps instructional." —BCCB