Be a Princess for One Day and Ten Thousand Dollars- By Grace

Being a princess is something almost every little girl dreams of. Movies like The Princess Diaries and The Cinderella Story, as well as other forms of princess-y merchandise that companies like Toys R’ Us delight in selling, further feed the tiara dream. Now, I’ve added one more tantalizing gem to the collection: Kate Brian’s novel, The Princess and the Pauper.

I’ll readily admit that when I was young, being a princess wasn’t my ultimate goal, but when I saw this book in the ISB main library, I was still interested in checking it out. (After all, who doesn’t want to read about riches and glamour?) It turned out being a great decision, as this book is definitely rated one of my favorites.

The Princess and the Pauper revolves around two girls, whose only similarity is their appearance (they look like peas in a pod). Princess Carina of Vineland is going to LA for a goodwill tour, but all she really wants to do is sneak out to meet her rock star pen-pal Ribbit at his concert. Julia Johnson is a true-blue LA girl who attends a prestigious school filled with rich kids, but at home she’s just trying to find ways to get her and her mother out of being evicted from their run-down apartment for not paying the rent.

Needless to say these two meet, and Julia finds herself irresistibly attracted to Carina’s ten-thousand dollar offer to replace her for a day so that Carina can go to her concert. (It will pay more than her rent…) Complications arise (hint: ‘complications’ include a rich guy’s son, a rock band’s tour bus, the desert- and a flight back to Vineland) and Julia’s ten-thousand dollar dream turns out to be much, much more.

This book is very interesting and is written a la Meg Cabot in a cheery, upbeat fashion. Excellent writing and awesome characterization make up for the slight predictability of the book, and makes it a book you won’t want to put down. I’ll give this book a five out of five- as will you when you read this book! Pick it up especially if you love Meg Cabot, Shannon Hale, Gail Carson Levine and other teen-romance writers.

The image (hardcover version’s jacket design) was taken from http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/edition/?isbn=0689861737.