cover image To Catch a Prince

To Catch a Prince

Gillian McKnight, . . S&S, $14.95 (192pp) ISBN 978-0-689-87733-9

This fluffy-but-fun debut novel follows two 16-year-old American girls on their first trip to London. "Punky, gregarious" Helene and model-perfect Alexis are stepsisters and best friends. Helene has landed a hard-won summer internship at London's National Gallery, and at the last minute Alexis snags an internship at British Vogue. On the plane over, the girls discover that they both have a crush on Prince William and make a bet to see who will win his heart—or at least a kiss from the royal lips. Pining after this princely bird in the bush, the girls persuade themselves to ignore two would-be swains right at hand: dishy Simon and adorably goofy Laszlo (who, like William, are graduates of famed public school Eton). A subplot, involving the girls' rescue of their sexually precocious younger cousin from a sleazy older boy, leads the girls on a whirlwind tour of London must-sees: a shopping trip to Harrods, the street markets of Camden, Madame Tussaud's, the area around Neal's Yard (where "fashionable shoppers [buy] Pumas in shades that wouldn't be seen in America for another year"), among others. For one sparkling scene, the author invents the budding fashionista's equivalent to platform nine and three quarters: an exclusive shop, located in a secret nook, filled with ball gowns once worn by celebs, that can only be accessed by entering the Neal's Yard Cheese Store, reciting a string of cheese names and then passing muster with the persnickety, eccentric proprietor. Ages 10-14. (June)