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Summary
Summary
Every girl wishes she was a princess--and Claire's cousin is living the dream! But will this royal romance end in disaster?
Eleven-year-old Claire Gross is fascinated by all things royal--especially because her very own cousin Belle is engaged to the Prince of England! Even though Claire is going to be a junior bridesmaid, she's not as excited about the wedding as you might think. For one thing, she can't tell anyone--not even her best friend. And for another, Claire's parents are divorced, so she's not so sure that "happily ever after" even exists.
But when Claire gets to England and meets mean-girl Pandora--also a junior bridesmaid--she quickly realizes that whether or not she believes in true love, if she doesn't take action, Pandora could break up Belle's relationship! It may be the royal party of the century--but between the mishaps, the mayhem, and an awful social-climbing princess-wannabe, will there still be wedding bells for the happy couple?
Author Notes
Jennifer Roy is the author of the highly acclaimed Yellow Star , which won a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Award for Excellence in Children's Literature and a Sydney Taylor Honor Award. It was a Jewish Book Awards Finalist, an ALA Notable Book, School Library Journal Best Book, and a NYPL Top Book for Reading and Sharing Books for the Teenager. She is also the author of Cordially Uninvited and Mindblind and the coauthor of the Trading Faces series, written with her twin sister, Julia DeVillers. Visit her at JenniferRoy.com .
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Children with royal aspirations (or at least fascinations) are a natural audience for Roy's (Yellow Star) amusing novel about Claire, an 11-year-old American, whose cousin is about to marry the prince of England-and Claire gets to be a junior bridesmaid. Upon arriving in England, Claire is a bundle of nerves, worried that she'll mess up during the ceremony ("I had a knack for embarrassing myself. It was horrible enough to do it in front of my classmates, but my cousin's wedding was going to be a much, MUCH larger audience"). Her fears seem to be well founded, since another bridesmaid, Pandora, is bent on making Claire look like a fool. Claire must toss her anxieties aside to save the day when she finds out that Pandora and her aunt are plotting to break up the royal engagement. Although Roy's plot twists are over the top-the project has the campy feel of a Disney Channel TV movie-readers caught up in Claire's adventures aren't likely to mind. Ages 8-12. Agent: Alyssa Eisner Henkin, Trident Media Group. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Eleven-year-old Claire travels to London to be a bridesmaid in the wedding of her cousin, Belle, and the prince of England. Though excited, Claire wonders if they are right for each other--and worries that an alleged curse will ruin the wedding. Royal enthusiasts will enjoy the parallels to the Kate-William wedding in this contrived but timely story. (c) Copyright 2012. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-6-Clumsy Claire Gross, 11, has a secret. Her cousin Belle is about to marry the Prince of England, and she has asked Claire to be a junior bridesmaid. The catch is that Claire can't tell anyone, and she has her doubts about the wedding. "Over half of marriages fail these days. How do we know the prince is good enough for her? What if he ends up breaking her heart?" Once the media uncovers their royal connection and the secret is out, Claire and her mom are whisked from Lake George, NY, to London to begin preparing for the big event. Shopping, fittings, teas, and receptions keep Claire busy, and she updates her best friend via text messages, phone calls, and Skype. When Claire meets the other junior bridesmaid, she becomes convinced that Pandora does not want the prince to marry Belle, who is a commoner. Since Claire's parents are divorced, she wonders if happily-ever-after is really possible. Will she be able to stop Pandora from ruining Belle's day? Much of the plot echoes the real-life romance and wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Letters between Claire and Belle are scattered throughout the novel. A fluffy, funny read for those who enjoyed Meg Cabot's "Princess Diaries" books (HarperCollins).-Tammy DiBartolo, Rapides Parish Library, Alexandria, LA (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
A junior bridesmaid's work is never done. Eleven-year-old Claire has been dutifully hiding the fact that she is a cousin and fast friend to Belle, the commoner who is soon to wed the Prince of England. As the wedding date approaches, the secret is revealed, and Claire and her mother are whisked off to England so that Claire can fulfill her role as junior bridesmaid in the wedding. Once in London, Claire discovers that there is something fishy going on involving a fellow junior bridesmaid called Pandora--a young girl clearly infatuated with the Prince--and her great-aunt Cornelia. Cornelia may or may not be a witch who has cursed the Prince's relationship with Belle. The text is peppered with letters between Claire and Belle and text conversations between Claire and her friend Evie from back home as well as her new London buddies. Claire is likable enough, and readers will enjoy making the inevitable connection between Belle and real-life Kate Middleton, but the relationship between too-perfect Belle and her much younger, much more ordinary cousin doesn't ring true. Furthermore, the plot twists, such as they are, feel thin and forced, and the story limps along to a forgone conclusion. Only the most passionate of princess devotees will fall head-over-heels for this one. (Fiction. 8-11)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Excerpts
