What do you think?
Rate this book
The Princess Diaries #4.5
Project Princess
What on earth is that princess up to now?
Most princesses would prefer to spend their spring breaks in Gstaad, or some other equally unpronounceable European hot spot.
Not this one, though. Hammer in hand, Princess Mia embarks on an epic adventure for one so admittedly unhandy: along with her cohorts from school, she's off to build houses for the less fortunate. It doesn't take Mia long to realize that helping others—while an unimpeachably noble pastime—is very hard work. Will her giving spirit prevail? Will the house collapse due to royally clumsy construction? And most importantly, will Michael stop working long enough to kiss her?
Most princesses would prefer to spend their spring breaks in Gstaad, or some other equally unpronounceable European hot spot.
Not this one, though. Hammer in hand, Princess Mia embarks on an epic adventure for one so admittedly unhandy: along with her cohorts from school, she's off to build houses for the less fortunate. It doesn't take Mia long to realize that helping others—while an unimpeachably noble pastime—is very hard work. Will her giving spirit prevail? Will the house collapse due to royally clumsy construction? And most importantly, will Michael stop working long enough to kiss her?
50 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
65 people are currently reading
7,387 people want to read
About the author
Meg Cabot
274Ìýbooks35.1kÌýfollowersLibrarian note: AKA Jenny Carroll (1-800-Where-R-You series), AKA Patricia Cabot (historical romance novels).
Meg Cabot was born on February 1, 1967, during the Chinese astrological year of the Fire Horse, a notoriously unlucky sign. Fortunately she grew up in Bloomington, Indiana, where few people were aware of the stigma of being a fire horse -- at least until Meg became a teenager, when she flunked freshman Algebra twice, then decided to cut her own bangs. After six years as an undergrad at Indiana University, Meg moved to New York City (in the middle of a sanitation worker strike) to pursue a career as an illustrator, at which she failed miserably, forcing her to turn to her favorite hobby--writing novels--for emotional succor. She worked various jobs to pay the rent, including a decade-long stint as the assistant manager of a 700 bed freshmen dormitory at NYU, a position she still occasionally misses.
She is now the author of nearly fifty books for both adults and teens, selling fifteen million copies worldwide, many of which have been #1 New York Times bestsellers, most notably The Princess Diaries series, which is currently being published in over 38 countries, and was made into two hit movies by Disney. In addition, Meg wrote the Mediator and 1-800-Where-R-You? series (on which the television series, Missing, was based), two All-American Girl books, Teen Idol, Avalon High, How to Be Popular, Pants on Fire, Jinx, a series of novels written entirely in email format (Boy Next Door, Boy Meets Girl, and Every Boy's Got One), a mystery series (Size 12 Is Not Fat/ Size 14 Is Not Fat Either/Big Boned), and a chick-lit series called Queen of Babble.
Meg is now writing a new children's series called Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls. Her new paranormal series, Abandon, debuts in Summer of 2011.
Meg currently divides her time between Key West, Indiana, and New York City with a primary cat (one-eyed Henrietta), various back-up cats, and her husband, who doesn't know he married a fire horse. Please don't tell him.
Series:
*
*
*
Meg Cabot was born on February 1, 1967, during the Chinese astrological year of the Fire Horse, a notoriously unlucky sign. Fortunately she grew up in Bloomington, Indiana, where few people were aware of the stigma of being a fire horse -- at least until Meg became a teenager, when she flunked freshman Algebra twice, then decided to cut her own bangs. After six years as an undergrad at Indiana University, Meg moved to New York City (in the middle of a sanitation worker strike) to pursue a career as an illustrator, at which she failed miserably, forcing her to turn to her favorite hobby--writing novels--for emotional succor. She worked various jobs to pay the rent, including a decade-long stint as the assistant manager of a 700 bed freshmen dormitory at NYU, a position she still occasionally misses.
She is now the author of nearly fifty books for both adults and teens, selling fifteen million copies worldwide, many of which have been #1 New York Times bestsellers, most notably The Princess Diaries series, which is currently being published in over 38 countries, and was made into two hit movies by Disney. In addition, Meg wrote the Mediator and 1-800-Where-R-You? series (on which the television series, Missing, was based), two All-American Girl books, Teen Idol, Avalon High, How to Be Popular, Pants on Fire, Jinx, a series of novels written entirely in email format (Boy Next Door, Boy Meets Girl, and Every Boy's Got One), a mystery series (Size 12 Is Not Fat/ Size 14 Is Not Fat Either/Big Boned), and a chick-lit series called Queen of Babble.
Meg is now writing a new children's series called Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls. Her new paranormal series, Abandon, debuts in Summer of 2011.
Meg currently divides her time between Key West, Indiana, and New York City with a primary cat (one-eyed Henrietta), various back-up cats, and her husband, who doesn't know he married a fire horse. Please don't tell him.
