Customer Reviews

The Princess & the Pauper

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

'The Princess and the Pauper' is one of the best books I've ever read. I read it 4 times.

'The Princess and the Pauper' is a modern day twist on the story 'The Prince and the Pauper'. Carina is the 16 year old princess of a country called Vineland. On a tour in California, she meets her American look-alike, Julia. For $10,000, Julia agrees to switch places with Carina for one day in order for Carina to go to a rock concert and meet her online boyfriend Ribbit. Everything went perfectly, until Carina finds herself on a bus halfway to Arizona, and Julia finds herself being jetted off to Vineland.

Once you read this book you'll understand why I read it 4 times. It's extremely well written and you won't be able to pull your eyes away from it until you finish. So go to your local library or bookstore and get the book... you won't regret it!

"The Princess and The Pauper" is a modern-day fairy tale and a fun, easy, and light read.

Carina, the crown princess of Vineland, has never experienced a normal teenage life. Instead, she feels like a caged bird living in a large palace where she must deal with the ongoing pressures of being a royal. To make matters worse, Carina's family wants her to go out with another royal she doesn't even like, Markus. When Carina meets a guy online named Ribbit and lead singer of a popular band, Carina realizes that her upcoming trip to Los Angeles would give her the chance to meet him and experience what it would be like to live like a regular teen for once.

Meanwhile, instead of worrying about meeting guys, Julia Johnson is too busy worrying about how to keep a roof over her and her mothers' heads. They lived in a run-down apartment unsuitable for living in and were in danger of being evicted from their home if Julia's mother could not pay the rent that she had owed for the past several months. So when Carina comes to Los Angeles and gives a speech at Julia's school, Carina realizes that they looked exactly alike and she could use Julia to meet Ribbit. When Carina offers Julia ten-thousand dollars to switch, Julia can't say no. After all, she and her mother really needed the money.

What happens when they switch? Lots of unexpected twists and turns, events, and surprises, even a happy ending! This is a great book for Meg Cabot fans or fans of teen fiction novels.

Sixteen-year-old Carina, the much-loved, and very well-known Princess of Vineland, has never experienced anything teenage-like. Instead, she is trapped in the Palace learning about her country, visiting hospitals, and being forced to attend balls where she has to dance with boring Markus. So when she meets a rock star named Ribbit online, Carina decides that she just has to meet him in person during her upcoming trip to the City of Angels. That's where Julia comes in.

Sixteen-year-old Julia is a near twin to Carina, but as opposed to being royalty, or even to being rich, Julia is a pauper. Sure she goes to a posh private school, but on scholarship. She doesn't have to worry about things like attending balls, but she does have to worry about how she and her Mother will be able to scrape the rent together for their rat-hole of an apartment, before they're evicted. So when Carina approaches her with the idea to switch places for a day, and offers Julia $10,000 to do it, she jumps at the chance. How hard can being a Princess actually be?

As a fan of all things royal (i.e. THE PRINCESS DIARIES, ELLA ENCHANTED, etc.) I knew that I absolutely had to have THE PRINCESS AND THE PAUPER. What I got was a fun, and enchanting story that has been greatly updated to fit in with today's modern day society. Carina is a fun character, who definitely changes as she sees what it's like to be a non-royal for a few days. However, I found Julia to be much more relateable, as she was much less stuck-up, and was more down-to-earth. THE PRINCESS AND THE PAUPER really gives you a sneak peek into the lives of what a celebrity goes through everyday. With paparazzi, meetings, etc. Fans of the Disney Channel Original Movie MODEL BEHAVIOR will adore this book, as the plots are almost identical.

Erika Sorocco

This book has great wonders. I love it and i could read it over and over again and not get bored. Being a Princess is not always fun. I wish i was a princess, but now this book explains that the life u have now is the best it can be.

Carina, The Princess:
Even a sixteen year old princess of Vineland would be excited to come to L.A. Who wouldn't, actually? I mean, where else in the world would you find those unique beaches and film stars on every corner and those awesome night lights and of course, Ribbit. Yes, Princess Carina's secret email 'boyfriend'. Coming to L.A. for a good will trip is just an excuse for The Princess to meet the guy of her dreams. But there's just one teeny bit of problem- the same night Ribbit is playing at a concert (he's a rockstar, you see), is the night of the Ambassadors' reception which she is scheduled to go to. Also, the fact that Markus, the guy her parents are trying to set he up with is going to be there. He's just the kind of guy parents would love and this makes Carina absolutely rebelious. But not to worry, her best friend, Ingrid, as always, has a plan up her sleeve.
Julia, The Pauper:
Living with a mom who is almost like your best friend can be cool sometimes. But definitely not cool when your house is in one of the poorest parts or L.A. and your mom works at a Sports Bar which is not running to well and your landlord wants to kick you out 'cause you can't pay the bills. Sixteen year old Julia, is a ordinary girl going to one of the poshest schools in L.A. (on a scholarship, of course). She tries to make life easy for her mom, but on the contrary, just makes it even worse by hiding the warning letters from the landlord. She would do anything- well, almost anything- to get the money. But does she go too far?