Excerpts
Cordially Uninvited By Jennifer Roy Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers ISBN: 9781442439207 1 A Week Earlier R OYAL W EDDING C OUNTDOWN : Seven Days to Go Dear Claire-Bear, Can you believe it is nearly here? it seems as if I have been waiting forever! The family and fam-to-be are going utterly mad about all the details, but I am trying to stay above the fray. It seems more THEIR wedding, actually. But it will be MY marriage . . . well, OUR marriage, and after all the fuss, THAT will be the reward. Oh, I'm so glad you will FINALLY get to meet my fiancÉ and see my lovely city. After all my secret undercover visits to your town, I will finally be able to acknowledge you in public!!! My secret, darling Cousin Claire, coming all the way across the pond . . . just for little old me! I adore our correspondence-the feel of the pen on stationery, the scented sealing wax. So old-fashioned, but it's also quite fun, don't you think? Must go-Mummy is shrieking about some nonsense. Love to all! Especially you! XOXO B. "No," I muttered, carefully putting the letter back in the envelope and flopping onto my bed. No, I could not believe there was only one more week until the wedding. Until a wedding that I couldn't tell anybody about. Not even my BFF Evie, who would absolutely D-I-E. Not to mention all the kids at school. I would become instantly, miraculously popular. Then I'd have to hang out with Fake Farrah and her Poser Posse. Hmm . . . maybe it was a good thing it was all hush-hush after all. Because if everybody in this tourist-trap town found out, it'd be the biggest news since the three-eyed frog was found in the lake. (It turned out to be a genetic mutant, not the result of toxic chemicals or anything, so the lake is safe to swim in.) Anyway. The news. That I, Claire Gross (I know, really?) am closely related to Belle--the commoner who is marrying the prince and future king of . . . "Claire!" my mother called from downstairs. "Dinner!" "Okay, Mom!" I yelled back, not moving. I stared at a thick ivory card I held in my hands. It was embellished with a gold insignia. The fancy black print said "Cordially Invited." An invitation coveted by millions but granted to only a select few. And on it in elegant script was my mother's name . . . and mine! My mother was invited to sit among the privileged rows of guests. I was invited to be in the wedding party. One would think I would be out-of-my-mind excited to be a royal bridesmaid. One would be wrong. BTW, I was a junior bridesmaid. The senior bridesmaids were Belle's friends from University who were like in their twenties. I'm almost twelve. But that has nothing to do with why I wasn't excited about the wedding. It was because I wasn't sure that there's ever a "happily ever after." "Claire!" my mom called. "Dinner's ready!" "Coming!" I yelled. But not quite yet. I was lying on my bed in front of my laptop. I clicked save and print and shut my computer down. While my printer spit out pages, I began clearing my stuff off the floor. There were books about the British monarchy--kings and queens, princes and, of course, princesses. I also had a travel guide to London, England, and a folder filled with royal trivia--past and present. No, I wasn't doing a research paper for history class. Sput. The last page popped out into the paper tray. I grabbed my latest research and put it in the folder. This folder held all the information I'd been collecting. It was stuffed full. If Belle truly became a real princess, I wanted to know as much as I could about what her new life would be like. "Claire Elizabeth!" Mom's voice made me jump a little. "Downstairs, now!" "Okay!" I called. I put the folder on my desk and headed for dinner. Walking downstairs, I heard a familiar high-pitched voice. "It's all so thrilling!" it squealed. "Isn't it, Fred?" "Umph," another familiar voice grunted. Fabulous. Fab. U. Lous. My grandparents were here. Okay. I love Gram and Grandpa. I'm happy they live only twenty minutes away. But tonight, the dinner table was going to be especially hard to deal with. I braced myself and went into the kitchen. "Darling!" Gram exclaimed. "We were just talking about you and the wedding!" "When aren't you talking about it?" my grandfather muttered, shoveling food into his mouth. "We brought spaghetti," Gram said. "Now, sit down and tell us everything." I sat down and immediately bit into a dinner roll. "Claire's dress arrives tomorrow!" my mom said, as she poured water into our glasses. Except Grandpa's glass. He had already opened a can of soda pop, which I eyed enviously. "Hello? Earth to Claire!" Mom squealed, as she ladled sauce on top of my angel hair. "Don't you want to tell Gram about your dress?" "Er, yeah." I focused on twirling my pasta. I'd had three fittings for that dress, and each time was a horror. Imagine being in your underwear and having a strange lady putting a measuring tape around parts of your body that you'd rather not think about. Like my "bust," as the sewing lady had called it. My nonexistent bust that wouldn't keep the dress up. Which is why there were three fittings. They had to "modify" it for my unusual shape. My cheeks were probably as red as the sauce just thinking about it. "I just hope everything is all right over there," Gram said. I stopped chewing. "What do you mean?" My stomach started to lurch, as I swallowed hard and peered over at Gram, who was fishing for something in the side pocket of her enormous purse. "I mean this!" Gram said, slapping a magazine down on the table. "'Will They or Won't They?'" My mother read the headline aloud. "'Prince Caught Kissing Other