This book came to me via two friends. I didn't quite understand the title. Hometown seems to fit because Cari is coming back to the town in which she grew up, but I don't see Cari as a "princess". Yes, she did at one time buy glamorous clothes and shoes and get herself into credit trouble doing so, but that's behind her. She doesn't act entitled. In fact, I would label Bridget as more of a "princess" stereotype than Cari. I can only hope that Bridget eventually discovers that things don't matter as much as a person's character and that she changes her life for the better.

I'm still not sure whether Cari's father felt caught between his two families or if he truly was taken advantage of by Doreen and then either didn't have the energy to get out of the situation or his belief system made him stay in a marriage he really didn't want. Cari seems to feel that her father sided with Bridget more than with her and that he drove her away, telling her not to return until her attitude changed. So Cari has imagined that her father, her stepmother and her step-siblings have all lived a fairy tale life together without her. Yet, Doreen and her children all say that Cari's father treated them badly after Cari left--perhaps blaming them or their attitudes for her leaving. If it were just Doreen and Bridget, I would perhaps chalk it up to bad feelings about Cari, but Brady seems to say it too, just not in as vindictive a fashion. I suspect the truth lies somewhere between the two viewpoints.

Brady: I think he felt that if he got his mom what she wanted, he might gain her approval. Unfortunately, Doreen seems the type to be fickle with her approval. Or at least he might have felt that if his mother had more financial security, she might not ride him so much. ( )