All About Middle Grade Review: From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess

From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess ( From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess, 1) by Meg Cabot, May 19, 2015. 192 pages. Published by Feiwel & Friends. Source: publisher.

Olivia Grace Clarisse Mignonette Harrison is a completely average twelve-year-old: average height, average weight, average brown hair of average length, average brown skin and average hazel eyes. The only things about her that aren't average are her name (too long and princess themed), her ability to draw animals (useful for her future career as a wildlife illustrator), and the fact that she is a half-orphan who has never met her father and is forced to live with her aunt and uncle (who treat her almost like their own kids, so she doesn't want to complain).

Then one completely average day, everything goes wrong: the most popular girl in school, Annabelle Jenkins, threatens to beat her up, the principal gives her a demerit, and she's knocked down at the bus stop . . .

Until a limo containing Princess Mia Thermopolis of Genovia pulls up to invite her to New York to finally meet her father, who promptly invites her to come live with him, Mia, Grandmère and her two fabulous poodles . . . .

Maybe Olivia Grace Clarisse Mignonette Harrison isn't so average after all!

First Sentence:

Middle school has not been working out the way I hoped it would.

You have no idea how excited I was to read a middle grade spin-off to Meg Cabot's Princess Diary series. A series that I have read so many times (like ten times...entire series) just because I've enjoyed the story and writing, so, yeah, reading From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess was totally a given.

While I may not be the biggest contemporary reader I have always enjoyed Meg Cabot's writing. So, imagine my excitement when I first heard of this spin-off to The Princess Diaries. The question remains, did the book live up to the excitement? Well, yes! While it did have the feel of a book that was setting things up, it was nonetheless an interesting and fun read.

With a return, albeit a different one, to the world of Genovian princess I must say that I enjoyed this one immensely and the reason for that was: Olivia. Pretty much from the get go I knew that I was going to enjoy reading about Olivia. I liked her personality and how forgiving she was to her new found family. It was super nice to see her able to accept Mia and her father without being all angry over having never known them nor the truth till now.

Even though I loved Olivia, it was the whole Olivia, Mia, their father and grandmother together because you could tell how much they cared for each other. As you've probably guessed, I really enjoy books were there is a strong family bond, so, to see that in From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess, where they were just meeting, was really nice.

In all the Meg Cabot books I've read, I can honestly say that I've only been disappointed once or twice. That being said, I was a little nervous going in since all I've read is her young adult titles, yet, I felt that she did a wonderful job capturing the middle grade voice. The characters are pretty believable and their stories are interesting. I guess you could say that I highly enjoyed all aspects of From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess and am impatiently waiting the next installment of Olivia's story.

Final Verdict: From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess- A wonderful adventure into the life of the newest Genovian princess- Olivia. Funny and well written and full of heart.

From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess earns

this book was received in exchange for an honest review