To Catch a Prince

Title: To Catch a Prince & The Frog Prince
Author: Gillian McKnight
Year Published: 2006

Pages: 422

Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Price: Rp. 99.000 (Times Bookstore)

As I've promised, a review in English for English books.

This book consists of two stories: To Catch a Prince and The Frog Prince, all about the summer holidays of two stepsisters, Helene Masterson and Alexis Worth (MasterWorth sisters). To Catch a Prince told the story when the girls were 16 years old and went to London, England for their holiday and The Frog Prince took the set of one year later, in Paris, France.

Helene and Alexis had been stepsisters for 8 years since Helene's mother married Alexis' father. Both were very different, but managed to be good stepsisters and friends.

Helene wasn't gorgeous like Alexis, but she sparkled. Her hair ran in messy curls down her back. She was as punk-rock as Alexis was preppy. While Alexis wore cashmere sweaters and Juicy jeans with pointed boots, Helene wore combat boots with vintage dresses. While Alexis had added the most perfect tritonal highlights to her black-as-night hair, Helene managed to turn the tub, the dog, and a swatch of her tawny hair a bright, bubblegum pink. (page 6)

The other difference was that Helene was always the brain and loved history and art so much whether Alexis was always the fashionable one. Helene loved to go to museum whether Alexis really loved to shop.

To Catch a Prince

When the MasterWorth sisters were 16, Helene got an internship on National Gallery London and the sisters flew to London. Alexis, who had planned to shop in London but later got a cool internship on British Vogue, found out that besides of the internship, her sister also planned to meet Prince William, the boy of her dream. Somehow, Alexis and Helene then were on a bet to get Prince William's heart. As they slowly operate their plan, they also met two best buddies, Laszlo and Simon, who were an Eton students, the same school as Prince William. The girls then used the boys to get closer to the prince, without any clue that the boys were really fallen in love with them and would be hurt as soon as they knew they were getting used.

The Frog Prince

One year had passed since their adventure in London and now Helene missed Laszlo (who suddenly M.I.A by not replying Helene's emails) so much when Alexis hated herself so much for being so "shallow", as she coincidentally heard her father saying so to her stepmother. Alexis then learned Zen-Buddhism to calm her feeling. One day, two telegrams came. One from Helene's father who lived in Paris with his new wife, an actress named Margot Morganne, invited Helene to have a summer holiday in Paris. One from Alexis' mother, invited her to join her mother on a cruise in Greece. Both made the girls anxious especially Helene, who felt that she wouldn't be able to get along with her new stepmom. Alexis then gave Helene a mission, to catch Parisian Prince, Daniel D'Artois, an heir of the famous French fashion line, Vedette.
Just one day after Helene went to Paris, Alexis got another telegram, saying that her mom canceled the trip. With broken feeling, she also went to Paris to meet Helene.
Helene's feeling was so miserable when she met her new stepmom. Margot always looked at her like she was an alien and she hated her so much. Helene thought that Alexis' arrival would make her holiday fun but then she found out that Alexis clicked so much with her stepmother and soon, Margot gave Alexis an internship in Vedette, which means Alexis tried to sabotage her prince-to-be-catch again (after Prince William). The girls then had a fight.


This is such a fun light summer reading (if only i read it when i had a holiday). I always love teen-lit because of their fun and almost-dreamy stories. And that's why i love this book so much! Rich girls with unlimited money to use, adventurous summer holidays, cool internships, romantic love stories.. Really wish I could be one of them.Reading this book gave me a feeling of watching one of the Olsen Twin's holiday movie. Always adventurous, always crazy, and always make me envy. Kkk...

I really love the second story a lot more than the first, because it has more depth than the first one. The first one, To Catch a Prince, is too cliche. Especially Prince William part. I know that this book was written in 2006 and that now, the prince had already got married and half bald. Not so cool anymore. And the girls seems like fighting about something not important at all. Really, what's with "William is mine!" "No, he's mine!" stuffs? And the ending.. I don't know how the prince himself will react after reading that part. On the other hand, the second story is great. It's about fixing a relationship with the parent who had left you and about to trust your best sister/friend. I also love how Alexis finally find her right place, where people think she's not just the pretty chick but also has talent. 

The book is written well, in understandable English (yeah, because it is written on the back cover "Ages 12 up" hahaha...), and has nice cover. Pastel colors and cute cursive fonts never fail to attract me.

By the way, a nice quote from Alexis:

The Buddha believed whenever a person enters your life, you should welcome them and enjoy whatever it is they bring, even if it's only for a short time. Then, when it's time for them to go away, you shouldn't take it as a rejection, because when a person leaves your life, it has nothing to do with you. It's simply time for them to leave. (page 360)

Final verdict:
RECOMMENDED.. for teenagers *cough* But please remember, this book was published in 2006, the time where Prince William and Lindsay Lohan still very popular. It's a bit out of date right now.