By Angela Maria Hart
Meg Cabot is a prolific author publishing more than fifty novels in total ranging from middle grade to young adult to romance to fiction; her talent is boundless. I have been reading Meg Cabot novels ever since I was ten or eleven years old. I find her writing style humorous and intriguing. I have become emotionally invested in so many of her characters.
My love affair with Cabot’s writing began when I read The Princess Diaries series in middle school. I continued being a fan when I read the Mediator series and 1-800-Where-R-You. Cabot’s characters have become lifelong friends for me. I read the Mediator series three times and Cabot recently published a new novel, Remembrance, continuing Suze and Jesse’s story.
It is particularly brilliant of Meg Cabot to write an addition to the Mediator and The Princess Diaries series. Her readers have grown up with these particular characters and, now, they get the chance to experience them years later. The fact that I read the two series when they were first published, and I am now reading the newest installments, prove that Cabot’s writing still attracts her original fans. Now, she can also appeal to new readers with the continuation of both stories.
As a reader it is always fun to see characters you were invested in return and see how they have evolved in their fictional lives. In book one of the Mediator series, I was able to see Suze meet Jesse and, by book six, the pair were officially boyfriend and girlfriend. In the latest edition, the couple became engaged. However, when everything was just about perfect for the them a new hurdle arises for Suze and Jesse to overcome.
Meg Cabot does not just write series. She has produced stand alone novels, novellas, and more! Cabot has the ability to write in multiple genres. I’ve read everything from Victoria and the Rogue (historical fiction) to How to be Popular (young adult) to The Queen of Babble (new adult). While there are other authors who have penned multiple works, Cabot is able to constantly make her characters fresh and intriguing. I have read other writers who recycle storylines and have very similar characters that appear to overlap from previous pieces, but Cabot has always created a new protagonist and an intriguing plot to follow.
Personally, I love the fact that she includes pop culture references in her novels. One article I read cited this as a negative trait to her writing style but I, myself, find it humorous and relevant. When I re-read Teen Idol, I laughed when I saw a reference to Ashley Simpson because I remembered the exact moment in time that Cabot was referring to. In the story, the main character, Jenny Greenley, she dyes her red hair jet black and thinks she looks like Ashley Simpson. As someone who remembers Ashley Simpson and her singing career, I found this reference comedic years down the line. Cabot’s pop culture reference, in essence, offered a time capsule of sorts for me as the reader being able to look back positively on that particular imagery. Similarly, when reading the latest Princess Diaries’ book, Royal Wedding, there was a reference to Sharknado, the now infamous Sy-Fy horror-comedy franchise. As someone who knew the reference, I appreciated its conclusion in her piece because I was able to laugh at that remark and could mentally picture the star of the film, Ian Ziering, using his chain saw cutting through the shark. It was a great reading moment.
These are just a few quick one liners that I have remembered, but Cabot has a humorous tone, in general. Her dialogue and quick witty remarks are present in all of her works. In the Mediator series, Susannah refers to her three step-brothers by dwarf names from Snow White. Minor details such as these help to make her books different from pieces on the bookshelf which, in turn, inspire me to continually read more and more of her novels. I look forward to seeing what she publishes next.
