Meg Cabot, best known for her young adult series The Princess Diaries, is also the author of adult fiction. It’s difficult, however, to consider her 2006 novel Queen of Babble too “adult” – there should be a category for readers in their 20s, for which this novel is perfect.
Plot Summary
Lizzie Nichols, recent University of Michigan graduate (though there’s the tiny detail of still having to complete her senior History of Fashion thesis), is off to England to spend the summer with Andrew, who she spent one day with at college and hasn’t seen for three months. When Andrew doesn’t turn out to be the man she thought he was (surprise, surprise), Lizzie hightails it to France, where her best friend Shari and Shari’s boyfriend Chaz are catering weddings at a chateau. Enter the charming Luke, Luke’s girlfriend Dominique, and Lizzie’s inability to keep secrets, and it quickly becomes a summer to remember.
Review
Sure, the plot borders on far-fetched, and many of the plot twists are easy to see coming – but, like a romantic comedy film, it’s more about enjoying the journey than being surprised. Lizzie is a fun, entertaining narrator – though sometimes, her naivete is a bit astonishing. (This reader is only one year older than Lizzie and yet was often thinking, Is she completely clueless?) Also, some details are reiterated too often, such as Lizzie's disdain for tomatoes and the fact that she's recently lost 30 pounds -- it's almost a relief when she begins to eat cheese and bread again. But Cabot does capture the early-20s, what-will-I-do-with-my-life dilemma well, and creatively starts each chapter with a bit of Lizzie’s interestingly written thesis as well as various quotes by famous individuals about the subject of gossip.
The novel is a quick read, perfect for summer, but also a satisfying alternative to thick textbooks or heavier novels come fall. It can be read in a few sittings (or all at once, if desired) or read a little bit each day, as it's not hard to remember or follow the plot. The novel is full of creative characters, and no single plot point lingers for too long -- the chapters move quickly. On that note, however, there really aren't any "boring" moments.
More to Come
One of the biggest compliments to the novel is that, though the ending isn’t a cliffhanger, one eagerly wants to read the two sequels, Queen of Babble In the Big City and Queen of Babble Gets Hitched. Readers will rejoice at the end of Queen of Babble that the Lizzie Nichols saga is not over.
Review of Queen of Babble in the Big City
Book Details
QUEEN OF BABBLE
Meg Cabot
Published 2006; Paperback 2007
Publisher: Avon A
336 pages
ISBN-10: 0060851996
ISBN-13: 978-0060851996