Series:
*
*
*
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 449 reviews
November 4, 2015
Yeah, I only read this cause it was 50 pages and I'm depressingly behind on my reading challenge. So what? Sue me, I'm gonna go find more short stories to fool myself with.
April 30, 2015
This tiny little story follows Mia along on her Spring break. Not much to it but it was still enjoyable. It was funny hearing her talk about camping and stuff!
February 1, 2015
To see full binge for books 4, 41/3, 4 1/2, and 5 click
This installment isn’t much, and really doesn’t pertain to the over all series (I’m wondering if it’s even been reprinted recently).
The nice thing about it, besides the fact that it’s profits went to a wonderful cause, is that it’s a novella you’re not required to read.
I hate it when novellas are super important to the book-case in point, Sweet Sixteen Princess. True, authors will recap for us what went on but you’ll still inevitably buy the novella.
The plot of Project Princess is pretty simple, Mia is building houses for a Habitat Humanity type group during Spring Break with her friends and chaos insures.
Probably the most significant thing to happen in this one is that Boris barfs a lot.
I really did enjoy seeing my last glimpse of happy Loris. I know a lot of people don’t like this couple, based on what happens in book five, but they are fun to read about while they last. Michael and Mia are cute too, but a bit overly mushy. Loris is just sort of humorous together. And I really miss seeing that with Toris-even they they are much more suited together (i.e. Tina would never let Boris attempt suicide with a globe).
For huge Princess Diaries fans, I recommend this one, if you’re sort of a fair weather fan, it would be okay to skip.
This installment isn’t much, and really doesn’t pertain to the over all series (I’m wondering if it’s even been reprinted recently).
The nice thing about it, besides the fact that it’s profits went to a wonderful cause, is that it’s a novella you’re not required to read.
I hate it when novellas are super important to the book-case in point, Sweet Sixteen Princess. True, authors will recap for us what went on but you’ll still inevitably buy the novella.
The plot of Project Princess is pretty simple, Mia is building houses for a Habitat Humanity type group during Spring Break with her friends and chaos insures.
Probably the most significant thing to happen in this one is that Boris barfs a lot.
I really did enjoy seeing my last glimpse of happy Loris. I know a lot of people don’t like this couple, based on what happens in book five, but they are fun to read about while they last. Michael and Mia are cute too, but a bit overly mushy. Loris is just sort of humorous together. And I really miss seeing that with Toris-even they they are much more suited together (i.e. Tina would never let Boris attempt suicide with a globe).
For huge Princess Diaries fans, I recommend this one, if you’re sort of a fair weather fan, it would be okay to skip.
![Profile Image for Nessa [October Tune].](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1745665620i%2F7750565._UX200_CR0%2C1%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
April 18, 2021
Honestly, I think I'm going to take a bit of a break after this one, I didn't like it at all. Part of it was because it was such a short book (fifty pages or so?) but also just the whole 'i don't want to know the sex of my unborn child because if it's a boy I wouldn't want to push' bullshit just didn't sit right with me.
I'm tired of feminists being like 'ew men' all the fucking time.
Also, I couldn't get Country Roads out of my head because they went to West Virginia.
I'm tired of feminists being like 'ew men' all the fucking time.
Also, I couldn't get Country Roads out of my head because they went to West Virginia.
July 17, 2018
I could really connect to this short installment as I was an adult chaperone when my 9th grade son spent five days in eastern Kentucky (the hollers) with LeaderTrek doing much the same things that Mia and her group was doing. In the scheme of things, this one does little to advance the series. It does, however, show young people a way to spend their time helping others and that is never a waster of time.
January 7, 2018
This novella was okay. I think this is the only time I wasn't mad that the novella was super short. It's about Mia building houses for a Habitat Humanity which is a great cause but this was a super boring novella. Not a lot happened. I was barely interested. But since I'm trying to demolish my TBR from 2400 ish books I decided I should read it. I'm glad it's over and I can move on with my life.
November 7, 2016
Loooool. That's all that i can say.
June 21, 2020
well ok...
March 4, 2025
Idealne uzupełnienie tej serii
August 22, 2022
Reread on June 2, 2022: Read via library/audio (narrated by Clea Lewis).
August 17, 2022
<3 <3
October 7, 2023
meg cabotova sa na tejto serii absolutne vyblaznila and i love that
February 15, 2009
After convincing her parents that it is her royal duty to help the less fortunate, Mia sets off with her friends (and boyfriend) on a school trip to West Virginia to help build houses for Housing for the Hopeful. But once in the wilderness far away from Bagels, Lox and modern conveniences Mia realizes that while helping is important it is also far from a trip to the spa. Will she ever be clean again? Will she stop hurting all over? And will she ever find time for a little kissing action before she falls asleep?
After reading the first book in this series I went to the library and just happened to see the rest of the books (11 of them) sitting on the shelf so I loaded them into my bag and found myself diving into a week long Princess fest. And I enjoyed ever minute of it!
This whole series is a fun, light hearted read, though in some of the later books, it focuses more on sex (talk rather than action) than some parents might find appropriate for their teen daughters. I would suggest a read through first.
