Bridesmaid in Training is the second in the Notebooks of a Middle-School Princess, a funny, heart-warming illustrated Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot.
Olivia Grace Clarisse Mignonette Harrison still finds it hard to believe that she's a princess! Not only does she get to live in an actual palace with her newly discovered family and two fabulous poodles, but she also gets her very own pony!
Of course, not everything is going exactly as she imagined . . . her half-sister, Mia, is very busy learning how to run the country while trying to plan a wedding, and her father is getting remarried himself - to Mia's mother! - and spends most of his time 'renovating' the summer palace, although Grandmère says he is just hiding from the wedding madness. Olivia hardly gets to see either of them.
Fortunately Grandmère has her own plans for Mia's wedding, and needs Olivia's help to pull them off. Just when Olivia starts to think that things are going to work out after all, the palace is invaded by a host of new cousins and other royals who all seem to be angry at Olivia (although Grandmère says they are just jealous).
As the day of the wedding gets closer and closer, Olivia becomes more and more worried. For such a carefully planned event, it seems as if a LOT of things are going wrong . . . Can Olivia keep this royal wedding from becoming a royal disaster?
Olivia chronicles her transformation from ordinary girl to princess in her notebook, with illustrations from author Meg Cabot, who studied Fine Arts as an undergraduate.
PRAISE FOR THE NOTEBOOKS OF A MIDDLE-SCHOOL PRINCESS SERIES
"The nation of Genovia gains a new resident in this amusing spin-off of Cabot's Princess Diaries series: self-effacing, biracial Olivia, a 12-year-old aspiring wildlife artist who discovers that she is the half-sister of Princess Mia Thermopolis. ...Text-message exchanges and Cabot's own b&w cartoons further enliven Olivia's entertaining and candid notebook entries, which will have readers looking forward to her future escapades." Publisher's Weekly
"Olivia, who's biracial, is a lively, engaging character whose peppy, often-wry diary-style narrative details
her experiences and progressive discoveries about her background, royal life, and the true meaning of
family. Interspersing Cabot's black-and-white illustrations, Olivia's texts with BFF Nishi, and
contemporary pop-culture references, this entertaining, quickly absorbing read will have readers
anticipating the sequel." Booklist