Allie Finkle's Rules For Girls - Moving Day

Meg Cabot is the undisputed Queen of Ya-Lit. She has churned out feisty teens who have *attitude-to-burn* and steady-heads on their troubled shoulders. Her plot-lines entwine urban culture with witty comebacks and situations which actually make you snort with glee.

I have found that her books make fantastic gifts for preteens, teens and the odd discerning adult female friend. The Allie Finkle series has been out for quite some time now, but I never picked it up because somewhere I clung to the vain belief that pre-teen literature was a tad "childish" for a 30 year old to wade into.

And then, I met my best friend's five-year old daughter. She was articulate, had a keen sense of fashion and a manner of deduction that would put an adult to shame. I had been reading fleeting reviews on Allie Finkle and the líl charmer was a living replica of the sassy protagonist.

I picked up the first book and found it to be quite endearing. The tale of 9-year old Allie Finkle as she goes through the pangs of moving to a new (and possibly haunted) home, starting in a new school and making new friends is something that most on-the-move tweens could associate with.

Cabot's writing is spot-on, never condescending and always peppered with wry humour and unfortunately funny incidents. If any of you guys are wondering as to what to pick up for your surprisingly mature preteen, I would happily recommend this series with nary a doubt.

Runaway (Airhead # 3)

Book Two( Being Nikki (Airhead #2)) ended with Em Watts getting a nasty surprise. Like having your brain transplanted into the body of beautiful but less-than-congenial supermodel - Nikki Howards wasn’t bad enough, Em discovered that Nikki’s brain was very much functional and it had been transplanted into the body of an average teenage girl. The original Nikki had overheard a secret about Stark Enterprises which had led to her so-called “accident”. To discover the secret and keep all the fugitives safe, Em is now forced to accompany the obnoxious Brandon Stark (Stark Ent. Owner, Robert Stark’s son) and convince all, including Christopher (the love of her life) that she is Brandon’s girlfriend.

So now, Christopher is spitting-mad at Em. Sleazy Brandon is doing a fantastic impression of an all-hands octopus. The original Nikki has decided that she wants her old life back and insists on another brain-transplant operation to be done with Em. And the group of reluctant sleuths have yet to figure out the deep, dark secret that led to Nikki’s accident (read : murder).

In a race against time, obnoxious teens and boyfriends who morph into super-villains, Em Watts has her job cut out. Is she ready to give up the Size Zero, porcelain-perfect body that she had despised until now? All this and much more in Cabot’s engaging finale to the Airhead series.

Again, I reiterate my earlier claim that Meg Cabot is comfort food for the soul. I love her rambling writing style, the manner in which she pops in juicy gossip slap-bang in the middle of a tenuous situation and her utter enchantment with New York City which shines through in all her books.

Fun, whacky and with a female lead who is an endearing blend of ditzy teenager and woman-girl ready to take on the world.

See also : Airhead (Airhead # 1)

Airhead (Airhead #2) : Being Nikki

Being Nikki (Airhead # 2)

In Book One (Airhead (Airhead #1)) all-around reject and class geek Em Watts died in a freak accident. But her brain was still functioning. And said brain was transplanted into the body of teen supermodel Nikki Howards’ body (who was also present at the time of the accident). Nikki Howards was the brand ambassador and *Face* of Stark Enterprises; the company which conveniently enough, conducted the brain-transplant operation.

Now...in Book Two, Em is well and truly entrenched in a supermodel’s Size Zero body . Life is a dizzying whirl of killer heels, designer togs, amorous boyfriends popping out of the woodwork and fashion-shows where she might have to prance about in nothing more than the bare essential bits o' clothing. And while her brain may belong to a hoodie-wearing brainiac, her body and it’s reactions are(unfortunately and promiscuously) all Nikki!

While she has been forced to keep mum on the whole brain-transplant operation, she uncovers a few mysteries that threaten to burst upon secrets, whether Stark wants them to or not. Suddenly she discovers an elder brother, a missing mother and a revamped Christopher (the unrequited love of Em's life) who seems have gone from mild schoolboy to super-villian intent on avenging Em’s untimely death.

