Princess in the Spotlight (The Princess Diaries #2) by Meg Cabot

No one ever said being a princess was easy.

Just when Mia thought she had the whole princess thing under control, things get out of hand, fast. First there's an unexpected announcement from her mother. Then Grandmère arranges a national primetime interview for the brand-new crown princess of Genovia. On top of that, intriguing, exasperating letters from a secret admirer begin to arrive.

Before she even has the chance to wonder who those letters are from, Mia is swept up in a whirlwind of royal intrigue the likes of which hasn't been seen since volume I of The Princess Diaries.

Meg Cabot does is again! She was able to create a story which I thoroughly enjoyed and had me laughing the entire time.

Princess in the Spotlight is the second volume of Cabot's Princess Diaries series. In this book, Mia continues to struggle with accepting the fact that she is the heir to the small European country of Genovia. Mia still doesn't want to become a princess, but she still has little say in the matter. She has begun some of her royal duties, such as being interviewed on a high profile talk show, and of course, continuing her princess lessons with her Grandmere.

To add to Mia's stress and anxiety, she learns her mother and Algebra teacher are going to have a baby! This of course leads to the marriage of Mia's mother and Frank. The couple wants a simple wedding done at the city court house. Unfortunately, once Mia blurted out the news on television, her Grandmere decided she was going to plan the wedding. SHe believes the mother of the only heir to Genovia's throne needs a fancy wedding.

But that's not all. Did I mention Mia has a new secret admirer? He goes by the screen name JOC-Rox, as in Josie from Josie and the Pussy Cats. Now Mia is determined to find who exactly is the boy who thinks she is the "Josiest girl" around. Could it be her secret crush Michael, who just happens to be her best friend's brother? I don't know...it's possible, but to find out, you'd have to read the book :-P

Also, since Mia's mother is getting married, her grandparent's from her mother's side come to town. Which is a big deal because apparently they have never left their small town in Indiana. WIth them, they bring along Mia's cousin Hank, who instantly stirs up interest at Mia's school.

I love the style of writing Cabot uses; they are all written in Mia's perspective as diary entries. It's easy to read, and flows. naturally as if a real teenager had written it.

The one thing that bothered me, however, was the fact that Michael created a video game that involved decapitating my favorite boy bands :( I believe level one was the Backstreet Boys, who are my favorite band ever! Then you moved on to 98 Degrees, *NSYNC, and the final level was Ricky Martin. I was horrified by this! (Yes, I am a dork :P)

Overall, this book was just as light and fun as the first one. I look forward to reading volume three.