Princess on the Brink

If it wasn’t for the last fifteen pages of this book, I would have probably stopped reading the series as a whole. One of the things that I love about the first few books is that Mia is such a relatable character, and that’s why you want to keep rooting for her. By the time you get to book eight, though, she’s started to become more self-centered and whiny, and it really shows in this. The fact that her first reaction to learning about Michael’s leaving is “OMG YOU HATE ME DON’T YOU??” instead of actually listening to his reasons and thinking about their relationship. The endless waffling that goes on in her head also doesn’t help, since her whole goal is to get Michael to stay, instead of reminding him that “I don’t care what people think of our relationship, I love you.” But the real wallbanger for me is Mia going ON AND ON about losing “my precious gift!” There’s such a derailment of her character over the whole sex question in this series, particularly the emphasis on losing one’s virginity. At the very least, several other characters point out how stupid the whole idea of “your precious gift” and keeping one’s self pure. (To quote her mother, “It’s just sex.”) I’m also not a fan of JP’s derailing into an alternate love interest—I liked him a lot better in the previous book, but his increasingly obvious attempts to get Mia just irked me. Like I said, I would have stopped reading the series if it wasn’t for the fact that Mia wised up and realized that she was being a horrible and selfish person to her friends. A little disappointed that this happens near the very end, right as I wish to reach into the book and smack her, but at least she realizes her flaws and tries to redeem them. If anything I really liked about this is Michael—he feels at times the only rounded and mature character in the whole series. (And he also reveals that he’s not perfect either! I love the fact that he has casual sex and has no hang-ups about it!)

In one of my other reviews, I mentioned that one of my big problems with long running series is the tendency for main characters to default to their original personalities even after several books of character development. These last three Princess Diaries books are a glaring example of this trait and it really grates on me.

(Also, the random screenplay excerpts really bothered me, if only for giving the long-time readers information that we already know. *sigh*)
( )

Biggest figgin' drama queen ever. She winds up in the nurse's office for mental breakdowns more than anyone, real or fake, I've ever heard of before. And the vast majority of her issues she brings on herself. I feel so bad for poor Lars having to put up with her shit constantly. I agree with her for being mad at Michael for being so lackadaisical about sex, but, as usual, she made things a hundred times worse than they needed to be. The only way this series can end decently for me is A)Michael and Mia NEVER get back together (they're horrible for each other), B)Mia winds up with JP (unless he becomes scuzzy as I fear will happen) and c) Lilly gets punched right in her pug nose. ( )

Easy read, almost finished it in one day. Meant for young adults but still enjoyable for older persons, especially if you like "chic flicks" or Disney themed "G" rated books. ( )

2011-10-04

Mia continues to feel pressure to have sex with her boyfriend Michael, but just isn't ready. When he announces that he'll be heading to Japan to work on a robotic, surgical arm, Mia wonders if giving in to sex will keep him home?

With the start of this book, I felt like the series as a whole headed into the climax of its arc (no pun intended there). With the tension between Mia and Michael, we begin to wonder how things will work out for Mia, not in the short term, but more in the future.

I really enjoyed this book and felt that it was smart, funny, and realistic to teens today. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and had to quickly read the last two once I finished! ( )