Meg Cabot’s sequel is funny, well-paced and quite the page turner. I read this book on the same day that I watched Inception…so what with the sub-conscious invasions to the brain transplants, you can just imagine the crazy, Burtonesque dreams that I had last night!

See also : Airhead (Airhead #2) : Being Nikki

Queen of Babble In the Big City

A massive improvement on it’s prequel. Just when you begin to doubt the chick-lit prowess of the mighty Cabot, she thwacks you in your snarky face with ‘Queen of Babble in the Big City’ .

Scatterbrained, babble-prone Lizzie Nichols is back. She’s living with her boyfriend - Luke in a plush 5th Avenue Flat in the city of her dreams, New York. The expert on vintage clothes is bursting with enthusiasm and has that special-sheen which only a happily-ever-after scenario brings.

But just when you start wondering whether you are going to read a long-drawn out account of Lizzie’s many, many accomplishments…up pop the road-blocks!
a) The turn-green-with-envy flat that she shares with Luke actually belongs to his mother.
b) Said mother has just got back with her estranged husband but appears to be receiving calls from a hot ‘n’ heavy boyfriend.
c) Her best friend - Shari seems to have found the job of her dreams while Lizzie is finding few takers for a wedding-gown specialist.
d) And then…she lands two jobs: One, a non-paying gig at a temperamental French couple’s Wedding-Gown restorer store and Two, a brain-numbing job as a part-time receptionist in a plush law firm.

And thus begins the unravelling of The Babble Queen. Richoting between her personal and professional life; Lizzie has several goof-ups, a couple of ‘why-didn’t-someone-sue-my-mouth-shut’ moments and even the odd nervous breakdown.

The book begs to be converted into a summer flick (ideally starring Isla Fisher as the harried yet stylish Lizzie). I especially liked the little ‘Lizzie Nichols’ Wedding Guides’ that preceded each chapter.

A Sweet, light read that’s perfect for a lazy-day on a park bench.

How To Be Popular - when you're a social reject like me, Steph L.

‘ Way to pull a Steph Landry’

…and that cruel taunt has been burning Steph Landry’s ears since the time that she was a clumsy twelve year old who accidentally upended a Red Super Big-Gulp on Lauren Moffat’s white denim D & G skirt. And although Steph bought Lauren a brand new skirt…prima-donna hag-extraordinaire Lauren has never let Steph or the rest of Bloomville High School ever let the unfortunate memory fade. Ergo, whenever anyone commits a faux-pas or does something remotely dorky, it’s ‘Don’t pull a Steph’ or ‘That’s so Steph’ or ‘Don’t be such a Steph’ or the ever popular ‘Way to pull a Steph Landry’.

But now, after five years of fading into the background and being content with mocking the in-crowd from afar with fellow rejects Jason and Becca…Steph is ready for a change. She has laid her hands on a book titled ‘How-To-Be-Popular’ and is ready to implement all the guidelines that the author has cheerfully spelt out. So, it’s a new hairstyle, a spanking new (yet, tastefully put together) wardrobe and a sociable personality. She’s ready to grab the eyeballs of the popular kids with her new assertiveness. No more wallflower-impersonation. Steph Landry is ready to shine and dazzle and poke-one-in-the-eye of uber-witch - Lauren Moffat and attract the attention of handsome quarterback - Mike Finley.

But in the quest for fitting-in, she’s in danger of alienating her best friends; Jason (who interestingly enough has gotten taller and noticeably hotter) and Becca (who has never really left behind her scared-witless, farmgirl-in-a-new-setting persona). Does getting a shoe-in into the elite pack mean compromising on things that Steph strongly believes in? Does it mean hurting the people who have always stood by her through the rough patches?

Meg Cabot is the literary equivalent of comfort-food. Her books are frothy, funny and wholly enjoyable. Her heroines are gutsy teenagers. While they are generally practical individuals, all of them have occasional spasms of self-doubt and flashes of insecurity to keep them real. Cabot also manages to handle teen-issues with her usual brand of sparky dialogue and a down-to-earth approach.

How To Be Popular is a fun read. It has a likeable, non-whiney heroine in Steph and a cast of oddball characters who while they might be a tad predictable are still engaging. Don’t let the title put you off. It’s not…I repeat…NOT….a self-help book. What it is, is another of Cabot’s sassy yet serious takes on the quintessential teen girl.