Girl! Royal Wedding in Chaos!'" "Guys," I groaned. "That's a tabloid. Just a ridiculous gossip magazine!" I did, however, lean over and peek at the cover photo. Hmm . . . probably Photoshopped. I hoped. See, over the years that prince fellow had given me reasons to wonder if he was truly THE ONE for Belle. I knew that my cousin could make her own decisions. I should probably mind my own business. But Belle was THE nicest person I knew, and I had seen her get hurt before. And heartbreak ain't pretty. And when it became global gossip, it was downright humiliating. Like the time he broke up with Belle, saying he was too young and needed some space. That lasted a whole month! Or the second time he broke up with her, and they told the world they were just on a break. Yeah--a HEARTbreak, for my cousin. I saw the tears. Okay. Those happened years ago. My mother said that people their age do dumb things. (Like her marrying my father. One more reason that I am skeptical about marriage.) And to make it all worse--as they always do--the tabloids and gossip blogs came up with embarrassing things to say about Belle and the prince's eight-year relationship: PRINCE TARRIES TO MARRY! SHE ' S STILL RINGLESS AND KINGLESS! They nicknamed her NO-WEDDING BELLES . If the prince really wanted to be with her, wouldn't he put a "ring on it"? And then . . . he did. And what a ring! A ginormous emerald (her birthstone) surrounded by diamonds. Belle promised me that I would adore (her word) the prince, and that I could trust him to be a loyal and good husband. "'Prince's Great-Great-Grandmum's Ghost Nixes Nuptials!'" Mom interrupted my thoughts and held up a magazine. "Oh, no!" "That's bad," Gram said grimly. Hello? Duh? "If the prince's ancestors are against the wedding, it would be heartbreaking," Mom wailed. "What could she possibly have against our Belle?" "Ancestors can be difficult," my Grandmother nodded sagely. "And so can mothers!" I practically shouted. "And grandmothers!" That got their attention. "Respect your elders," said Grandpa. Then he belched. Right. "Sorry," I said. "But over half of marriages fail these days. How do we know the prince is good enough for her? What if he ends up breaking her heart?" "Oh, Claire-Bear," Gram said. "Everything will be fine. He's a prince!" "Claire is just being dramatic," Mom said, "when she should just be enjoying herself. Why, a royal marriage is simply so romantic!" "Not always," I informed them. "Jane, the Nine Days' Queen, thought so until she was executed at the Tower of London just months after she married Edward the Sixth in 1554. And Anne Boleyn? Beheaded by order of King Henry the Eighth in 1536? Or what about--" "Pffft . . ." Mom said. "Ancient history." "And more recent history," I reminded her. "Scandals and divorces and dysfunctional people . . ." "And deadbeat Hollywood hippies," my grandfather muttered. "Dad, what on earth are you babbling about?" Mom said. I knew exactly who he meant. My mom--of all people--should be more cynical about weddings. "Reality," I sighed, spearing a meatball. Ooh. Spicy. I reached for my drinking glass. "Oh, Debra," Gram said. "All children go through phases." I sputtered, choking a little on the water I was chugging. "I'm just interested in royal families. Historically." "It was much sweeter when you were into Disney princesses," Mom sighed. I was a little kid then. What did I know? That was before I'd found out the truth about "happily ever after." I had seen enough Lifetime Channel specials, with my mom sobbing on the couch next to me, to know the reality. The horrible real-life endings. "It's just that too many marriages start out so good," I sighed. "And then end up so tragic. It's like romance is cursed!" "Claire-Bear," Mom put a protective hand on my shoulder. "I know you think you know what you're talking about. But there is no curse." "Because if there were," Gram said. "It would be right here." She pointed at the tabloids. "There has been no mention of any romantic curse in Star , the National Enquirer , or the Globe ." Gram said. "If it were real, it would be in the news." "I didn't mean a literal curse," I said. I looked from my mother to my grandmother. Both reddish blonde, both blue-eyed, both in denial. They just didn't get it. I got my medium brown hair and brown eyes from my father. He'd left when I was a baby to go to Hollywood to "pursue his acting career." Grayson Gross. Of course, eleven years later and no one had ever heard of him. And I rarely heard from him. Except when Belle and the prince had gotten serious. Then he'd wanted to use his connections with her to get publicity for himself. But the prince's family would have none of that! They made him sign something that said he'd get in BIG trouble if he contacted a tabloid or blogger or anyone. I overheard Mom tell Grandma that they paid him off. I can't really blame the royal family for silencing my dad. He didn't act like part of their family until something was in it for him. Ugh. My father. All I'd ever really gotten from him was my last name, Gross. What a gift, right? Ha. "Okay," I said, and changed the subject. "What's for dessert?" Gram stared at me in horror. "Dessert?" she said. "It's just mere days before the wedding! Sugar can mar a young lady's delicate complexion." Gram patted my hand. "Pimples!" Mom said with a gasp. "Claire, she's right. No dessert." Pout. "What? No dessert?" My grandfather said, suddenly awake. "We're leaving. And we're stopping at the ice-cream place on the way home." Excerpted from Cordially Uninvited by Jennifer Roy All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher. Excerpted from Cordially Uninvited by Jennifer Roy All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.