Super easy, fast cute read. Follows the movie pretty closely (or I guess I should say the movie followed the book pretty closely). I read this to fulfill a challenge for a book club, so I was sort of expecting it to read a little young, which it did, but sometimes it's nice to read a book I can finish in a day :)
The way Mia talks in her journal is endearing, I really liked her and hoped for the best for her even though I kind of knew what was going to happen. It sort of made me feel like I was reading an email from a friend in HS.
Only gave it 3 stars because it felt a little short, and because it felt a little JR High.



My blog:
http://pinkpolkadotbookblog.wordpress.com/ ( )

I've read this book at least a bunch of times (8? 10? 28?) and, based on my estimate, the entire series at least three times. Mia Thermopolis is the absolute best and I find, even when listening to this at 23, it still stands strong and immensely relatable. (Although, 13 years later this book has aged a little--Brittney Spears no longer has the relevance, and most 14-year-olds now have cell phones...!)

I listened to this while knocking out a chunk of the AT this weekend, when I--believe it or not--collapsed into my tent and was too exhausted to actually turn the pages of my book (read: touch my phone's screen to turn a page, such a challenge) and loved Anne Hathaway's narration. She played Mia in the movie, and it made a huge difference. I tried to listen to the fourth after this one, but the narrator really bothered me seven minutes in, so that didn't go so well.

This book is golden and I will forever love it. And this marks the first audiobook I've listened to in full since like junior year of high school! Yay hiking! ( )

Independent reading level: 5th grade

Awards: none ( )

so...I have to read the second book for a consensual kiss?

FINE. I will! ( )

For a book most people will gush about with nostalgia about reading it in middle school, this book is so inappropriate for that age group.

By page 5, our 14 year old main character Mia, wishes that her crush, 17/18 year old Josh, had been sexually harassing her.

While Mia did have some character growth, every time I thought we got past everything problematic in this book, she would say something else.

Like how she was grateful that her picture wasn't in the news because Iran had bombed Afghanistan.

Don't let your middle schooler read this. Just watch the movie instead. I've never seen it, but it can't be worse then this.

The only enjoyment I got out of it was watching Mia's character growth. ( )