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The Princess Diaries #10.5
Perfect Princess
Sleeping Beauty, Victoria, Cleopatra, Snow White, Elizabeth, Pocahontas, Mia Thermopolis: ALL PRINCESSES
Do YOU have what it takes to be a princess? PRINCESS MIA will help you find out.
Best-selling Princess Diaries author Meg Cabot and acclaimed fashion artist Chesley McLaren team up again to display this clever royal roster of princesses of the world. Big or small, old or new, fact or fiction, our favorite princess Amelia Mignonette Grimaldi Thermopolis Renaldo (aka Mia) will point out why these princesses rule, and how any girl can too!
Do YOU have what it takes to be a princess? PRINCESS MIA will help you find out.
Best-selling Princess Diaries author Meg Cabot and acclaimed fashion artist Chesley McLaren team up again to display this clever royal roster of princesses of the world. Big or small, old or new, fact or fiction, our favorite princess Amelia Mignonette Grimaldi Thermopolis Renaldo (aka Mia) will point out why these princesses rule, and how any girl can too!
143 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2004
44 people are currently reading
4,972 people want to read
About the author
Meg Cabot
282Ìýbooks35.1kÌýfollowersLibrarian note: AKA Jenny Carroll (1-800-Where-R-You series), AKA Patricia Cabot (historical romance novels).
Meg Cabot was born on February 1, 1967, during the Chinese astrological year of the Fire Horse, a notoriously unlucky sign. Fortunately she grew up in Bloomington, Indiana, where few people were aware of the stigma of being a fire horse -- at least until Meg became a teenager, when she flunked freshman Algebra twice, then decided to cut her own bangs. After six years as an undergrad at Indiana University, Meg moved to New York City (in the middle of a sanitation worker strike) to pursue a career as an illustrator, at which she failed miserably, forcing her to turn to her favorite hobby--writing novels--for emotional succor. She worked various jobs to pay the rent, including a decade-long stint as the assistant manager of a 700 bed freshmen dormitory at NYU, a position she still occasionally misses.
She is now the author of nearly fifty books for both adults and teens, selling fifteen million copies worldwide, many of which have been #1 New York Times bestsellers, most notably The Princess Diaries series, which is currently being published in over 38 countries, and was made into two hit movies by Disney. In addition, Meg wrote the Mediator and 1-800-Where-R-You? series (on which the television series, Missing, was based), two All-American Girl books, Teen Idol, Avalon High, How to Be Popular, Pants on Fire, Jinx, a series of novels written entirely in email format (Boy Next Door, Boy Meets Girl, and Every Boy's Got One), a mystery series (Size 12 Is Not Fat/ Size 14 Is Not Fat Either/Big Boned), and a chick-lit series called Queen of Babble.
Meg is now writing a new children's series called Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls. Her new paranormal series, Abandon, debuts in Summer of 2011.
Meg currently divides her time between Key West, Indiana, and New York City with a primary cat (one-eyed Henrietta), various back-up cats, and her husband, who doesn't know he married a fire horse. Please don't tell him.
Series:
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Meg Cabot was born on February 1, 1967, during the Chinese astrological year of the Fire Horse, a notoriously unlucky sign. Fortunately she grew up in Bloomington, Indiana, where few people were aware of the stigma of being a fire horse -- at least until Meg became a teenager, when she flunked freshman Algebra twice, then decided to cut her own bangs. After six years as an undergrad at Indiana University, Meg moved to New York City (in the middle of a sanitation worker strike) to pursue a career as an illustrator, at which she failed miserably, forcing her to turn to her favorite hobby--writing novels--for emotional succor. She worked various jobs to pay the rent, including a decade-long stint as the assistant manager of a 700 bed freshmen dormitory at NYU, a position she still occasionally misses.
