Princess Mia immediately begins where volume 8, Princess on the Brink, leaves off. Mia is obsessed with hearing back from Michael, her one true love, as he just left NYC for a year in Japan. Mia said (and did) harsh things to him before he left and she wanted to take it all back and try to make their relationship work. He finally contacts her, only to tell her the dreaded words no woman wants to hear: "Maybe we should just be friends." Mia is devastated by this and begins a downward spiral.

Her parents are concerned for her and make an appointment (against her will) to see a therapist. Not only does she have to deal with the breakup of her first real relationship, her best friend accuses her of stealing her boyfriend and is not speaking to her and someone has created a website to torture her: www.ihatemiathermopolis.com. Just when things start to go from bad to worse, her nemesis wants to be friends with her. Are her intentions real or is there a secret agenda?

Overall, I thought Princess Mia was a good installment for the series, however it wasn't my favorite. Mia does a lot of self-reflecting during her therapy sessions. She's starting to understand her role in her friendships (and just maybe not having Lilly as her best friend isn't such a bad thing after all) and realizes that life can still be good after experiencing a loss. ( )

Reading this series more or less in a row made it feel like Mia was never getting anywhere. While she'd do something courageous at the end of each book, by the start of the next book, she was back to the same place with her identical insecurities. But this book was different. Mia's relationship with Michael was been a constant theme through all of these books - and in this one they have no only broken up, he has left the country, his only presence is the occasional email. Instead, we see Mia wallowing in misery and apathy. Her friends either rally to her side, or think the worst and desert her. And the problem she face at the end of this book is not about attending prom, installing parking meters, or justifying snails - what she does will change her country and the role of her family forever.
This is also a sympathetic, if light, portrayal of teenage depression, and it's good to see this chirpy heroine face real difficulty, and eventually face her feelings through hard work and courage - it make it seem possible that she will face the future the same way.
And of course I am dying to know what happens in the next book when Michael comes back from Japan! ( )

2 3 4 5 ( )

Mia a teen ihas become a princess and got a boy friend and is going through high school problems and it is a very goog searies. ( )

Cabot, M. (2008). Princess Mia. New York: Hyper Teen.

Grade Levels: 7-12
Category: Realistic Fiction
Read-Alouds: pp. 1-13 (Recap of previous book and development of Mia); 126-146 (Movie night with Tina as well as a conversation with J.P.); 229-274 (Discovery of letter, fire at school, speech for Domina Rei, Mia’s decision, and ending).

Summary: In the final book of the series, Mia tries to deal with Michael, her boyfriend, breaking up with her before he left for Japan. Mia is definitely in denial and spends the first week in bed. Eventually Mia is forced to go to a therapist and talk about her problems and to try something new everyday. When Mia finds a letter left from her relative Amelie. This letter changes Mia’s life and forces her to re-examine her political future. Mia changes the future of Genovia, finds a new love, and goes shopping with her greatest enemy all before she graduates from high school.

Themes: A theme that has been present in the entire Princess Diaries series is that of teen relationships. Mia has had her long term relationship with Michael as well as her other off relationships with different guys. In this final book Mia realizes that Michael may not be the one for her and soon finds that another guy has been in love with her this entire time. Also because Mia is royalty she has the chance to change the future of her country. With her strength and willingness to tell the truth she single handedly changed the voice of power in her country. I would suggest any of the previous eight Princess Diaries books to accompany this text. Also it would be fun for students to compare this text to any of Meg Cabot’s other texts.

Discussion Questions:
What is the best part of Mia finding Amelie’s journal and letter?
Why do you think Mia doesn’t respond to Michael’s e-mails?
What is your favorite relationship within the text?

Reader Response: I have read the entire Princess Diaries series since they were released and have been a fan to Meg Cabot since. It is very sad that this is the last book in the series and there will be no more Princess Mia. I thought this was a wonderful book to end the series with. Mia finds an ancestor that she can relate to and decides that she can change the future of her country while she can still be listened to. Even though it may be frustrating for her relatives I admire that she fought for what she believed in. All in all a very successful way to end a much beloved series.