Why I'm Throwing Away My Meg Cabot Books

Once upon a time, a 16 year-old Emmy went to see The Princess Diaries on the big screen. Though she never dreamed about being a princess (no, she grew up a tomboy and dreamed about playing soccer), she loved the story. So she started reading and collecting the novels written by Meg Cabot. She was away from the Church, educated in liberal Los Angeles public schools, and was never properly catechized so she read the books focusing on the love story between Mia and Michael. 


When the author (Meg Cabot) got a website and started giving advice to young women when she (Emmy) was 19 and 20, she thought it was great. She continued to read the books even after her reversion. She felt she had invested enough time to see where the series ended. So she got to the last book in the series at age 29... and felt like she had wasted her valuable time. 

At 30, when the Great Book Purge began, she remembered those words a close friend said to her the last time she considered throwing the books away: "But you have the complete series! Don't you want to pass them along to your daughters when they grow up?" The answer this time was a big fat "NO!" So she decided to write a blog post about this topic and here she is now.

Can I stop speaking in third person? Phew! lol. But, really, all of that is true. I did watch the movie based on the series and I did love it. In fact, I still occasionally watch it and its sequel which is nothing like the book. Disney made the films so of course it's a lot cleaner than the books. However, as much as I loved the books as a teenager into my early 20s, I can't say the same anymore.

I've been re-reading the books in the series because I decided to throw them away. No, I'm not even donating them. They're going in the trash bin. The reason I decided to re-read them was because I honestly forgot how the series began. I thought "well, maybe I could keep a book or two for my future daughters" but after going through the first 5 of the 10 (the 11th book is the first and only adult book in the series and it was pretty explicit), I've decided to stop reading them because they just keep on getting worse and worse. My friend's words keep replaying in my mind: "But you have the complete series! Don't you want to pass them along to your daughters when they grew up?" The answer still is: NO!

If you haven't read the series and are wondering if I'd recommend them, well, you can guess what the answer is. If you want to know why, please keep reading. If you're a fan of the series and are having an issue with my objections -- or are planning on reading the series for yourself and don't want any spoilers -- please stop reading because I'm about to give away major spoilers and, yes, I'm going to say why I don't like them.

Re-reading the books from a Catholic point of view, especially as an older person (I don't know if 30 is still considered young adult despite looking and feeling younger than my years), I just couldn't stop objecting to the topics in the series. The deeper I got into the series, the more disturbed I became. 

Mia loves to obsess over her love interests. "Well, all teenage girls do that," you may argue. Not like Mia. She bemoans how her first crush mentioned doesn't sexually harass her. When he turns out to be a cad, she moves onto someone else and then obsesses over him... for the rest of the series. Sure, she dates other guys since they do break up before getting back and staying together, but it's almost always just about Michael. You know how Twilight's Bella Swan is obsessed over Edward "I Spark, I Brood" Cullen? Almost that bad. It's just not a healthy way to look at romance. It's more about how she feels and what would make her (and her hormones) happy. Sure, her friends do try to snap her out of it in their own ways, but Mia's so consumed in her love/lust for Michael that it takes a while for her to see that there's more to life than lusting over your crush/boyfriend.

Morality is seen as subjective. Mia lies. A lot. She only wants to stop lying "or think of better lies" whenever she gets in trouble due to them. And sometimes lies get you out of things you don't want to deal with so, yay lying! Sex is also seen as something you just do. They do touch upon how it seems to a more emotional thing for women than men but that's about it. Mia obsesses about getting to second (then third... etc) base with Michael. Some relationships do seem healthier in terms of the give and take (and not just physically) but, overall, I wouldn't recommend any young women looking to the series for love advice.  
Religion is frequently looked down upon. There's a chapel and Sunday services mentioned in fourth book but it never states what religion she is. She only says that she gets caught writing her obsessing thoughts about Michael in her journal during a service. God's name is misused a whole lot.

I could go on and on about on my objections to the book but you get the gist... and I only got through half the series before calling it quits. The thing is, this is not the only series of Meg's that I have... and will be throwing away. 

The Mediator series is about a high school girl, Suz, who is a -- you guessed it! -- mediator. That is, she can see and talk to ghosts. She helps them "cross over" to the "other side" and there's a lot of scary scrapes she gets into in the process. Sure, there's a priest mentioned in the series -- another mediator who helps ghost cross over -- who is the principal at the Catholic high school where Suz attends but the theology is all wonky. I actually got rid of the sole book I owned of the series (though I read the entire thing thanks to the LAPL) after my reversion because of how uncomfortable they made me felt. Forget the paranormal stuff (there's some real sinister stuff in the books) and the wonky theology (which, in all honesty, I don't remember much of). Suz gets into a relationship with a male ghost who lives in her old room (yep) and some chapters can get pretty steamy for a human-ghost relationship. This gets steamier after (spoiler alert) her hunky ghost boyfriend somehow becomes a flesh and blood human being after being dead for several centuries. Seriously. Um, pass.