All-American Girl

Top Five Reasons why Samantha Madison’s life isn’t a bowful of cherries:

#5 : Sam lives in Washington DC, a hop-skip-and-jump away from the White House (ergo, perennial traffic jams caused by the never-ending presidential motorcades)

#4 : Sam is the middle-child, stuck between the perky-cheerleading elder sister Lucy and girl-genius-going-to-special-school younger sister Rebecca (ergo, she is the source of constant disappointment to her parents, teachers and the rest of her school-mates)

#3 : Sam’s one great talent is that she can draw. Drawing is the one thing in her under-achieving world that she is confident of (ergo, her mum promptly enrols her into the renowned Susan Boone’s Art Class and the renowned Susan Boone promptly redresses Sam’s high-falutin’ opinion of her artistic abilities.)

#2 : Sam is considered to be a freak of humungous proportions thanks to her decision to dye all her clothes black for the new school year (ergo, a non-existent social life)

#1 : Sam has never had a significant other, mostly because the significant other she desires is her sister Lucy’s boyfriend, Jake. Jake is the epitome of the sensitive artist and Sam is convinced that he is her soulmate (ergo, she moons from afar and eats her heart out on the kitchen table)

So there you go : Samantha Maddison, a typical American teen with her typical baggage of teenage angst . But one fine day while slacking off from art class, she saves the American President from being assassinated by a trigger-happy psycho. Overnight, Sam is a national hero. Everyone wants to know her and congratulate her. Reporters routinely fling themselves on the family-car just to get a candid shot. She’s having dinner at the White House. She gets appointed as the United States Teen Ambassador to the UN. AND she is hobnobbing with the president’s son, David (who is quite easy on the eye).

All-American Girl is one of Meg Cabot’s finer teen reads. The characters are a blend of the predictable and the unexpected. The plot is fresh and handled with the characteristic wit of Ms.Cabot. Homilies are effectively stitched in and you come away with a little smile playing on your lips.

Avalon High : Coronation #1: The Merlin Prophecy

"Avalon High" was a good book. Meg Cabot’s tale of a new girl fitting in had a fresh supernatural twist weaved in. It was funny, intriguing and had all the makings of a fantastic sequel. But then Cabot had to go Manga...which was not necessarily a bad thing. While being quite a heathen where Manga is concerned, I was sufficiently intrigued to see the synergy of Meg Cabot’s writing and Jinky Coronado’s artwork.

Sadly, I felt a little let-down. The sequel was more like a flashback into Ellie and Will’s pasts. Necessary ofcourse for first time readers…but it gets kind of tedious when the whole book turns out to be nothing but that!

Moreover, when you read a book…you form a certain impression in your mind about the physical appearance of the characters. Ellie, star of the track-team always seemed like the quintessential tomboy…stick-thin, plucky and sufficiently strong enough to be believable as the reincarnation of the ‘Lady of The Lake’ in the Arthurian Legend. However Ellie-Manga style is a bit hard to digest. Long streaming hair with a smoking hot body; she is portrayed as a whiny, perpetually-on-the-verge-of-tears character.

I sincerely honestly hope that Avalon High:Coronation #2:Homecoming ties up all the loose ends.

The Princess Diaries : Ten Out Of Ten

“No one has ever died of embarrassment – never, not once in the whole history of time. Of which I am living proof, having a grandmother like mine.” ~Mia Thermapolis

And that pretty much sums up Meg Cabot’s last and final instalment in the hugely popular Princess Diaries series.

PROS: Mia or should we say Princess Amelia Mignonette Grimaldi Thermopolis Renaldo is at the tail-end of her senior year. She has mastered the reluctant art of being a princess of a small European Principality, Genovia. She also has an assorted clique of well-meaning(and slightly delusional) friends. AND…she has the perfect boyfriend : J.P.

CONS: So along the way, she broke up with the love of her life Michael Moscovitz (who went off to design a surgical arm in Japan), parted ways with her best friend Lilly Moscovitz and ended up in therapy. And oh…let’s not forget the Princess Lessons, from her singularly freaky grandmother, Dowager Princess Clarisse!!!

