Princess (Apparently) 

About this book

Della's mum disappeared in mysterious never-heard-of again circumstances when she was a baby and she was bought up by her white dad and nan. Della’s mum was Black, beautiful and clever, that’s all she knows, and Della has missed her all her life. We meet Della when she’s 16 in the sixth form of a posh school, which is paid for by a mysterious benefactor. It looks like she may be expelled after the protest she organised against NHS funding cuts gets on TV – proving she broke the rules on leaving the school premises. But instead, a series of odd events mean she is whisked off to the (fictional) Caribbean Island of St Antonique, with her best friend Ollie, all paid by the St Antonique Royal family no less! The secrets keep unravelling and the title of the book strongly hints at the big one. Yes, Della is a Princess! She’s in love with two boys (one of them is her friend Ollie) and can’t choose between them. There’s also a textbook evil uncle.  

Della is the Princess everyone needed in their lives, she’s Black, she’s lovely, she’s clever and this book is joyful and gripping. It has a lot on fashion, hair (lots of fantastic descriptions of Black hairstyles which Della had not had access to before owing to being raised by her white family members), romance, exploring family relationships, and what to do with your life – the teenage concerns.  

It’s frothy but with a big heart – and interesting themes of ecological and social justice too, connecting to people’s rights to healthcare. Think of a 2020’s version of the TV series Gossip Girl mixed with The Princess Diaries. And although Della is a sixth former and in love, it never gets beyond a kiss, so the book totally works for 11 plus. There is use of social media in the story but all by over 16s.