The Princess Diaries
by Meg Cabot
★ Top 25 book of 2000 · #17 on Best Books of 2000
Mia Thermopolis, a tall freshman failing Algebra, gets a double shock: Mom is dating her teacher, and Dad is the crown prince of Genovia. It launched a bestselling series that inspired a feature film.
Best for: Teen readers who like humorous diary-style stories; parents should note its mature content
The Princess Diaries is #17 on BookWard's Best Books of 2000, out of 45 2000 books that cleared our data bar.
What The Princess Diaries is about
Mia Thermopolis is a five-foot-nine freshman who is flunking Algebra and has no date for the Cultural Diversity Dance. Then two surprises land at once: her mom is dating her Algebra teacher, and her dad announces he is the crown prince of Genovia. Mia is suddenly in line to be a princess.
Told through her diary entries, the story is chatty, funny and full of early-2000s references. It is really about a girl working out who she is while family, friends and school keep getting more complicated. It is the first of a long series that follows Mia through high school. Readers who know the film should expect somewhat more mature content in the books.
The Princess Diaries on the Best Books of 2000
The Princess Diaries came out in 2000. Of the 45 books first published in 2000 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #17 on our Best Books of 2000 list.
Why it made the list: 224 readers have shelved it on Open Library. The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
Nearby on the 2000 list
- The Wide Window Lemony Snicket, #15
- Basic Economics Thomas Sowell, #16
- Me Talk Pretty One Day David Sedaris, #18
- The Visitor Lee Child, #19
See all Best Books of 2000 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 1999 Best Books of 2001.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 191 want to read it, 12 are reading it now and 21 have read it, according to Open Library.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 47 | 55% |
| Reader love | 76 | 25% |
| Being read right now | 49 | 20% |
Questions about The Princess Diaries
When was The Princess Diaries published?
The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot was first published in 2000.
Was The Princess Diaries one of the best books of 2000?
The Princess Diaries is #17 on BookWard's Best Books of 2000, out of 45 2000 books that cleared our data bar. 224 readers have shelved it on Open Library.
Why is The Princess Diaries on the Best Books of 2000 list?
224 readers have shelved it on Open Library.
More of the best books of 2000
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire J. K. Rowling, #1
- The 48 Laws of Power Robert Greene, #2
- Because of Winn-Dixie Kate DiCamillo, #3
- The Gruffalo Julia Donaldson, #4
- Life of Pi Yann Martel, #5
- Esperanza Rising Pam MunĚoz Ryan, #6
See the full Best Books of 2000, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
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