After reading the first book in this series I went to the library and just happened to see the rest of the books (11 of them) sitting on the shelf so I loaded them into my bag and found myself diving into a week long Princess fest. And I enjoyed ever minute of it!
This whole series is a fun, light hearted read, though in some of the later books, it focuses more on sex (talk rather than action) than some parents might find appropriate for their teen daughters. I would suggest a read through first.
March 30, 2016
I've missed this story
August 2, 2016
Cute story. Habitat for Humanity, meets Mia.
Read
August 6, 2021Michael went, "Well, there's one thing West Virginia has that Manhattan doesn't," and he started driving.
I thought Michael was talking about the Mothman, you know, from that movie, and I couldn't think what was so great about that because all the Mothman does is call people on the phone and say in a scary voice, "Stay away from the chemical plant!," which isn't really useful information to anyone.
But it turns out Michael wasn't talking about the Mothman. He was talking about Dairy Queen!
I thought Michael was talking about the Mothman, you know, from that movie, and I couldn't think what was so great about that because all the Mothman does is call people on the phone and say in a scary voice, "Stay away from the chemical plant!," which isn't really useful information to anyone.
But it turns out Michael wasn't talking about the Mothman. He was talking about Dairy Queen!
January 6, 2019
Slightly pointless.
October 27, 2019
No entiendo muy bien por qué existe este medio volumen, pero no me quejo lol
March 31, 2021
Spoiler: A Mia só lavou o cabelo uma vez neste livro.
March 5, 2023
3.5 â�
It was a quick fun read.
It was a quick fun read.
April 1, 2023
Grandmère is a hot mess and I love her for it. Mia spends the whole series thinking her paternal grandmother hates her, but Grandmère constantly shows up to save the day. 🤣
June 6, 2023
This was fine, but didn't feel like a necessary part of the series. Nothing really moved the plot along.
July 5, 2022
Funny, but not that exciting. Also very short so not a whole lot happened which makes sense since it’s a novella and most readers won’t read it.
February 15, 2016
Project Princess was a cute little 50 page novella type tie-in where Mia and the gang build houses for the homeless on their spring break. Mia doesn't mind helping people so she can achieve some self-actualization, but really all she really wants to do is make out with Michael for 5 days without people getting in the way (ie, her grandmother, parents, etc.). And she doesn't even get that. She soon realizes that building a house is not a walk in the park, and there's barely any down time. But the end result is her building a home for a less than fortunate family and her feeling good about herself, with a bonus quick make-out session with Michael. It's very fulfilling for her. Very, indeed.
March 16, 2021
Absolutely hilarious, and a sheer joy to read!
ETA 2015: This novella (short story?) still holds up as really funny and charming. I think it’s one of the stronger installments of Princess Diaries aopcrypha, because it actually tells a complete story at a reasonable pace � this story just happened to be smaller than the usual. It also gets considerable bonus points because Cabot so perfectly captured how New Yorkers view the woods: it all sounds lovely in theory, but how on earth does anyone actually live there? I could definitely relate to Mia on this one. It’s a good time, just hanging out with Mia and the gang, and I definitely recommend including this in any Princess Diaries read-through.
ETA 2015: This novella (short story?) still holds up as really funny and charming. I think it’s one of the stronger installments of Princess Diaries aopcrypha, because it actually tells a complete story at a reasonable pace � this story just happened to be smaller than the usual. It also gets considerable bonus points because Cabot so perfectly captured how New Yorkers view the woods: it all sounds lovely in theory, but how on earth does anyone actually live there? I could definitely relate to Mia on this one. It’s a good time, just hanging out with Mia and the gang, and I definitely recommend including this in any Princess Diaries read-through.
February 9, 2015
I would call this more a short story than a book, but so be it.
Mia, for reasons that are not exactly altruistic, goes to builds home for the poor during Spring Break. It turns out to be not quite what she hopes, but still a good experience.
I don't know that you'd need to read this to know the whole series, but still, it's good to see Mia out of her element.
Mia, for reasons that are not exactly altruistic, goes to builds home for the poor during Spring Break. It turns out to be not quite what she hopes, but still a good experience.
I don't know that you'd need to read this to know the whole series, but still, it's good to see Mia out of her element.
March 14, 2020
This was actually the only Princess Diaries book that I didn't like. The story is very short (hence the 'half book' number placement in the series) and pretty much just had Princess Mia whining the entire time she works on a spring break volunteer project. I love Princess Mia and her complaining narrative style, but this book just really didn't need to exist.
October 28, 2014
This was a very cute little short story about Mia's Spring Break. I liked seeing her interactions with Michael, and I liked seeing a more human side to Grandmere. It was very short, but entertaining through to the end.
April 1, 2008
Mia is lovely witch her clever ideas, i reale think she's very inteligent. And Michael he is just perfect for her;)
September 14, 2010
I learned that if you will try you can accomplish something for a good cause.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 449 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.