When 12-year-old Hailey and her friends find out their favorite YouTube star. Collin Prince, is going to be at Comicpalooza, they form Pirates and Princesses, Inc. Pirates and Princesses, Inc. is the perfect combination of cosplaying as princesses and pirates and babysitting. Their business takes off so much, however, that Hailey’s stepsister gets upset that Hailey is taking their business. In addition, the group starts to get more babysitting gigs than they can handle. When the group agrees to take a gig to watch all the kids at a wedding for the adults, the gig seems the perfect way to earn enough money. However, everyone but Hailey ends up having commitments come up that they can’t get out of. Can Hailey figure out a way to keep her commitment to the wedding party? Will she earn enough money to get to meet Collin Prince? Can Hailey find a way to coexist with her stepsister? Humorous, engaging plot. The characters are realistic, likable, and inspirational. Fans of books that deal with friendship, problem solving, humor, and The Babysitters Club: Graphic Novel series will enjoy reading this book.

Very cute and entertaining tale that is perfect for middle grade.

Princesses, Inc. by Mari Manscuso is a middle grade novel that will also appeal to young adults. Twelve-year-old Hailey and her BFFs are all big fans of Collin Prince, a YouTube star. When the opportunity to meet him at a local Comic-Con comes up, the girls jump at the chance. The problem? The convention isn’t cheap—and the girls don’t have the money to go. But Hailey isn’t ready to give up just yet. In addition to meeting Collin at the convention, there is a young writer’s competition that she is determined to enter—and win. The girls dream up Princesses and Pirates, Inc., a babysitting service where the girls will dress up in costume to entertain their charges. Of course, they aren’t as prepared as they thought they would be to deal with bratty kids, scheming older siblings (who are less than thrilled that their own babysitting jobs have dried up), and trying to balance their new “jobs” with school. And more responsibilities means less time for Hailey to work on her contest entry. Will their plan to make it to Comic-Con pay off, or could their business end up as shipwrecked as the pirates they portray.

Princesses, Inc. is a nice story about girls taking a creative approach to reaching their goals. I liked the initiative, friendship, and passion of our main characters and think that on that level they set a good example for readers. They face problems, work toward a solution and despite stumbling blocks and some problems they found their way through, with a little help. I loved the humor and unpredictable nature of the babysitting jobs the girls undertook- as a mom and former babysitter I know that anything can, and will, happen. The balancing of activities and interests is something many tweens and teens face, and I liked the way it was tackled here. I also liked the realistic and relatable way the girls (and their families) are portrayed. I found it refreshing that the parents were parents, and said no but were not actively trying to stop the kids from following their own paths. This is a rare balance in children's literature, and I was incredibly glad to see it here. I think this is an inspiring and entertaining read for the middle grade audience.

Princesses, Inc. is a book that will appeal to readers that are already interested in youtube, comics, videogames, and writing. I liked the writing style and the initiative of the characters, but as a reader that is not overly fond of YouTube or fan fiction (but love the rest of the aspects of ComicCon) I just could not get fully engaged in certain aspects of the story.

Let's be honest: the plot and characters are totally unrealistic. The protagonist is absolutely rude to her stepmother in every interaction, lies about stupid things to all of her friends, and sets out to raise an unrealistic amount of money babysitting, a goal that she achieves far too easily, with parents paying them far more than they ask on multiple occasions. Barriers to their success come out of nowhere when they could have happened more organically. Characters are largely one dimensional. Entertaining enough for a single read.

I have not a single bad thing to say. I love the main group of characters, they are very likable and really your average group of girlfriends who have older sisters that torment them.
I love the idea behind the babysitting company they started up, and the experiences are just too funny!

I wish more kids were like these ones. The main character (Hailey) didn't throw a fit and disrespect her parent when she was told the parent would not pay for her Comic-palooza trip expenses. Instead, Hailey used her head and came up with a fun way to do it herself, alongside her friends!

I absolutely loved the ending of this book!
It did get a little sad there for awhile when the group took on too much and started having issues with other activities in their lives. Hailey tried to proceed without the rest of the group, and ended making quite the mess for herself - a good thing her sister and her sister's friends stepped in to help!

They decided to walk away from their babysitting gigs while taking on one last charity event for a hospital. In the end, they did succeed in reaching comic-palooza, gave the babysitting gigs to their older sisters and won the writing contest with their fan fiction story!
Really good book for 10-14 year olds

By the way, totally loved the part about the little boy who gets his hand stuck in the toilet - quite funny! The girls handled the situation well.

8 year old Review 5 stars all the way!
My 8 year old daughters Review:
I love this book. It made me laugh out loud. I love that Hailey is like me and loves video games and loves to write too! I can't wait to read her next book. My 8 year old daughter enjoyed the book and thought one day it would be fun to dress up to babysit.
Mommy Review:
Very cute book that kids between the ages 8-12 will enjoy with the fun themes and creative ideas the girls come up with to babysit and earn money for comic con.
The story shows the value of earning money and how hard work does pay off but only if you put 100% into the work.
Author is able to put in so much humor that parents will enjoy reading this story out loud. Kids will enjoy reading it because it keeps a good pace and doesn't slow down with "boring details"

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy