Customer Reviews

The Secret Life of Prince Charming

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Since she was young, Quinn has constantly heard about how awful men are. Her mother, aunt, and grandmother have all been in bad relationships, and feel the need to warn Quinn about the men she should stay away from. This, unfortunately, also includes her dad, who has just recently come back into her and her sister's lives. But when Quinn discovers that all of her father's "prized possessions" are actually things he's stolen from the women he's been with, she decides to right her father's wrongs. Quinn calls up the half-sister she barely knows, and they set out to return the items that their father has stolen. On this roadtrip, Quinn learns the truth about her father, mends the hearts of some of his exes, and might even mend hers along the way.

I absolutely loved this book. The whole idea for it was just amazing. I loved the fact that Quinn and her sisters were riding around and delivering the objects to their rightful owners. A lot the women that their father had dated or married were really nice people, and the objects were some of their prized possessions. The fact that they drove all around the state of Washington and even into Canada was so cool. I wish I could do something like that. I also liked how Quinn and her sister Sprout hardly knew their half-sister Frances Lee, and yet they got in a car with her to complete this quest. The three girls became so close, and it was nice to see everyone grow into a family.

Every so often, there would be a story or little passage from Quinn's family, or from the women that her father dated, and it was talking about love and giving advice on love. Some of the things Deb Caletti wrote were so true, and they were things that everyone knows, but they don't know they know it until someone has the ability to articulate it into words. Here's an example of Caletti's insightfulness: "She said a marriage is like a well-built porch. If one of the posts leans too much, the porch collapses. So each must be strong enough to stand on it's own. I've thought about this over the years, and I've seen many a porch collapse. To know that you can stand alone, to know that he can too - it seems very good advice." Now, how true is that? And the whole book was full of little truths about love and relationships.

Overall, the book was quirky, smart and heartfelt. Quinn was a great protagonist and she developed into a very interesting character throughout the book. She really grew up and learned a lot about relationships and love. It was so sweet to see everyone become a family over their four-day journey. And there were some really funny moments thrown in there, too, making this book a worthy read.

If you're looking for an interesting summer read, Deb Caletti's "The Secret Life of Prince Charming" would be a good choice.

After hearing all the heartbreak stories of the women in her life, Quinn wonders what love really is. Especially since she's been dumped by her boyfriend and is trying to navigate a fragile new relationship with her formerly estranged father. Although her father is at turns charming and selfish, Quinn is desperate to make their relationship work... until she discovers that he's amassed a collection of stolen prized possessions from former wives and girlfriends. With her little sister, Sprout, and her half-sister Frances Lee, Quinn goes on a road trip to restore the items to their rightful owners. Along the way, she discovers what the meaning of love truly is.

Caletti's premise is interesting and is what held my attention. Quinn is sort of a two-dimensional person in the beginning, content to go with the status quo and not take risks. I found the book sort of slow and ponderous - probably a reflection of the inner awakening Quinn goes through, but still a bit plodding. In fact, the book doesn't get too exciting until Quinn makes the fateful phone call to Frances Lee, and from there it becomes a much more enjoyable read.

The cover is misleading - this book isn't about finding love or even romance, but is more of a "power of sisterhood" book. Quinn, Sprout and Frances Lee end up finding each other on their road trip, as well as the "truths" about love handed down from the various women they encounter (Quinn's mom, aunt and grandmother, and the former loves of the girls' father Barry).

Overall, an enjoyable book, but one I'd recommend getting from the library instead of purchasing. It's good for a beach read or an airplane ride, where you'd have a lot of time to mull over everything happening. If you prefer your summer reads to be more fast-paced, skip this one, as "The Secret Life of Prince Charming" feels more like character study vignettes than a major plot driven book.

This little book has some critical words of wisdom to offer women about how to deal with love, relationships and most especially-- men. The "you can't live with them, can't live without them" messages is loud and clear. But I wonder if the target audience would really take away the valuable information author Deb Caletti seeks to impart. It's nice to believe that today's young women could read about the lessons of other women and realize that respect, self-esteem, and mutual consideration are required in any meaningful relationship. But I seem to think many will just have to learn by their own personal experiences.

The author's message is cleverly delivered via diary-type side stories peppered throughout the main action of the book. These stories recount life altering experiences of love and loss. Some key points taken from the side stories, "love is ease, love is comfort, love is support and respect. Love is not punishing or controlling. Love lets you grow and breathe. " and "we should not give away a moment to anyone who doesn't deserve it." Oh if only I would have learned that lesson at 16.

Quinn our heroine explores life, love, family and friendship as she embarks on a strange journey of karmic restitution that leads to the understanding that she is likely making up for the shortcomings of her self-centered father. Well, at least that is the lesson that I got.


Highlights:

I loved Mom's fridge postings of little tid-bits of wisdom.
Jake was certainly a nice character and a reminder that you can't judge a guy by his tattoos and piercings
Sprout, always the one telling it like it is. If you have people like this in your life you should listen to them.

This was a page-turning read obviously geared toward teenage girls, but I think that anyone with divorced parents or problematic parental or romantic relationships can relate to this 300+ page novel (which I completed in three sittings). The story was vividly detailed, easy-to-follow for the most part, and interesting, if somewhat predictable within the confines of teen fiction. However, a reader can be easily thrown off during the first few "journal entries" suddenly inserted into the middle of chapters without any prior warning or explanation. Making matters more complicated, the entries don't always relate to the events of the chapters in which they're placed, but if one sticks with the narrative, everything makes sense by the conclusion. That criticism aside, I was pleased to see that there were still surprises along the way. Moderately recommended.

Growing up with women who've had nothing but bad relationships, Quinn has only heard bad stories and dire warnings about the male gender. Still, she tries to remain optimistic. After all, her father is back in her life after years of absence; that must be some proof that men aren't entirely bad. But being suddenly dumped by Daniel, the boyfriend she thought was perfect, jars her back into reality, and a shocking discovery in her father's household makes her question the trust she's placed in him. Is her father just a handsome charmer or also a cruel womanizer? Emboldened by a reconnection with her spunky half sister Frances Lee and opportunity, Quinn embarks on a road trip with her younger sister, her half sister, and a tagalong musician to fix her father's wrongs and ultimately find the truth.

There are a lot of partially contradictory statements I can make about The Secret Life of Prince Charming. I liked most the story a lot, but there are some elements I wasn't pleased with. Caletti takes an extremely long time--practically the first third of the book--to set up the story, and unfortunately, this was rather hard for me to get through as it wasn't that interesting. After that, though, the story turns around and becomes much more exciting with adventure, humor, and especially romance. Too bad I often felt Quinn's romantic interest was a little too good to be true. I had a difficult time connecting with the characters as well, and this may have something to do with Caletti's writing rather than their realism. I have no problem with creative literary sentences filled with symbols and metaphors and whatnot, but Caletti, I felt, laid it on a bit too thickly, especially in the first section; this sadly made me feel bored instead of intrigued. While I was bothered by these technicalities, I did enjoy the messages behind the story. Caletti does a wonderful job of exploring all the facets of relationships between family and significant others, from the pits of the bad to the dizzying heights of the good.

The Secret Life of Prince Charming is a sweet story with a great message, if a slightly disappointing execution. Having really enjoyed Caletti's Wild Roses and The Nature of Jade, I was expecting a little more from this novel than I got. Nevertheless, fans of Sarah Dessen's Lock and Key and This Lullaby and C. Leigh Purtill's Love, Meg will still enjoy this book.

The Secret Life of Prince Charming started out a little slow, but once I got about fifty pages in, I couldn't put it down. Quinn Hunt lives with her mother, her grandmother, her aunt, and her younger sister. All these women--except for the little sister--have had at least one bad experience with men. To make things worse for Quinn, her own father is a charming narcissist who uses women. Quinn goes out of her way to excuse his behavior, but when she discovers that he's stolen and kept as a trophy a prized possession from each of the many women in his life, Quinn can't deal with his dishonesty. She is searching for truth and she has to find a way to deal with what he's done. On a whim she calls her half sister Frances Lee and the girls decide to return the items. Younger sister Sprout (Charlotte) goes along. Though Quinn and Sprout hardly know Frances Lee at the beginning, by the time the quest is over, the three have bonded and become sisters. And Quinn has found truth--not only the truth about her father, but the truth in love.
The writing is insightful and the events carry the book along to a satisfying conclusion. This great book is not just for young adults. I highly recommend it.

