Royally Jacked totally reminds me of The Princess Diaries. It does star a Royal, but not a Princess Mia. Instead, there's a prince named Georg or something like that and it's pronounced in an odd way. Royally Jacked is hilarious, silly, and seemingly immature. That's probably why preteens are allow to read it. It's a very short book, with only about two hundred pages. Even though it's amazingly short, it's quite annoying, thanks to the immature, or usually whiny, main character/narrator. I'll explain more of her character later. Anyway, the book's plot is really quick and it's fairly easy to read. Most of the words in the book aren't SAT standards. In fact, nothing about this book even makes it to the SAT standards. SAT never stars fairy tales. There's a lot of references to the media. One includes A Knight's Tale, which stars some knights and ladies and everyone else. I had to look that movie up on Wikipedia, because I have no idea what that movie was about. It turns out I did watch it long, long ago, but I don't remember it. I do recall hating the movie.Overused words stagger across the pages. Frequently used words like 'shallow' and...I can't think of any right now. But I think you get the point. There was quite a lot of 'shallow's, which annoyed me like crazy. The main character, Valerie, suffers from serious self-doubt and whiner's syndrome, among some other things. I don't get why she whines about all the stupid problems in her life. And moving on isn't the theme of this book! (I'm never giving this book to a teen. I will never recommend it to anyone). Valerie is endlessly hopeless and a shallow lady herself. I hate how she summarize everything, instead of letting the reader figure things out for themselves. The ending made absolutely no sense. It felt like a last minute touch-up by the author. The author was probably trying to give all of her characters a 3D personality. Didn't work really well. It only taught teenagers that it's okay to smoke.Thank goodness this is a fantasy book. If it was labeled realistic, I would have a heart attack and a stroke in a frenzied combination. Rating: Two out of Five -ofpaperandwords.blogspot.com
Okay, this book is cute. It really is. My problem is that I had no idea what the purpose was. Nothing was resolved.Valerie moved with her dad to this small European country, the main plot of the book, which, by the way, happens more than halfway through the story. While there, she lives in the country's castle and of course falls in love with the handsome prince. Right away. That is always my biggest pet peeve with young adult books. I want build up and conflict surrounding the relationship and then, once the relationship starts, I want passion and romance and character growth. This book has none of that. Valerie and the prince, Georg, fall in love within only a few pages and start dating right at the end of the book. By the last two pages, there is a serious conflict that the author probably could've streched out and made an actual storyline out of. Instead, the book just ends. Nothing is solved and the reader isn't even sure if the two young lovers live happily ever after. In this case, it doesn't matter how cute the book was. If it doesn't have at least some sort of substance, it definitely isn't worth reading.
What do You think about Royally Jacked (2010)?
Royally Jacked- Valerie is the main character of the book.“Exactly two weeks, one day, and ten hours ago, my mother completely ruined my life. She announced over her usual dinner of Kraft macaroni and cheese (with tomatoes and broccoli bits mixed in - her attempt at being healthy) that she no longer wished to remain married to my dad. She planned to move in with her new girlfriend,Gabrielle.Val is a sophomore in high school half way through her sophomore year. Val is going to have to relocate. Her mother is living with Gabrielle in an apartment in the next school district and her dad will be taking up a position as protocol advisor to the royal family of Schwerinborg, a tiny country nestled in the alps between Germany and Switzerland. Schwerinborg Or Lake Braddock High?
—michelle suttentapia
This book was cute enough, I guess, but there were things that really annoyed me...number one being Valerie. I just didn't like her character much at all because she just seemed like a jerk or as she considers herself at one point in the book, "shallow." I also didn't like how she kept comparing Georg to David, they are totally different people so of course they are going to be different in many ways! I just wanted to her get over David because he obviously didn't really care for her if he wouldn't hardly even talk to her. Despite all of that, I did like it and might find myself reading the rest of the series.
—Courtney
Read full review at The Fairytale Nerd.LOVE:This book has some seriously funny lines. Valerie's narration is honest and natural. I also liked the fact that the prince in this story is not depicted as the most handsome guy on earth. Valerie wasn't attracted to him outright as Valerie had another love interest at the beginning of the story. I believe that the prince grew on Valerie as they got to know each other better. I also like Prince Georg. He is smart, responsible, and "normal." In fact, this "normalcy" one of the things that made Valerie fall for him. He smokes when he is stressed. He does his homework as he knows he will be punished by his father if he doesn't do well in school. Also, the prince is charmingly aggressive in this book. He knows what he wants, and he knows how to get it.NO LOVE:While there are some seriously funny lines, there are also some lines that are... not. Trying too hard, maybe? Also, the book is short. Nothing serious happened in the story. It was all about getting the guy, and the curtains closed after that. It felt as if there is no conflict. The "real" conflict would probably appear in the sequel.MUSINGS:This is a very short read. It's light and fun! It should be read after reading books such as If I Stay. It would make you feel lighter after. I also think that some people might have a problem with the homosexuality issue in this book as not politically correct. (No, Valerie is not homophobic; she's just having a hard time adjusting with her mother's sexual orientation.) Also, if one would make a comparison with other YA relationships, the relationship between Valerie and the prince would fall under "puppy love." There are no major declarations of undying love.
—The Biblio Fairy