She is now the author of nearly fifty books for both adults and teens, selling fifteen million copies worldwide, many of which have been #1 New York Times bestsellers, most notably The Princess Diaries series, which is currently being published in over 38 countries, and was made into two hit movies by Disney. In addition, Meg wrote the Mediator and 1-800-Where-R-You? series (on which the television series, Missing, was based), two All-American Girl books, Teen Idol, Avalon High, How to Be Popular, Pants on Fire, Jinx, a series of novels written entirely in email format (Boy Next Door, Boy Meets Girl, and Every Boy's Got One), a mystery series (Size 12 Is Not Fat/ Size 14 Is Not Fat Either/Big Boned), and a chick-lit series called Queen of Babble.
Meg is now writing a new children's series called Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls. Her new paranormal series, Abandon, debuts in Summer of 2011.
Meg currently divides her time between Key West, Indiana, and New York City with a primary cat (one-eyed Henrietta), various back-up cats, and her husband, who doesn't know he married a fire horse. Please don't tell him.
Series:
*
*
*
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 135 reviews
May 29, 2015
This was fun! I think I like this better than Princess Lessons..
May 7, 2016
So this listed a number of princesses, real and fictional, under categories such as "Action Princesses", "Should-be princesses", each category narrated by a different person. There were illustrations in there and commentary by Mia. It was OK. If I had read this at any other time other than the immediate present, I would have had much more fun but considering the fact that I have been reading Princess Diaries stubbornly for about 2 weeks, I am not in an exactly "right" state of mind.
Princess Out.
Princess Out.
January 7, 2019
I like the concept, but I didn't find it that interesting of a read. Would definitely be a good read for a younger audience.
February 25, 2018
Fun, short, sweet little book!!
June 8, 2021
Icónico, honestamente. Piadas, princesas e história.
September 19, 2016
A very fun read!
ETA 2016: Still fun on occasion, but not quite as charming as I remember it. First off, some chapters are written in Sebastiano and Paolo's way of speaking. Even if one were to assume they write how they speak phonetically, it's a mildly amusing joke that got very wearisome. I just skipped most of their sections. There's also some historical errors, like saying that Isabella of Spain was the daughter of John II of England. There was no John II of England (after the first John was such a shitty king, no one wanted a repeat); this would be John II of Castile.
In summary: this is fun to read if you're a Princess Diaries diehard, but is wholly skippable otherwise.
ETA 2016: Still fun on occasion, but not quite as charming as I remember it. First off, some chapters are written in Sebastiano and Paolo's way of speaking. Even if one were to assume they write how they speak phonetically, it's a mildly amusing joke that got very wearisome. I just skipped most of their sections. There's also some historical errors, like saying that Isabella of Spain was the daughter of John II of England. There was no John II of England (after the first John was such a shitty king, no one wanted a repeat); this would be John II of Castile.
In summary: this is fun to read if you're a Princess Diaries diehard, but is wholly skippable otherwise.
November 18, 2018
3.5 stars
This was more of an enjoyable read than Princess Lesson, and it's basically a book of Mia and her friends talking about various princesses throughout history (fictional and real). The only ones I didn't like being included in the book were Isabel and Eleanor. At least for Isabel, she does mention how problematic she was, but I think the book could have been done without her (then again, most rulers and monarchs especially are problematic). Still, I'm now one book closer to having completed the entire Princess Diaries.
This was more of an enjoyable read than Princess Lesson, and it's basically a book of Mia and her friends talking about various princesses throughout history (fictional and real). The only ones I didn't like being included in the book were Isabel and Eleanor. At least for Isabel, she does mention how problematic she was, but I think the book could have been done without her (then again, most rulers and monarchs especially are problematic). Still, I'm now one book closer to having completed the entire Princess Diaries.
November 3, 2019
An adorable book which refreshes ones mind with cuteness
May 1, 2020
"To think globally, you have to act locally."
June 1, 2021
This was a cute novella. I liked learning about princesses in history.
April 20, 2021
It’s a cute, fun read. I learned more about Princesses I knew and never heard of before.
May 2, 2024
It was cute, but didn’t feel necessary. Idk, wasn’t for me.
February 28, 2017
PRETTY COOL LITTLE ESSAYS.
