When and where does the story seem to take place ? What clues in the story did you use to determine the place ( setting) and the time the story took place ?

Valentine Princess by Meg Cabot is set in a big city in America which is probably New York City. Mia Thermopolis, whose official identity is Princess Amelia, is the protagonist. Mia's royal family's kingdom is Genovia. Mia attends school in America and spends the summer in Genovia. Mia lives in a loft apartment with her mother, Helen, and her mother's live-in boyfriend, Mr. Gianini who also happens to be Mia's algebra teacher.

When the story opens, Mia is on a private jet on her way to Genovia, where she will spend the summer. She is writing a screenplay while she travels which is inspired by her own life and relationships. As she writes, she recalls a year and a half before when she spent her first Valentine's Day with her boyfriend, Michael Moscovitz.