BIG SWEATY-PALM INDUCING CONS: She hasn’t yet chosen her college, despite having received acceptance letters from each and every one of them. (which she suspects has something to do with her being a princess). The book she has been secretly writing for the past two years gets rejected with alarming regularity by most of the publishers. Her father is running for Prime Minister of Genovia and according to the current polls.... he is far, far behind. Add to that the little fact, that Michael is back…his CardioArm has been a huge success and he’s looking better than ever(or as Tina would put it: he got hit with a stick of pure awesomeness!).

So what does Mia do? She freaks out, hyperventilates and writes. She writes in the weirdest places and at the most inopportune moments. She pours out her insecurities, her doubts and her guilty secrets. While this sounds quite alarming and tedious, it actually isn’t. Meg Cabot’s quirky sense of humour guides Mia through her angst. Questions are answered, mysteries unravelled and Mia slowly but surely grows up.

A must for all Cabot (and Mia ) fans…this is the perfect ending to a great storyline.

Airhead (Airhead #1)

Em Watts; a grungy tomboy and Nikki Howard; reigning teen supermodel…both happen to be at the same place and time when a freak accident occurs and knocks Em out. After being unconscious for a month, Em wakes up in the flawlessly perfect body of Nikki Howard. While Em Watts was declared dead, her brain had been transplanted into the body of Nikki Howard (who also conveniently happened to become unconscious at the same time as Em’s fatal accident).

A whole new body and a jet-set lifestyle…not what a computer geek in hoodies had signed up for. Now she has to honour Nikki Howard’s career obligations and be prepared to grace the covers of top magazines. She re-works several preconceived notions and deals with unwanted (albeit extremely attractive) suitors. And at the same time, she hopes to find out whether she can resurrect her friendship (and a wee bit more) with her best friend (in her past life as Em Watts), Christopher.

Confusing, yes. Tremendous scope for laugh-out-loud-moments.....didn’t happen. And that left me disappointed. After having read Avalon High, The Mediator and The Missing Series by the supremely funny and talented Meg Cabot….you kind of have great expectations. But Airhead seemed more like an introductory book with the sole purpose of providing a backdrop for a sequel. A bit of a let-down…but having said all that, I am still obviously going to wait for the next instalment :‘ Being Nikki’. Go Figure!!

See also : Airhead (Airhead #2) : Being Nikki

Airhead (Airhead #3) : Runaway

The Princess Diaries : Give Me Five (Book 5)

HRH Mia Thermopolis seems to be on the verge of achieving “self-actualization”. She is finally getting the hang of the whole princess gig and things appear to be smooth-sailing on the love-front.

But what’s a good, coming-of-age novel (or any other, everyday garden-variety novel for that matter) without a generous helping of angst, frayed tempers and the occasional hissy-fit???

The Senior-Prom is just around the corner and Mia is sure that Michael would be delighted to escort her. But, surprise…surprise Michael abhors the concept of the Prom and all the nonsensical sentimentality associated with it.

Add to that the fact that Grandmère has been up to her usual shenanigans. The temperamental Dowager Princess has managed to get an innocent bus-boy sacked and subsequently start a change of events…..culminating in a hospitality industry strike, that effectively brings Manhattan to a standstill!

All this translates into Mia’s “story-of-my-sad-life” saga. She vents, frets and fumes……all within the pages of her ever-faithful journal.

The Princess Diaries : Third Time Lucky (Book 3) ; Mia Goes Fourth (Book 4)

Mia should be deliriously happy. She’s living in Manhattan, has a great bunch of supportive friends, is an actual honest-to-goodness princess and finally has a boyfriend. What more could a previously self-confessed “flat-chested freak” ask for??

But the truth as usual is pretty murky. Her love-life is a disaster. Her boyfriend makes valiant displays of affection and Mia is unable to reciprocate. The reason? She’s madly in love with the brilliant Michael Moscovitz. And he’s apparently carrying on with a fellow senior, Judith Gershner…a girl who is able to clone fruit-flies within the four walls of her bedroom!

And the freakishly scary Grandmère continues her reign of terror and mind-games. The princess lessons are on in full swing and the dowager princess has no qualms about adding to Mia’s considerable woes.

