Princess in the Spotlight (the Princess Diaries, #2)

The second installment in Meg Cabot's The Princess Diaries series, Princess in the Spotlight continues the story of Mia Thermopolis, a fourteen-year-old freshman at Albert Einstein High School in Manhattan. In the previous book, Mia discovered that her father, Phillipe Renaldo, is the prince of Genovia, a small European principality, making her a princess. She now takes daily princess lessons from her paternal grandmother, the dowager princess Clarisse Renaldo (whom Mia calls Grandmère), and is accompanied everywhere by a bodyguard named Lars. The novel follows Mia through two turbulent weeks of family upheaval, media exposure, and romantic confusion.

The story begins on a Monday morning when Mia's mother, Helen Thermopolis, a painter, announces she is pregnant. Mia immediately realizes the father is Mr. Gianini, her Algebra teacher, whom Helen has been dating. Already overwhelmed by her princess status, her lessons with Grandmère, and her upcoming formal introduction to the Genovian people, Mia struggles to absorb the news. At school, Mr. Gianini's normal behavior confirms that Helen has not yet told him. That same day, Mia's English teacher assigns a semester-long journal; since Mia's real diary is full of secrets, she decides to keep a separate, sanitized version for class.

That evening, Helen and Mr. Gianini announce they plan to marry in a small City Hall ceremony with Mia as witness. Helen asks Mia not to tell anyone, as she wants to break the news to Mia's father herself. Grandmère calls with a separate announcement: She has arranged a prime-time interview for Mia with Beverly Bellerieve on TwentyFour/Seven, the most highly rated news show in America. Mia protests, but both Grandmère and her father insist it is her royal duty. Michael Moscovitz, the older brother of Mia's best friend Lilly and Mia's secret crush, instant-messages Mia about her distracted behavior and helps her with Algebra.

Mia develops a fever and sore throat that keep her home for several days. Her doctor prescribes codeine cough syrup. While sick, she receives an anonymous typed letter calling her "the Josiest girl I've ever met," referencing the cartoon Josie and the Pussycats, and signed "Sincerely, A Friend." A follow-up e-mail from an address she decodes as "JoCrox" confirms the sender wrote the letter but refuses to reveal his identity. Mia also receives a get-well e-mail from Michael signed "Love, Michael," which she analyzes at length. Determined to identify her admirer, she resolves to return to school.

Back at Albert Einstein, Mia's efforts to unmask Jo-C-rox go nowhere. During Gifted and Talented (G&T) class, a loosely supervised study period, Boris Pelkowski, Lilly's boyfriend and a violin prodigy, plays so loudly that Michael goes to the nurse's office for ibuprofen. Mia gives Michael some of her codeine cough syrup, which leads to her being summoned to Principal Gupta's office for distributing a controlled substance. Later, Lana Weinberger, a popular cheerleader, asks Mia and Michael if they are dating. Michael turns bright red, and Lilly laughs dismissively.

The TwentyFour/Seven interview takes place at Grandmère's Plaza Hotel suite. When Beverly asks whether Mia has any "exciting news," referring to her improved Algebra grade, Mia misunderstands and blurts out information about her mother's pregnancy and the planned wedding. Her father drops his glass; Grandmère hyperventilates into a paper bag. Rattled, Mia also rambles about school cliques and the lack of supervision in G&T. Afterward, her father assures Mia he is happy for Helen and Mr. Gianini, and Mia notices him getting along well with Beverly.

That evening at Lilly's apartment, during filming for Lilly's public access show Lilly Tells It Like It Is, Mia discovers she is the only one in her friend group who has never been French-kissed. Lilly dares Mia to drop an eggplant from her sixteenth-story window, and after it explodes on the sidewalk, Michael rushes in, pulls Mia away, and insists Lilly edit out footage showing Mia's face.

When the interview airs Monday night, the fallout is swift. Lilly is furious, partly because she has been secretly writing a book about the school's social divisions and feels Mia encroached on her territory. Classmate Shameeka Taylor's father cancels her Halloween party. Grandmère cares only that the broadcast failed to show enough footage of Genovia. Michael instant-messages Mia, reassuring her she told the truth, and invites her to see The Rocky Horror Picture Show on Halloween. Mia is elated but fears a family obligation may interfere.

That obligation stems from Grandmère's latest scheme. At Mia's next princess lesson, she discovers Grandmère has flown in Vigo, the royal Genovian event planner, to organize a massive wedding at the Plaza's White and Gold Room for Halloween, complete with celebrity guests. Vigo also explains that any future royal consort must renounce his citizenship and ask the princess's permission before leaving a room, leaving Mia dismayed about her romantic future. The situation escalates when Mia arrives home to find her maternal grandparents, Mamaw and Papaw from Versailles, Indiana, and her cousin Hank, all invited by Grandmère without consulting anyone.

Hank, a good-looking farm boy, creates a sensation at school. Over the next two days, Lilly and Hank disappear together, alarming Boris and worrying Mia. The truth is professional: Lilly has been coaching Hank to help him pursue modeling. On Friday at lunch, Hank announces he has been signed by Ford Models. When Hank kisses Lilly in gratitude, Boris punches him and breaks his own hand, ending his violin practice. Meanwhile, Lilly airs a segment on her show featuring slumber-party footage of Mia talking candidly about her hopes and fears regarding Genovia. Mia is initially upset but gradually stops caring about media coverage.

Grandmère and Mamaw form an alliance, insisting the wedding must happen, and Grandmère shows Mia a beautiful pink maid-of-honor dress that Mia loves despite her mother's opposition. On Halloween morning, Mr. Gianini is absent from school. When Mia arrives home, both her mother and Mr. Gianini are gone. Her father tells her a letter from Helen will be available at eight o'clock, the time the wedding is supposed to start. Mia puts on the pink dress and waits at the Plaza as celebrity guests fill the White and Gold Room. At eight, she reads the letter: Helen and Mr. Gianini have eloped to Cancun, Mexico. The letter promises a second, private ceremony when they return.

Grandmère retreats to her hotel suite in distress. Mia coaxes her out by reminding her that a princess never hides behind her privilege and never leaves her guests unattended. Grandmère emerges, and Mia links arms with both her father and grandmother as they return to the party, a moment Mia recognizes as genuinely profound. Her father later reveals he helped the couple elope, proving he is not afraid of Grandmère after all.

After the reception, Mia heads to a midnight screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, where she finds Michael, Lilly, Boris, Kenny Showalter (her Biology partner), and others in costume. After the movie, the group goes to a diner, where Kenny asks Mia if she has received any "interesting mail lately," revealing himself as Jo-C-rox. Mia is stunned and disappointed but hides her feelings. When Kenny asks her out, she agrees, unable to reject him. As everyone piles into the limo, Michael tells Mia she looks very nice in her pink dress, and she savors the compliment.

The novel closes with Mia reflecting on her changed circumstances. She is gaining a sibling and a stepfather, and her father proved he can stand up to Grandmère. Though the secret admirer was not Michael, Mia holds onto his compliment as quiet evidence that something between them might still be possible, considering it the profound moment she has been searching for all along for her English journal.