Other books includes: a girl saving the president's son from being assassinated, a typical HS girl who helps an actor, a book on how to be popular, etc etc. Hate to say it but I'd rather my future pre-teen and teen daughters not get any ideas from them.

The only book I'm keeping of Meg's (without much objection) is Avalon High. I love this book. Not only does it appeal to my Medieval/Arthurian legend geek side (oh yes, that side exists) but it's something I would have no problem passing along to a future daughter of mine. The heroine is a typical teenager so there are some whiny moments but she's a lot more balanced and closer to the Hermione Granger-type heroines in YA literature. Sure, I would have to explain to my future girls that reincarnation is not a real thing (the book talks about how King Arthur and other figures in the legend are reincarnated time and time again) but I'd focus on some of the other lessons (selflessness, courage, etc.) in the novel.

I'm not saying Meg Cabot is a bad writer. I've actually enjoyed reading her books... but it's the content that I cannot keep. She herself is a nice lady. I met her a couple of years ago (actually, over a decade ago) and she was so encouraging (she even wrote me a letter afterwards) that I appreciate her as someone who is positive with others. 

I'm not a massive fan of the advice she gives her readers, that's for sure. Besides her books, she kept (keeps?) a blog in which she once told a girl that sleeping with guys was fine because it was like trying on a pair of pants -- she had to find one that fit before committing to it. Who wants their teenage daughter to receive that type of advice? I sure don't!

If you like her books and don't have any objections to them, that's totally up to you. I'm not going to judge you for it. However, for me and my "prude" ways, I'd rather not keep anything like that on my bookshelves. Yes, I spent a lot of money completing the series... but that doesn't seem to matter anymore. And, okay, I will keep just ONE of the Princess Diaries books in the spare bookcase in my book cave but that's only because a good friend of mine went through a lot of trouble sending it from Scotland while she was studying at St. Andrews'. They used to release the books in the UK before the U.S. so she sent me a copy before it came out here. However, I won't read it and will only keep it as a reminder of my friendship with her (going on 12-13 years now). 

I posed this question earlier on Twitter but would love to hear from those of you not on Twitter: for those of you who consider yourselves more on the "traddie" side of Catholicism, what are your opinions of paranormal YA novels? Like the ones I described by Meg Cabot, the Mediator series? Would you let your kids read it? Would you have any objections to them? 

Also, for those of you who have read the Princess Diaries series novels, would you recommend them to a future generation? Not looking to debate anyone, just genuinely curious is all :)

Anyway, I'm going to go indulge in some more non-Catholic books (the list is long) since I have only a week before Lent (and my Catholic books only marathon) begins. :D

I hope y'all have had a great week thus far. :D

As always, thanks for reading and God bless! :D

Book Dilemma

I'm in the midst of my incredibly belated Spring cleaning (couldn't during the actual Spring as I had too much homework the entire semester long), I've come across a lot of great memories as well as some I'd like to forget. Some things go into a filing cabinet (I love being organized), some go into a shoe box which I will eventually decorate, and others go into the paper shredder. There are a few things I have come across that I can't really put into any of the options... including books.

As a bibliophile, I love that I have more books than I have space for the books. The number of saint biographies, books on vocations, theological books, etc. are even (rapidly) outnumbering the number of non-religious nonfiction and fiction novels and books I have. While I am keeping a number of books that have nothing to do with religion as there are a number of great novels -- i.e. Jane Austen -- that are a great read, I am going to have to get rid of a couple of novels that really do not help at all. The books I'm having the biggest trouble trying to make a decision for are the Twilight series and Princess Diaries series books.

Early last year I sort of reviewed the books (but mostly the first movie) and I had good things to say about them. I still stand by my words of being glad they were pro-life and pro-abstinence at first glance (based on the "ooh, if Edward and Bella can wait until marriage, I can too" mentality from young women)... only, as I read them again, I realized that a) there is way too much Mormon theology embedded in the books and b) the pro-life and pro-abstinence messages aren't really true to what chastity and modesty is. I will eventually do a more thorough review later this month but for now let's say that after examining my conscience, I came to the conclusion that there is no way I can keep these books with peace of mind. Now the dilemma comes in: Do I throw them away, donate them, or do I simply sell them and donate the money to the parish?

On one hand: if I donate them, I help libraries out. If I sell them: my parish gets the money it would need for the simple upkeep of it as I wouldn't want to keep the money. But, in doing either I think I'd be contributing to the moral decay of the youth. Someone called the Twilight books "girl pornography" which, on close examination, is actually pretty dead on. The lustful thoughts and images a reader can get (especially in the last book) is enough to get one to confession on Saturday. It seems like the obvious choice (and became moreso while I was typing this out) would be to throw them away but it isn't so for other books.

