Rereading The Princess Diaries

I finally went and did it. No, I don't mean going crazy--I did that years ago! Ha ha! *pulls a crazy face* I'm talking about buying and replacing the first two volumes of The Princess Diaries I've had in paperback with the hardback editions. (I bought the first two books in paperback when I first started collecting the series, but then I liked it so much I didn't wanna wait for the paperback editions to come out. So, I bought the rest of the volumes in hardback.)

The book that started it all, introducing us to Princess Amelia (Mia) Thermopolis Grimaldi Renaldo and giving us glimpses into her humorous, teen angst-riddled adventures, came Saturday, and I'm expecting the second book anyday now. The last book was published in 2008, I think, and ever since I read the last page I've wanted to reread the entire series straight through, this time looking at Mia's growth as a person (character) and at the changes in her relationships with the other characters. (Over time, some enemies become her friends and some friends--for a time--become her adversaries.) I also want to pay more attention to Lilly Moscovitz, Mia's best friend, how she develops and changes. I have to admit, it's going to be different reading the series this time around, but that's to be expected, I guess, since I know how things are going to go for each character.

I know this is teen fiction, but I love this series! It's humorous, mostly light-hearted, but it has soul. The characters are three-dimensional and well-written. The dilemmas Mia finds herself in in each book are for the most part, plausible, and I can see other teenage girls sympathizing or even empathizing with Her Royal Highness. I will admit though, Mia tends to be a drama queen, and sometimes that gets a bit old for me. But she never fails to get a laugh out of me, and there have been many a night when I read her diaries the first time that I was so glad I was alone, because I laughed out loud and for a good while before I could continue on with whichever volume I was on at the time.

I start the first volume tonight--for the second time--and I'm looking forward to following Mia and her eclectic set of friends as they navigate the tricky and often hard years of high school. (There are roughly 10 volumes in the series, plus a few volumes "and a half," that take us through Mia's freshman year to her graduation from Albert Einstein High School.)

***SPOILER ALERT***
Oh! That reminds me, if you'd like to read this series as well because you liked the Disney movies, don't expect it to be like them. At all. 'Cause it's not. The novels take place in New York, not San Francisco; Mia is blonde not a brunette; her dad is still alive but can't have anymore children; and her Grandmère is no charming, gracious Julie Andrews, and her (Clarisse's) dog, Rommel? He's a neurotic poodle! But to be honest, I prefer the books to the movies--no offense Anne Hathaway.

If the mood so strikes me, I may post more about the series as I go along. So you may be reading more about Mia and her experiences in the near future. Ta, for now!