From School Library Journal
Grade 5-9–In volume five in the series, Princess Mia has a new problem to overcome–how to get to the senior prom when boyfriend Michael thinks it's the height of lame. More drama erupts when Grandmère brings her poodle to Mia's 15th birthday party at a fancy restaurant. He gets loose, a busboy from Nepal gets fired, Mia's best friend starts a protest on his behalf, and the subsequent restaurant workers' strike shuts down the entire food and hotel industry, including the prom venue. Grandmère refuses to take responsibility, but finds an alternate prom site, and Mia manages to get the gig for Michael's new band. Thus, she gets to go to the prom. Fans will eat up this newest installment in the life of a teenage royal, and they won't mind Mia's whining and often shallow insistence on the importance of the dance over a fight that might end her long-standing friendship with her best friend, and Grandmère's immature behavior. Mia is an engaging if sometimes not very memorable heroine, and the conversational tone of the diary entries makes this a fun, lighthearted read.–Linda Bindner, Truman State University, Kirksville, MO Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From AudioFile
This production includes two books in The Princess Diaries series. In PROJECT PRINCESS, Mia Thermopolis, the intrepid princess of Genovia, spends her spring break in West Virginia building houses for the poor and squeezing in time to lock lips with her boyfriend, Michael. In PRINCESS IN PINK, Mia obsesses about persuading Michael to take her to the senior prom. Clea Lewis's youthful voice and buoyant, expressive narration sound wonderfully spontaneous. The accent she creates for Mia's grandmother, a native French speaker, sounds more like a teen mocking a French accent than a genuine accent, but it's a small indiscretion. Listeners of all ages will laugh and groan in sympathy as Mia tries to navigate life as a teenaged royal. A.F. 2005 ALA Notable Recording © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
Gr. 7-10. The fifth volume in the Princess Diaries series finds Mia Thermopolis, high-school freshman and Genovian princess-in-waiting, with much on her mind: her fifteenth birthday, her continuing search for self-actualization, princess lessons with imperious Grandmere, her pregnant mom's approaching due date, and, most important, boyfriend Michael's senior prom. As expected, snafus abound. Michael shows no interest in prom; there's a rift with best friend Lilly; Grandmere's pooch causes haute uproar in a snooty restaurant, resulting in a service workers' strike; and, horrors, the prom is canceled. Mia's journal entries, filled with pop references and animated commentary, are sure to entertain; her romantic expectations (drawn largely from her favorite movies) contrast humorously with reality checks. Series fans will enjoy Mia's continuing saga that once again blends typical teen trials with noblesse oblige, and look forward to another installment. Shelle Rosenfeld
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Book Description

In her heart of hearts, Mia has but one wish: an evening spent with Michael in a tux and a corsage on her wrist -- in other words, the PROM. Michael, however, does not seem to share the dream that is the prom. Worse still, a service workers strike (with Grandmère and Lilly at the heart of it and on opposite sides) threatens the very existence of this year's prom. Will the strike end in time? Can Mia talk Michael out of his anti-prom views? Most importantly, will Mia get to wear her pink prom dress?

Download Description
"

Things are looking up for Mia: She's the newest staffer on the school paper, and her miraculous completion of freshman Algebra is just around the corner. Plus she's about to get a new baby brother or sister. Could things possibly get any better?

But in her heart of hearts, Mia has one wish: an evening spent with Michael in a tux and a corsage on her wrist -- in other words, the PROM. Michael, however, does not seem to share the dream that is the prom. Worse still, a service workers strike (with Grandmère and Lilly at the heart of it and on opposite sides) threatens the very existence of this year's prom.

Will the strike end in time? Can Michael be dissuaded from his anti-prom views? Most importantly, will Mia get to wear her pink prom dress?"

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
Princess Mia is dreaming about the prom -- and contending with a hotel workers' strike -- in the fifth, supremely hilarious episode of Meg Cabot's Princess Diaries. This time, Mia's in the pink about the upcoming Albert Einstein H.S. prom, and she's crossing her fingers that Michael will ask her to go. (They're in love, so why wouldn't he ask her, right?) But during Seven Minutes in Heaven at her b-day party, Mia learns that Michael is not the prom-going type. Good grief, what's a princess to do? To make matters worse, Grandmère has gotten a busboy fired due to a mishap with her pooch, Rommel, at a swanky restaurant, so when all of the city's busboys go on strike, it causes a chain of events that result in Grandm￯﾿ﾽre crashing at Mia's mom's place, her pal Lilly Moscovitz picking up a picket sign, and the prom being brought to a screeching halt. Thankfully, staunch yet boy-wise Grandmère has a plan to change Michael's mind and put everything back on track, making Mia the happiest "prom princess" on this side of the Atlantic -- and readers more starry-eyed than Molly Ringwald in her prettiest pink frock. Following up the brief Volume IV and a Half and introducing a new addition to Mia's family, this knee-slapping fifth volume makes the series glitter brighter than ever, placing yet another jewel in Cabot's crown. Shana Taylor

ANNOTATION

In a series of humorous diary entries, high school freshman (and Genovian Princess) Mia tries to get her reluctant boyfriend to take her to the prom.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The fifth installment of the #1 New York Times best-selling Princess Diaries series!