I haven't read a YA novel in years, partly because as I moved into adulthood I felt the need to read "adult" novels, and mostly because the YA novels published after I turned 18 began to blur into a mesh of Gossip-Girl type clones. Thankfully, The Secret Life of Prince Charming was far from Gossip Girl, Twilight and its ilk. In fact, this book hearkens back to the painful, poignant, and imminently readable works of the late Paula Danziger and other YA authors of my youth in its wry, realistic portrayal of a teenager's realization that "love" is a complicated thing that shouldn't be definable. After finishing this book it lingered, and I found myself flipping open the book in search of the parts that stuck with me, resonated with the person I was as a 17 yr old and the person I am today.

I was particularly moved by Quinn's struggle with feeling obligated to love her father simply because he was her father, and accepting that as a person, he was undeserving of her love and loyalty. The secondary cast was superb, balancing the many themes the author wove throughout the narrative, and I loved the ending. It was painful, messy, and emotional, but it was real above all things. Which I feel is the most important part of a book--its realness. I look forward to reading more from the author and will look more closely at YA novels from now on if there is a league of authors as talented as Deb Caletti.

Okay, so maybe it is a young adult book and I'm not so young-adultish anymore. But even this adult can appreciate the lovely writing style of Deb Caletti, the author of this "The Secret Life of Prince Charming".

On the first page she says, "The important thing was, love was dangerous. Love was that dark alley you were walking down where your purse might be snatched." Ahhh, I almost sighed when I read that and the lines to follow. Really? Young adult and good writing, too?

Comprelling story of Quinn, dumped by her boyfriend and seemingly about to join the parade of jaded women through her life. her mother and aunties. Her story is sandwiched amongst numerous stories of other women in her life- none where the princess goes and lives happily ever after with Prince Charming.

Some parents evaluating whether to get this for their teen: the main character Quinn seems far more grown up than her divorced parents. Her dad is a smooth-talking lothario and she talks about having to protect her mom from her dad's wrongdoings. Lots of references to drugs and alcohol specifically with one of the parents using drugs. Some questionable language, as well.

Still, there is a very heartwarmiing ending and many small truths told along the way. Most will be the better for having read this. Very much a coming-of-age story as Quinn realizes her ownn story doesn'y have to be like everyone else's story.

The Hoffman women have absolutely awful luck in the man department. At least that is what Quinn concludes after analyzing her mother, Aunt Annie, and Gram. All have their fair share of failed relationship experience, stories of young girls in love only to have their hearts shattered by unfeeling men.

After Quinn is spectacularly dumped, over the telephone, she develops her own jaded view of men. Daniel seemed so nice - polite, responsible, and respectful. But like mom says, it's the nice ones that you have to watch out for. They are apt to turn around and cheat on you when you least expect it.

Who can blame Quinn for her bleak outlook? She doesn't exactly have a role model father figure in her life. Her real father, Barry, vanished when she was younger and has only recently appeared back in her life. Now Quinn and her little sister, Sprout, visit him on weekends, where they eat takeout, play video games, and meet his younger girlfriends.

It is only after he dumps his latest conquest, Brie, whom they refer to as "the cheese," that Quinn uncovers a startling truth about her father. He has stolen something from every woman he has ever been involved with - and not just their hearts. Barry has the most prized possessions, from an African mask, to a statue originally belonging to Humphery Bogart, from each woman adorning his house. A twisted tribute to his womanizing ways.

In a karmic quest, Quinn, Sprout, and Frances Lee, the half-sister she hardly knows, set out to return the items their father stole from the women who loved him. Sure, Quinn's mom thinks that Quinn and Sprout are in Disneyland with their father (an advantage of having divorced parents is the ease of lying), but what she doesn't know won't hurt her.

It sounds crazy, but Quinn desperately hopes that this adventure will help her get to know her father a little better, and understand why he is the way he is. Even if he is completely narcissistic, inconsiderate and over-confident, in the end, he is still her father.

Just because a person is bad, doesn't necessarily mean that they are all bad, right?

Reviewed by: Amber Gibson

This was a great book my grandaughter loved it and wants to read more from this author. It is a story of traveling with sisters and their relationships. This is a story I do not mind letting my grandaughter read.