by Sara Pintilie
entertainment editor
Meg Cabot’s Queen of Babble and its sequel Queen of Babble in the Big City are engaging modern-day fairytales about a girl, her vintage clothes and her gossip problem.
The books’ protagonist is the charming Lizzie Nichols, a small town girl. She is smart and funny but wishes she could lose another 10 pounds.
In Queen of Babble, Lizzie plans on spending the summer after her college graduation with her boyfriend Andy in England.
She barely knows him and finds out she doesn’t really graduate until she writes her senior thesis, but neither of these reasons stop her from going.
Her best friend, Shari, and her boyfriend, Chaz, try to get her to go with them to France, where they will be working.
But Lizzie is already visualizing the perfect summer with Andy.
She goes and finds out to her dismay her prince charming is a jerk, liar and thief.
Now stranded in Europe, she travels over to Shari in France and stumbles across Jean-Luc on the train.
She blabs all her troubles to him unaware Chaz and Shari are living at his house.
Hijinks ensue and a series of predictable events unravel.
The sequel, Queen of Babble in the Big City, starts up with Lizzie in New York, homeless and without a job.
Shari and Chaz are living in Manhattan, but Lizzie decides to live with her new boyfriend, Jean-Luc.
She finds her perfect job at a bridal gown restoration and repair shop, but it doesn’t pay.
Chaz helps her out by getting her a job at his dad’s law firm as a receptionist.
This novel deals with Lizzie’s finding her way in her relationship, friendship and career.
The books are sweet and a great example of chick lit.
Though they get a little too fairytale for their own good, the novels exhibit relatable and interesting characters.
The point of view is first person and reads less like a novel and more like a conversation. Readers find themselves realizing they had the same thoughts as Lizzie.
As Cabot novels, they don’t disappoint. The author is a queen of light, enchanting chick lit. Fans of Princess Diaries will not be let down, yet be warned.
These books are more explicit than the young adult Princess Diaries.
The novels are predictable, but that’s half of the enjoyment. We know the end, but it is fun to see how Cabot gets from point A to point B.
The problem with the Queen of Babble is everything works out too neatly for it to be believable. It has an exotic southern France backdrop, a villain and, of course, charming prince and drifts into more fantasy than reality.
Queen of Babble in the Big City is more mature and realistic, but unfortunately, it loses some of the fairytale charm found in its predecessor.
The sequel is a little sluggish and tedious, but the subplot with Shari and Chaz keeps Lizzie from drowning in relationship problems.
Of course, the first one is much better than its sequel, but the follow-up is still worthy of a read.
Both, Queen of Babble and Queen of Babble in the Big City are fun, light reads and good for a rainy day.