I have other fiction novels and series of books that I've collected over the years (notably the Princess Diaries series -- Shhh! lol). Some of the books are pretty inoffensive but as the heroine in the series grows up, it gets into territories where I don't think young women should go. Just to give you a hint as to what I mean: the protagonist says that women must "try on different pairs of pants until she find one that fits" meaning that women must sleep with whomever she's seeing until she finds the man that is most compatible with them. What do I do with these books? Do I donate or sell the earlier books in the series in which the heroine was more innocent or do I simply throw away the entire series (or anything written by the author) due to how the series (or book) ends?

I'm sort of torn so any advice and/or your own points of view are greatly appreciated.

At the moment I'm reading The Shadow of the Bear by Regina Doman. (side note: My little sister, Delaney, lent it to me along with a book on the Four Temperaments (which I will review soon) in exchange for a biography of Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati. Yay for Catholic book pals. lol) So far it's so good I don't want to put it down and it's giving me hope that my own novel that I am still working on (going through editing at the moment) will get the message of our Catholic faith across (though only one of the main characters is Catholic) without sounding too preachy or too stereotypical.

Okay, I need to get back to cleaning so I can get back to The Shadow of the Bear. lol. I hope y'all have a great rest of days. And, again, any and all advice is welcomed. :D

As always, thanks for reading and God Bless. :D

Summer, Already?; Princess Diaries series; Upcoming Plans.

It's summer! Wait... no, it's not! Well, it certainly feels like summer in Los Angeles. It's currently 81 degrees (Fahrenheit). It will be in the lower 80s, upper 70s for the next couple of days. That means I won't be indoors too much. I love this kind of weather. My ideal temperature is around 74 degrees with a slight breeze. It's a bit windy for it to be my ideal but it's not far off.

Unfortunately, this is also what we call earthquake weather. We actually already had one a few days ago. It wasn't too major (just a 5.0 on the Richter scale) but it was enough to spook people. I personally didn't feel it because I was standing at the time it happened, but I did see the chandelier in the kitchen sway. I'm so glad I didn't feel it, though I tend to feel rather brave during earthquakes. Seriously. I have a "take charge/make sure everything's in order" attitude when there's a crisis or something major going on... but not when there's nothing going on. *shrugs* I'm a weird one.

Anyway, not much going on with me the last couple of days... which is why there hasn't been an update. I've been reading, writing, watching movies, and am about to spend some time with my leading man (the one in the novel) because I only have a few more weeks left of Winter break. I should get everything sorted by the time I start the Spring semester. I don't want to go back to school without not having worked on Will because he's going to be the character that will be the most difficult to write.

And speaking of characters and books, I have FINALLY read the last book in the Princess Diaries series. Go ahead and laugh if you must. Yes, I've read (and collected) every book in the series. I started reading them when I was still a teenager and it's taken me nearly a decade to be done with them (only because the final book was just released). I started reading them when I was a teenager and finished at nearly 24 years-old. Scary! The books started off pretty tame but this last one... wow. NOT something I'd recommend my little sister to read (so please don't, Delaney!), or, really, anyone under 18. I don't even want my other younger sister, DJ, who's 19, to read them. The books got more and more adult as the series progressed. I'm sure it's no big deal to those who are liberal but to those who are conservative, or even moderate-conservative (as I am), will have issues with certain things that are brought up in the books. Catholics will DEFINITELY dislike these books for the casual mention of different types of birth control, premarital sex (and quite a bit of that), and other things. The only reasons why I continued reading the books, 'til the end, was because I'd already invested so much money and time into the books that I wanted to see how it ended. Also, I owe Meg Cabot (the author) a lot. I met her a few years ago and she was very nice. She sent me a letter a day (or two) after I met her, which really changed my confidence and outlook -- for the better. Doesn't mean I agree with what happened with the characters and with certain scenes. It's definitely not pro-abstinence, that's for sure. It also makes me sad... if it's an actual representation of how teenagers are, and what they think now-a-days. I also know what NOT to write in my novel. Not that I ever would, but now I have a better, clearer vision when it comes to what I'm writing.

Anyway, I won't keep boring you guys any longer so I have a few things to say. If things come up -- either with me or with something important that needs to be written about concerning Catholicism -- I will definitely write often. If not, the posts will be a bit irregular for the next couple of weeks. Not only am I going to working on my novel, I will also be making travel plans. Corey and Liam from the Irish Fireside are coming to Los Angeles and I've already made sure I will be able to meet up with them (by securing a ride since I don't have my license). I will also (hopefully) meet up with Rebecca from Modestia and Catholic in Film School in the next couple of weeks for a few Catholic events. Fingers crossed for that. After that, I start school... but not before I make some serious plans for traveling abroad during Spring Break. I won't say where I'm going BUT I will say that quite a number of readers are from that country. :D So, now y'all know just in case I go long periods without an update. :D

Oh, btw, a BIG thank you to God Fanboy for the sweet shout out he left me on his blog. Seriously, THANK YOU! It makes me happy to know that others actually enjoy this blog. :D

Okay, well, I guess that's it. :D I am going to enjoy the rest of the summer-like day with my British leading gentleman. What I can I say, I'm a sucker for accents. Haha! As always, thanks for reading and God Bless. :D
.