From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess (From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess, 1) Paperback – Illustrated, May 10, 2016

My niece (10) and her friends have a book club where they read a book and chat about it over Zoom. My sister asked me to help her pick a book for them to read, and I looked around and found this book. The girls are very interested in princesses and are all Black girls, so I wanted a book about a Black princess, but aimed at their age group, so not for little kids, but not too old, either. They really liked reading about Olivia. She's a regular girl who goes to middle school, which, while these girls are still in elementary school, was relatable to them. She's also biracial, and it was nice to have the girls read about a little girl with brown skin and curly hair who also happens to be a princess. The story dealt with bullies, friends, unique family dynamics, and even included things like text messages. My niece loved it so much she couldn't put it down. It's not a difficult read, but it does have some challenging words, and some French words come up from time to time because French is the official language of Genovia. But that was just something we were able to talk with the girls about via Zoom, and help them with anything they didn't understand. I think any girl at about a 4th or 5th grade reading level will do well with this book, and any kid who is late elementary to early middle school will enjoy it. Especially if they're obsessed with princesses, like my niece and her friends. It was also fun for me because I grew up with the Princess Diaries and Princess Mia, so I enjoyed meeting Mia's little sister, as well.

She writes a lovely book for children aged 10 to 12

This book was totally awesome and since I am the same age as Olivia I liked imagining that I was Olivia and what it would be like to find out that I was a actual princess I loved the whole series and it sounded as if Meg Cabot was in middle school herself because that is exactly what middle school is like (well,not anymore because now it's just a computer)I love to draw as much as Olivia does and I think it's awesome that Meg Cabot created this character and when I'm old enough I'll definitely read princess diaries(I watched the movies)so I just want to say whoever wants to read this book but is not completely sure,READ IT!!

Olivia Grace Mignonette Harrison is a 12 year old biracial girl who lives in Cranbrook, New Jersey with her well to do aunt, uncle and step cousins. She attends Cranbrook Middle School, with her friends, her best friend being Nishi Patel. Art is her favourite and hopes to become a wildlife illustrator one day. Her school is ruled by a nasty popular girl named Annabelle Jenkins, whose father is an aggressive lawyer.She is curious about her paternal family, as her aunt and uncle have carefully concealed it though she did receive letters from her father Prince Phillippe. One day after school when Annabelle mocked her name and was about to assault her, then out of nowhere Princess Mia appears and defends her long lost sister much to the shock and surprise of the onlookers. From then onwards her life changes drastically, she not only does she finally meet her paternal relatives and learns about her royal status, but also some shocking truths about her aunt and uncle, making her look at her life situation from a different perspective.Like in her half sister's latest diary (book 11), Cabot managed to highlight some of the social ills in society, such as bullying and people opting to take pictures and videos of it instead of stepping in to do something (Luckily I went to a school that banned cellphones and any other technical gadget - hiding them was not an option as the prefects performed surprise checks and confiscated any gadgets and cellphones found, plus social media popularity was in its infancy, not as prominent as it today. Bullying and harassment meant automatic suspension or expulsion).The book felt rushed as I read it in just 3 hours, not a lot of character development. However, I would love to learn more about Olivia and hope that this is not the last book that I would be reading about her. This book also coincides with events in Princess' Diaries Book 11, from Mia's perspective.

I loved this book because it was such a cute story. It was wonderful how Olivia finally met her dad, and found pot she had a sister. I loved how she got Snowball the dog. All in all, the book was wonderful, and I can't wait to read #2 in this series!!!!!

Received my book today and read it in under 2 hours. Meg Cabot is my favorite author! I loved her integration of technology into this book. As a 5th grade teacher, I am very excited to take this book into my classroom tomorrow and share it with my students. I love that the story has the same characters as all of the original Princess Diaries books and the movies. My only complaint is that I finished it so quickly and wish there was more story. Love the cliff hanger on page 92. Thank you Meg Cabot, please hurry and write the next book so that I can follow the journey of HRH Olivia Grace Clarisse Mignonette Harriosn!

This is a great new look at the royal world of Genovia. It is a great way to introduce the new generation to these great characters. Add in the great new character, Olivia and you have a hit. I would recommend this book to readers in 5th and 6th grade. it will definitely be ordered for my middle-school library.

This author is new to my library but this book was worth the skepticism. I bought a hardcopy then a kindle version so my Daughter and I could read together, Best thing ever!