Mia Thermopolis (aka Princess Amelia Mignonette Grimaldi Thermopolis Renaldo) has already won the hearts of millions of aspiring princesses. Girls will be overjoyed with this absolutely hilarious addition to their favorite series, which involves seven minutes in heaven, citywide strikes, and most importantly, Mia's mission to get asked to the senior prom.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

In the fifth book in Meg Cabot's Princess Diaries series, Princess in Pink, high school drama centers on the prom for Mia Thermopolis and her friends. A citywide strike threatens the very existence of the prom (which, horrifically, Mia's boyfriend isn't even interested in attending) and various friendships are tested. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature - Ann Philips

The princess market is thriving, as Cabot's widely-selling series has proven. Readers will envy the life of a princess living in New York City with a burly bodyguard to escort her to school in a limo and a brilliant senior boyfriend who suffers detention in order to sing his song to her in the middle of class. This series addition is strong on good writing and humor but weak on plot. Mia stews passively for most of the novel over her boyfriend's failure to invite her to the prom. Grandmere's dog causes havoc in a restaurant, a silly incident that promotes a socially conscious subplot concerning the status of service workers in the city. Cabot lightly touches on the theme that life is rife with ethical dilemmas, which may enlighten the materialistic reader. Mia herself barely escapes devoting her summer to princess duties in her tiny country. The diary form is effective in rendering the instant messages and scribbled notes circulating among Mia and friends, but becomes awkward at moments of crisis. And the verbal play often seems beyond the capacity of the heroine, who is presented as an ordinary student. The mild sexual content, limited to Mia's hopes of getting to second base, and the absence of drug use will relieve parents. But real freshmen who date seniors are likely to experience greater sexual pressure. An entertaining addition to the popular series. 2004, HarperCollins Publishers, Ages 12 up.

VOYA - Joyce Doyle

In this fifth volume of the Princess Diaries, Mia Thermopolis returns as the well-known New York teen-turned-princess. This time around, Mia contrives to convince now-boyfriend Michael Moscovitz to take her to the prom, even though he has no inclination to go. But normal teen angst is not all that a princess has to face. Mia struggles to return New York to working order after her grandmother's dog trips a busboy and gets him fired. Mia's best friend Lilly takes on his cause and creates a standstill in food services throughout the city. And if that is not enough, Mia must talk her father into not forcing her to spend the summer in Genovia-and away from Michael-while she anxiously awaits the birth of her new sibling. Life as a princess is never easy. Fans will flock to pick this latest edition off the shelves. Cabot returns with the same wit and humor as her loyal readers have come to expect. One might wonder, however, how much longer Mia will struggle with her royal crown. Her antics are still highly entertaining, but little happens to help Mia grow as a person in this latest edition. In fact, Mia gets most of the solutions to her problems handed to her. Still readers identify with Mia as a regular teen-albeit a princess-and will love her frank dialogue. This one is a must-have for libraries looking to boost their summer reading collection. VOYA CODES: 4Q 5P M J (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Every YA (who reads) was dying to read it yesterday; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9). 2004, HarperCollins, 256p., and PLB Ages 11 to 15.

KLIATT - Paula Rohrlick

Starting a new Princess Diaries book is like opening a box of chocolates. It's springtime in Manhattan, and high school freshman Mia—who is also the heir to the throne of the principality of Genovia—is turning 15. There's a lot on her mind, as usual, in this latest entry in the droll and lively series, and Mia's diary entries fill us in on all the details. An incident in a restaurant with Mia's imperious grandmother has led to the firing of a busboy and a consequent citywide hotel, restaurant and porters union strike, incited by Mia's best friend Lilly. Lilly has also taken up with the handsome busboy and dumped her sweet but nerdy boyfriend, Boris. Mia's mother is about to have a baby, so home life is hormonally charged. And Mia's boyfriend, Michael, shows no interest whatsoever in going to the prom, to Mia's dismay. The fun is in the telling; as my 16-year-old daughter, a fan of the series, commented, the plot isn't really the point. Giddy fun for a female audience; will appeal to younger or less mature teens not quite ready for the more adult Gossip Girl novels. (The Princess Diaries, Vol. V). KLIATT Codes: JS—Recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2004, HarperCollins, 256p., and Ages 12 to 18.

School Library Journal

Gr 5-9-In volume five in the series, Princess Mia has a new problem to overcome-how to get to the senior prom when boyfriend Michael thinks it's the height of lame. More drama erupts when Grandmere brings her poodle to Mia's 15th birthday party at a fancy restaurant. He gets loose, a busboy from Nepal gets fired, Mia's best friend starts a protest on his behalf, and the subsequent restaurant workers' strike shuts down the entire food and hotel industry, including the prom venue. Grandmere refuses to take responsibility, but finds an alternate prom site, and Mia manages to get the gig for Michael's new band. Thus, she gets to go to the prom. Fans will eat up this newest installment in the life of a teenage royal, and they won't mind Mia's whining and often shallow insistence on the importance of the dance over a fight that might end her long-standing friendship with her best friend, and Grandmere's immature behavior. Mia is an engaging if sometimes not very memorable heroine, and the conversational tone of the diary entries makes this a fun, lighthearted read.-Linda Bindner, Truman State University, Kirksville, MO Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information. Read all 6 "From The Critics" >

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