I must admit there were many inaccuracies when describing certain real life princesses and some important facts that weren't mentioned (I'm a "history of monarchies" lover, what can I say?), I actually enjoyed the comments and each character's view on each woman. And it made me remember why I love Elizabeth I so much, though I wish they had made a remark on Catherine of Aragon.
Ps: we're all the lazy princess. Let's be real.
I must admit there were many inaccuracies when describing certain real life princesses and some important facts that weren't mentioned (I'm a "history of monarchies" lover, what can I say?), I actually enjoyed the comments and each character's view on each woman. And it made me remember why I love Elizabeth I so much, though I wish they had made a remark on Catherine of Aragon.
Ps: we're all the lazy princess. Let's be real.
October 9, 2017
I picked up Perfect Princess while I was on a Princess Diaries reading spree after finding out there were more books to the series that I'd enjoyed when I was younger! Perfect Princess is a humorous, empowering book about princesses throughout history (actual and fictional) and what made them real princesses (besides the crown and kingdom, of course). Those who enjoy informative but still fun-to-read books will enjoy this one.
August 16, 2019
"Read on to find out about other princesses - past, present, and pretend- who hav made major impacts on society, and what we, as princesses in training, can learn from their triumphs and mistakes." (3)
It was a pretty good and funny history book. I liked that each of the characters got a bit in it. I like how they made it practical to real life.
This book was a quick read, as I read it in about a hour!
I would recommend this book to anyone into teen rom coms!
It was a pretty good and funny history book. I liked that each of the characters got a bit in it. I like how they made it practical to real life.
This book was a quick read, as I read it in about a hour!
I would recommend this book to anyone into teen rom coms!
August 29, 2015
This book was just okay. Not much of a story and I didn’t like it as much as I liked Princess Lessons. This one was more like a History lesson and not a very interesting one either. I did like the role models that the book talks about and I think I might have liked it better as a younger reader. Little girls would probably love it!
November 24, 2008
Not sure if I'll make it through this one...so far it is pretty stupid...a lot of fluff and not really a book in the series. This book was dumb.
May 29, 2017
Light, funny, and very easy to read.
December 4, 2017
More than the book itself, I loved the illustrations that accompanied each of the mini-stories in the book! Excellent narrative, too!
July 24, 2018
Was a quick easy fun read!! It was more history of princesses with commentary by Mia, lily, and Michael. Recommend for a short easy read.
December 25, 2019
This was a nice and funny addition to the Princess Diaries series!
February 17, 2020
A very cute book that isn’t accurate in information providing but is sweet to keep with in a sleepless day.
December 15, 2020
A short book in The Princess Diaries series. A combination of real and fictional princesses, and Mia's take on them. Cute and fun.
December 9, 2020
This was a cute spin-off, and I like how it is a bit of a history lesson, while also having fictional princesses. Nothing much else to say though.
March 22, 2025
Imagine you’re 13 years old in 2004. You’ve already read the latest issue of Tiger Beat and all eight of the core Princess Diaries books. Thrilled to see you do anything besides play Neopets and dance on your bed to Jesse McCartney's "Beautiful Soul", your dad surprises you with this 160-page Princess Diaries companion book from Borders. You spend the next two hours soaking in the short essays about real and fictional princesses, and you squeal any time Mia makes a pop culture reference because you’re both just so into Britney Spears and Prince William. You’re excited to see there are essays from Michael Moscovitz� point of view (he’s so dreammmy), but you have an even greater time reading the essays by Paolo because, after watching The Princess Diaries movie on VHS a million times, you’ve got his accent down pat. The book hits your craving for entertainment, but you immediately forget all of its contents and move on to wondering if your mom would notice if you cut up your t-shirts to look like Avril Lavigne.