Carina comes to Julia's school to give a speech when she spots The Pauper and realizes they look almost alike (except for the fact that carina is blone and Julia and brunette). Promising Julia ten thousand dollars, she makes a deal to switch places with her for one night only so that Carina may go to see her darling Ribbit play at the concert and meet him for the first time ever (also the fact that her parents would DIE if they heard she went to a rock concert...).
So, one makeover later, Julia is ready to be the Princess and Carina the Commoner. But here comes the problem, Julia falls in love with Markus and they sneak out to a fast food resturant from the Ambassadors' reception. And a photographer takes pictures of Markus and Carina (well, Julia, actually). Hearing this, her parents, angry, order her to come back to Vineland immedietly.
But where's the REAL Princess??? Carina hasn't come home yet...what happened to her after the concert? where did she go??
Plus, also the fact that Julia could is stuck being princess. She would probably worry her mother to death, if already she didn't have enough to worry about. And if that's not enough, Ingrid is in love with Markus too.

A great book. I just couldn't keep it down before I finished reading the entire book. I completed the book in two hous (which is quite impressive sice the book has approx. 266 pages!! :>)

Standing ovation to Kate Brian...

Hmm, this book was good, but definately not original. Throughout the entire book I kept thinking "This is totally trying to be the next Princess Diaries." Kate Brian knows how to write - she engages the reader with sarcasm and references to popular actors and movies - but she's telling a story that's been done so many times before, and always ends up the same.

Julia is sixteen years old, and she has no time to think about boys, movies, or fashion. That's because shes spending all her free time trying to earn money so she and her mom don't get evicted from their slightly grungy apartment. She's also trying to get a full ride to the college of her choice, which is by no means easy.

Meanwhile, Princess Carina from fictional Vineland is having problems WITH boys, fashion, and her family. Her father pays no attention to her, her mom wants her to go out with - and possibly marry - boring Markus, and she's also keeping a steady [but secret] online relationship with Ribbit, a little known rock star. But when Carina finds out that she's going to LA, she figures she can sneak away and meet Ribbit.

Of course, the plan doesn't work, because Froken Killroy, who watches over her, never lets her out of sight. Until one day when Carina meets up with Julia in a school bathroom, and they plan to switch lives - and Julia will get paid $10,000. That's money she NEEDS to pay the rent, so of course she agrees.

This book is really good, but of course it's totally, 100% sugarcoated and predictable. And totally unoriginal. But it IS fun, and easy to read. I recommend picking it up from a library, but not paying the fifteen bucks for it.

Overall grade - B

I liked the book because it had a lot of adventure. I especially liked it when Julia was pretending to be Catrina, the princess of Vineland, and got flown to Vineland as Catrina. while Catrina was stuck on a van going to Texas.
Catrina wanted to go to a rock concert and her parents wouldn't let her because she was the princess of Vineland. Ingrid, Catrina's friend, saw a girl named Julia and noticed that she looked exactly like Catrina and had an idea to switch them. It worked for a while until Julia got shipped off to Vineland and Catrina was on a bus that was going to Texas. They wouldn't pull over.
I would recommend this book to 13 year olds or 14 year old girls because it is kind of a romantic book, although it has some adventure in it. Also has some things like people talking about smoking which may not be appropriate for little kids.

Princess Carina of Vineland has always wanted to see America, so she's thrilled when she gets to go to L.A. There's just one problem: Her eagle-eye caretaker won't let her out of her sight, and she wants to meet her cyber-boyfriend, a hot American rocker. His concert is the same night as a ball, though, so she'll never be able to go. Then she meets Julia, her American look-alike. Carina offers to pay Julia ten grand to trade places with her for one day, and Julia readily accepts. How hard can it be? But then Julia gets Carina's face in the tabloids, and Carina ends up stranded in Arizona while Julia jets back to Vineland. This is a twist on the classic, The Prince and the Pauper, with some surprising twists. It was funny, and I really enjoyed it.

The Princess and the Pauper was written by Kate Brian. Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing released the book in May 2005. It is Two hundred and seventy-two pages long and would be recommended to anybody that enjoys reading teen romance and friendship. The Princess and the Pauper is about a two teenage girls that switch lives for a day.

We first meet Princess Carina who is sick of belonging to the royal family. She accidentally bumps into Julia, who is pleased with her everyday life but in a confrontation with her landlord. She would do absolutely anything for money just like the way Carina would do anything to escape from her entourage of bodyguards. The sixteen-year old princess and Julia meet at a school assembly. They switch places with Julia on her way to the embassy ball and Carina on her way to a Toadmuffin rock concert. The switch was more of like a disaster about to happen because when they try to switch back it doesn't work as well as they thought it would.

I absolutely enjoyed reading this book! It had so many twists and turns in it but still had the classic flavor of Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper. It is definitely a modern day version of it. Kate Brian relates to her reader very well as she write this book.

I am sure that many teenage girls could point out that Kate Brian's purpose for this book is the fact that the grass isn't always greener on the other side, that you should be thankful for the life you have and make the most of it and be happy about it! I recommend this book to anybody that would enjoy a little spin on a very known fairy tale.

This is a fun book for any girl who wishes she were someone else, just once, so all her problems would go away. Although the story is highly improbable it gives a glimpse of what it is lie to trade places.
Carina is now free of her royal strictures and can do whatever she wants, but she comes to realize that she has to be responsible for herself.
And Julia, she just needs the money so her mom and scruffy cat, Desperate, won't get evicted, but ends up falling in love with Carina's sort of boyfriend, who thinks she's Carina and...
Oh, what a mess, but in the end, as each girl struggles with their new identity, and finding the things they seek, they learn to appreciate each other, and become friends. Even if they are a princess and a pauper.