Princess in the Spotlight (The Princess Diaries, Vol. 2)
Fifteen-year-old Mia Thermopolis, the witty, lovable star of Meg Cabot'sThe Princess Diaries, has  had it with princess lessons, also known as torture sessions: "Do they really  think anyone in Genovia cares whether I know how to use a fish fork? Or if I can  sit down without getting wrinkles in the back of my skirt? Or if I know how to  say 'thank you' in Swahili? Shouldn't my future countrymen be more concerned  with my views on the environment? And gun control? And overpopulation?" To make  matters worse, she's getting these lessons from Grandm&#xE8;re, a rather judgmental  woman who dresses her pet in chinchilla bolero jackets and has eyeliner  permanently tattooed on her eyelids.Princess in the Spotlightfurther  records Mia's path to princessdom: her artist mother's relationship with her  algebra teacher (how awkward), her forced television interview, broadcast to all  of America (how humiliating), and her crush on her best friend Lilly's brother  Michael (how excruciating). The result is another thoroughly entertaining diary  of a very human, very self-deprecating, very unprincesslike princess. (Ages 12 and older)--Karin Snelson