This book fails outside of this context, this tiny capsule of time. As a 30-year-old reading this in 2025, I found it shallow and a waste of time. It’s just quick summaries of princesses with unhelpful suggestions for what you should learn from them. One essay was literally a summary of Disney’s Cinderella, like…what’s the point? It's a money grab. This book added zero to the series and its characters. I know I’m not in the right audience or year to enjoy this, but I couldn’t call myself a true Princess Diaries fan if I didn’t read all the companion books too.
This book is further proof that I only enjoy the series when it’s narrated by Clea Lewis. Without her, I don’t think I ever would have been a fan of the books.
This book fails outside of this context, this tiny capsule of time. As a 30-year-old reading this in 2025, I found it shallow and a waste of time. It’s just quick summaries of princesses with unhelpful suggestions for what you should learn from them. One essay was literally a summary of Disney’s Cinderella, like…what’s the point? It's a money grab. This book added zero to the series and its characters. I know I’m not in the right audience or year to enjoy this, but I couldn’t call myself a true Princess Diaries fan if I didn’t read all the companion books too.
This book is further proof that I only enjoy the series when it’s narrated by Clea Lewis. Without her, I don’t think I ever would have been a fan of the books.
August 29, 2018
"Grandmère says the only way we as a society can learn from our mistakes is carefully to scrutinize them, and vow never to repeat them." (Mia Thermopolis)
Perfect Princess is a guide to non-fictional and fictional princesses from the past and the present, how they have influenced the world and how we can be like them.
ÓË� Perfect Princess is informative, but it isn't historically accurate.
ÓË� There's too many princesses and not enough information about each princess. Perfect Princess would have been better if it dealt with a few princesses and provided detailed information about each of them.
ÓË� Too many princesses = information overload. (Also, this is why I can never be a Mathematician)
ÓË� It's difficult to identify which princesses are fictional. However, Genovia, a fictional country, is real in The Princess Diaries series, so I can understand why it wasn't explicitly stated.
ÓË� The characters from The Princess Diaries series who provide information about the princesses lack 'voice' and personality. Mia's journal entries in The Princess Diaries are so full of personality and I didn't expect the characters 'essays' in Perfect Princess to feel so flat.
ÓË� Perfect Princess is BORING!
ÓË� Perfect Princess is not an entertaining or humourous read.
May 18, 2022
Has anyone read 'The Princess Diaries' series by Meg Cabot. I'm sure she is a lovely writer in other pieces of work. Let's say she captured the teenage 'It's all about me and my emotional immaturity' Mia Thermapolis very very well. Mia grows up in New York, versus San Francisco. She dates a few boys, but ultimately her heart is tied to Michael. It's a sweet series of Mia growing up, but it was much too childish for me to read again. It was like dipping a toe back to my teenage years. Is it time to barf yet? 10/10 for capturing the teenage years so accurately. 0/10 for leaving me unable to re-read the series. Go Meg Cabot!
February 24, 2024
"The Princess Diaries, Volume 12" by Meg Cabot is a delightful continuation of the beloved series that follows the life of Mia Thermopolis, a young woman who discovers she's the heir to the throne of the fictional European country of Genovia. In this installment, Mia faces new challenges and adventures as she navigates the complexities of adulthood, royal responsibilities, and personal relationships. With Cabot's signature humor and heartwarming storytelling, readers are once again invited into Mia's world, where they'll find laughter, love, and lessons on life. This book is a charming addition to the series, offering fans more of the engaging and relatable content they've come to expect.
July 5, 2018
This was a satisfying book that made me feel fulfilled at the end, though only for a few seconds before I wanted another book to read. It was a little too cheesy for me, because at the end it talked about how you deserve to be a princess, and I found that beautiful, but cheesy. Some books have an appeal of being interesting, and this was one of those books that I didn't expect that from. However, though its content was intriguing, the voice of each character, I felt like, was over-dramatized. Overall, it was a fun read!
September 4, 2017
This companion book is a blend of fiction and non-fiction (an encyclopedia of princesses "past, present, and pretend") and while told through the voice of Mia and other familiar Princess Diaries characters...what a disappointment! It's the first time I've viewed Princess Mia as a complete airhead.
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