The Works of Meg Cabot

[Deleted]

I just listened to the latest PD book on CD, Princess on the Brink. GOD what an annoying book. But I'm a masochist, too, and there are to be 2 more PD books, so I'll get them at the library and read them to see how it all ends.
Lily is a wretched jerk of a troll, I can't believe anyone would like her!

[kore]

muskratmonroe said:

I have to say that the plotline of the second All American Girl book kinda shocked me. Not that I'm a prude, and I've read other young adult books with the same theme and had no problem with them, it was just unexpected from having read other YA Meg Cabot books. I wasn't expecting the end of that book at all. And since Sam, like Mia and Suze, and most of Meg Cabot's heroines, is a neurotic twit and kinda childish, I don't think she should have made the decision she did, and in the manner she did it.

The constant pop culture references are also starting to annoy the crap out of me, as is the pattern from which she creates all her main characters. I mean, Mia's a writer and a vegetarian, and Sam's an artist and a carnivore, but other than that, they aren't much different.

I love Meg, but she needs to stop publishing 5 books a year, and get back to writing maybe 2-3 (in both YA & Adult combined). She has great ideas, but she tends to wander into a certain set formula and they started sounding like the same read from one book to the next.

I agree LittleSable, I was a bit taken aback by the second All-American book and the ending. I didn't expect it from Meg. I thought the first book was good on it's own.

ETA: Sorry Mrsbowling, I forgot to agree with you as well about Lily. ANNOYING! That character needs a make-over.

[muskratmonroe]

As for the Princess Diaries, I think Michael's character has been assassinated slightly too, although he hasn't degraded to the point his sister ha, although she was always aggressive and overbearing. He was this sweet fantasy boyfriend, and now he's pressuring Mia for sex? Which, being he's a college age guy, is realistic that he'd want it, but you think he'd be smart enough to realize that his girlfriend is a) a bit younger than him b) royalty, and as such, under intense scrutiny from her family and the public.

[Deleted]

Yeah, I always liked Michael till books 7 and 8. This JP aka Boy who Hates it When the Put Corn in the Chili, though, I liked him!
I do hate it how in the 8th book it is painfully obvious that JP is in love with Mia and everyone, esp, Mia is totally retarded to the fact, yet the reader trips and falls and drowns in the foreshadowing and hits.

[Deleted]

I just read She Went All The Way on my way home from London and actually really enjoyed it.

[incognito]

I just read the sequel to All-American Girl, and yeah...Samantha really is a neurotic twit. Although a lot of her neurosis came across as an incredibly contrived plot device on Cabot's part, in order to create this hilarious (yeah, right) scenario rife with misunderstanding and miscommunication. I mean, Parcheesi? WTF?

Are there any chick lit authors out there who don't make their female protagonists neurotic freaks who over-analyze every bit and piece of conversation? I think this is why I stay away from the genre as a whole -- every chick lit book I've read, YA or otherwise, has this sort of female character. Even Bridget Jones' Diary, which is held up as a shining example in Chick Lit Land, falls into this trap. I don't think neurotic quirks are cute (e.g. Sam's propensity to make long lists). They're just annoying, and I wish we could package up all of these quirkily cute neurotic characters and blast them off to Siberia.

[Deleted]

Aug 16, 2007 19:05:51 GMT -4 @sarcasticcheese said:

I just read She Went All The Way on my way home from London and actually really enjoyed it.

I enjoyed this book too... It fell apart a little at the end, but it was a good piece of fluff that kept me turning the pages.

The Size 12, 14 and Big Boned books are in the same vein... page turning fluff, not great lit.

[kateln]

Jun 7, 2007 8:02:07 GMT -4 @kiwi said:

I liked Boy Meets Girl, but have to admit that none of the others have really caught on for me. It's pretty funny -- as I'm reading, part of me is going "eh, this isn't bad, it's not a BAD book..." while some other more intellectual, ambitious part of my brain is quietly going mad and begging to go do something more stimulating instead of making it die.

It's not an easy thing to do, writing that sort of froth that's still enjoyable, but I'd have to say that the well ran dry for me very, very very quickly. I barely tolerated Kate McKenzie's breathless fixation on the television show "Charmed"; I don't really deal well with seeing the same character quirks populated across the other books.

I feel the same way. Her books are frothy crap. I will give her credit--she's fun to read on a plane, and when home sick. Otherwise I have no use for her.