So while Mia is not busy getting geared for her stressful entrée into Genovian Society, she’s busy fending off the kisses of her love-struck boyfriend. Fun and games all the way 'round!
Here’s hoping that Mia does strike lucky, the third time around!!

Book 4 begins with Mia back from her first official trip to Genovia. And finally she can get started on her love-life! Unfortunately, there’s still a long way to go before Mia gets to have her first, all-crucial special date. Grandmère continues to be the friendly-neighbourhood nemesis, wrecking havoc with Mia’s social life!

And there’s the teensy-tinsy fact, that grandmere has a royal escort in mind, for Mia (something which Mia definately doesn't need!).

The Princess Diaries - Take Two (Book 2)

The saga of her Royal Highness continues.

Mia’s mother is expecting a baby.....and the father is Mr.Gianini (a.k.a. Mr.G), Mia’s algebra professor. With a wedding in the very-near future, Mia has a new load of worries.

Her dear demented grandmère has decided that the wedding should be a grand affair hosted at The Plaza, attended by the crème de la crème of New York's celeb-scene and dignitaries from around the world. Unfortunately Mia is aware of the painful fact that all her mother wants is a simple, quiet function and will resist grandmère's authority with all her pregnant might!


Another blimp on the horizon is the fact that someone is sending anonymous gushy e-mails to Mia and she’s intrigued to know who her mystery lover is. She thinks (alright, hopes!!) that the sender is Michael Moscovitz, her bestfriends’ brother.

Another instalment of “synaptic breakdowns” and mass-hysteria for Mia and her entourage. Entertaining as ever and loaded with laughs.

The Princess Diaries (Book 1)

Ahh, the blistering summer is here…time to sweat bullets, crib constantly, guzzle tall cool drinks and catch up on some light-hearted reading. And for the past couple of years, I tend to start my summer-reading with a relatively new favourite: “The Princess Diaries” by best-selling author, Meg Cabot.

Meet Mia Thermopolis. 14 years. Frustrated with teen-life and its innumerable woes. Namely:
1> She has feet like skis, is the tallest girl in her class and is flatter than a surf-board.
2> Her mouse-brown/dishwater-blonde hair is “triangular” in shape and has a rampant life of it’s own.
3> She is a child out of wedlock and is being brought up by her mother, the scatter-brained, avant-garde artist Helen Thermopolis. Who by-the-way is dating her algebra professor, Frank Gianini a.k.a.Mr.G.
4> She regularly gets picked on by her school nemesis, the predictably pretty but obnoxious cheerleader, Lana Weinberger
5> She has an unrequited crush on the most popular senior in class, Josh Richter.
6> Her best friend, Lilly Moscovitz has an IQ of 170, is opinionated, a radical speaker and loves to psychoanalyze Mia at every given opportunity.
7> Lilly's brother, the cool and nonchalant Michael Moscovitz would make the perfect boyfriend....if he would only stop thinking of Mia as his kid sister's best friend.

And if that carpet-bombing wasn’t enough, she wakes up to a startling discovery. She isn’t plain old Mia Thermopolis. She is in fact Her Royal Highness, *Amelia Mignonette Grimaldi Thermopolis Renaldi*, Crown Princess of Genovia.

Yep, that’s right, a true-blue Princess! A “small” fact that her father (the current ruler of Genovia) would have gladly kept hidden. However, Mia’s dad has had testicular cancer which rendered him infertile, which is why Mia, an illegitimate child, is heir to the throne.

So while finding out that you are a princess sounds like every girl's dream come true…for Mia it’s just another can of worms that she has to deal with. And guiding her through would be the grandmother-from-hell, Clarisse Marie Grimaldi Renaldo, the Dowager Princess of Genovia.

Suddenly Mia has to deal with Princess Lessons and everything thing else that being royalty entails. So say hello to drastic make-overs, unwanted paparazzi and gold-diggers galore.

Written in a series of journal entries, the book is hilarious and at times even drop-dead funny. Mia’s hyperactive approach to life and it’s vagaries is captured perfectly by the supremely talented Meg Cabot.

A book which should have been around, when I was going through my own personal blend of heaven and hell in college.....The Princess Diaries is sort of like a fun talisman that every teenage girl should own, read and commiserate with.

