Book review - The Princess and the Absolutely Not a Princess

Title: The Princess and the Absolutely Not a Princess
Author: Emma Wunsch
Genre: beginning chapter book
Similar books: Ellie, Engineer by Jackson Pearce
                      Beatrice Zinker, Upside Down Thinker by Shelley Johannes
Rating:

better than I expected, though not without it's annoyances

Summary (provided by publisher): Princess Miranda does not want to go to school. She wants to shoe shop, plan parties, and decorate the castle.
Maude cannot wait for school. She loves rules and social justice and getting good grades. She also loves hard-boiled eggs, much to Miranda’s dismay.
When a tense first week of school results in Maude getting excluded from the Royal Birthday Party, Maude decides she’s found her first fight for social justice: a birthday boycott.
This hilarious, heartfelt chapter-book series teaches empathy, and reminds us that your very best friend could be one desk away.

My opinion: I didn't realize, going into this book, that one of the characters was a literal princess. I had assumed that she was simply hyper feminine, fond of princess-y things. It actually works better the way it's written. We see the parallels as well as the differences between the two families. The varied parenting approaches and personalities lead the kids into conflict. They see each other as weird, aggressive, noisy, snooty, etc. We see the negatives of judging one another on a single encounter, on a preconceived notion. And I liked the balance between a strict interpretation of justice and the moral right. I had a few problems with it but I can mostly respect the plot. And it provides a number of opportunities to start deeper conversations with young readers.
On a side note, it drove me a little buggy that the glasses that Maude affects to wear just happen to be the exact prescription that Miranda needs. Not to mention the fact that Miranda's vision is poor enough that she needs lenses strong enough to cause Miranda physical pain but no one notices. But that's more of a logistical annoyance than a real problem.

More Information: The Princess and the Absolutely Not a Princess releases August 7.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.