The Return of "The Bear"

New girl in town, Elaine ‘Ellie’ Harrison can’t believe her astounding luck! Senior class president cum star QB cum all-around-nice-guy, A.Will Wagner shows more than just a passing interest in her. A bit surprising; considering the fact that he’s hotter than hell and is dating the stunningly pretty cheer-leader, Jennifer Gold. Little does Ellie know that when Will says, “I feel we have met before in a different lifetime”, it’s more than just a cheesy line!!!


Unlikely as it seems, the “Legend of Camelot” still lives on! Odd parallels between their current lives and the Arthurian Legend make cynical Ellie accept the fact that the long-dead King Arthur had been reincarnated as Will Wagner.As if that wasn’t freaky enough, Ellie appears to be ‘Elaine of Astolat’, born-again!!!


Avalon High seems to be teeming with historical characters and startling coincidences. As the dark forces rise once again to crush King Arthur, Ellie finds herself plunged headlong into devious plots and fatal situations.A fantastic blend of medieval magic and contemporary teen-angst, the book is packed with chilling surprises.


It manages to provide a spanking-new look at the life and times of one of the most discussed kings of history……Arthur Pendragon.

Jinxed, Hexed and Bewitched……..yet again

16-year old Jean Honeychurch has had a life-time of bad-luck……so much so, that she’s been lumped with the unflattering nickname – JINX. To escape yet another unfortunate situation (involving a stalker).....she is parceled off to live with her aunt in Manhattan...at their up-market, East-Side townhouse.

Jinx’s encounters with her über-chic cousin, Tory leave much to be desired. Tory’s antagonism is blatantly obvious and she never fails to make Jinx feel like a klutzy, unwanted country cousin. Jinx, jotting it down as one more addition to her bucketful of bad-luck is willing to go with the flow and deal with things as best as she can. But she soon discovers that there are more sinister depths to Tory than she could ever have imagined!!!

Thanks to a legendary family story, Tory believes that she is a witch.....and a powerful one at that. Moreover, she is convinced that Jinx is one too and persistently tries to make the latter join her coven. But Jinx has had a taste of witch-craft gone awry and it’s nasty repercussions.

Jinx’s constant refusals and her gradual acceptance into the “in-crowd” doesn’t go down well with Tory and pretty soon things turn nasty....with a vengeance! Tory’s desperate attempts for attention, coupled with her mental instability and thirst for Wiccan powers proves to be a dangerous concoction for Jinx.

The only way to deal with a situation gone horribly wrong is for Jinx to rein in her own mysterious powers and accept her “gift” for what it is.

Meg Cabot delights yet again.....with her winning combo of fast-paced dialogue, humour and unexpected twists and turns. Definitely a fun, enjoyable read!!

Every Boy's Got One!!!

A provocative title, if ever there was one!!! But don’t dismiss this book as some sort of sleaze-fest...it is actually a sweet and sassy urban fairy-tale, courtesy the wonderful Meg Cabot!

30-plus cartoonist Jane Harris, the creator of the hugely popular comic strip “Wondercat” is accompanying her good friends Holly and Mark as they plan an elopement in the beautiful Le Marche region of Italy. Putting a spanner in the works is reluctant best man, the world-weary and cynical Cal Langdon.

Jane’s attempts to present a travel journal of the entire “romantic” escapade as a first wedding-anniversary gift soon deviate into a personal rant and rave session. She has to deal with the vagaries of living in an exotic but dubious Italian villa, handling the ancient German housekeeper and her fourteen year old nephew, Peter (who happens to be Wondercat’s biggest fan and is harbouring an equally enormous crush on Jane!)...soothing Holly’s pre-wedding nerves...clearing out the bureaucratic snarls……ALL this while fighting off an unwilling attraction to the charming but pig-headed Cal.

Accompanied by Cal’s sardonic entries in his PDA, the crazy e-mails bouncing between the characters and Peter’s devoted posts to Wondercat fans……the book makes for zippy and enjoyable reading. Coupled with the rustic charms of old Italy (not to mention the bottlenecks), this is one more notch on Meg Cabot’s wonderful repertoire of fantastic reads.