Princess on the Brink

I have weird feelings about this one. It's a transition book. I know I love the ones to come, and the following events (though I hate them.) I love the ones before. But this one? It's just sad and cringey. Well, Mia is sad and cringey. But you know what? That's so real. She screws up.

Thank you to people finally calling her out on the Precious Gift BS though because I really can't with that though. Legit, that might be my least favourite aspect of this series.

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After Mia submits a writing piece in which her father tries to tell her she's a princess, and then ninjas come in and attach them, and Mia saves them all:

"F. Mia, while this is highly imaginative, in no way does it satisfy the assignment, which was to describe a beloved pet. -C. show more Martinez."

I'm not crying you're crying. show less

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 show more 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*) show less

Just as I was getting all snarky about the standard formula for these books, the carpet is pulled out from underneath my feet! This did not end as I expected at all. I am very keen to read on -I was getting tired, but my interest is once again engaged. It is possible that Mia may just grow up a little bit.

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.

In this installment, Mia is still a mess - which is kind of the fun of reading these books. As she overthinks everything, all of it falls apart around her and she has to pick up the pieces, learn to deal, or let it all get to her and she does many of these.

If you have not read the other books in the series, this review might be a bit confusing.

Mia is still acting like a child in the beginning of this book when she realizes that she is put in the wrong classes, but really she is over-reacting, as always, and I think that she needs to realize it is all really for the best - sadly she doesn't. I found this to be annoying, Mia is privileged and normally has her problems solved for her by the help of others, but she was really whiny about show more this and just because you think you are great at something doesn't mean you shouldn't want to start at the beginning.

The the book got a little sad, Mia is trying to deal with the fact that Michael wants to better himself and move internationally to work on a project - and it is sad because it does not really click for her that he is doing it for both himself and to better himself for her.

As most these books are, this one again was funny, but as we get further into the series I wanted and expected so see more growth out of Mia and did not get a lot of that. This plot was much more active than a lot of the others though, so I give it props for that. show less

Je suis un peu partagée par Michael dans celui-ci. Autant partir pour prouver qu’il est digne de Mia c’est une raison assez noble. Autant j’ai eu l’impression tenace qu’il lui mettait la pression pour qu’ils passent à l’étape supérieure et ça m’a un peu déçue.
Je pense qu’on ressent pour la première fois leur différence d’âge qui leur donne des objectifs à court et long terme trop différents…

Reviewed by Andie Z. for TeensReadToo.com

It's the beginning of Mia's junior year, but so far, things are not going as planned. For starters, Mia may have managed to pass Algebra and Geometry, but now she has to deal with Pre-Calculus. And she's also totally lost in Chemistry, even though she now has two lab partners instead of just one. Lilly has also decided to nominate Mia for student body president. Again. And even though Mia has tried to explain that she doesn't want it, as we all know, once Lilly's mind is made up, there's no changing it.

On top of all that, Michael has some interesting news for Mia. He has the opportunity to do some more work on the robotic arm he's been developing that could make it possible to perform show more closed-chest surgery. Great, right? Wrong. In order to do this research, Michael is moving to Japan. For a year. Or more. And he won't be coming back over holiday breaks.

Mia's world seems to be falling apart around her, and she can't understand how a year that was supposed to have been so great can have turned into such a nightmare so quickly. But then, with some unexpected help from Grandmere, Mia comes up with a plan. One that might just convince Michael to stay in New York, if only she has the guts to go through with it.

In this eighth installment of the PRINCESS DIARIES series, Mia finds herself having to grow up and deal with more adult situations, and it's a refreshing change from previous books. I have to admit, this series did seem to be going on for a very long time, but personally, with this book, Meg Cabot has managed to recapture my interest. Mia is still the same princess, entertaining and somewhat naive, but her voice seems to have matured, and the book has lost a lot of the bubbly, pre-teen feel.

Overall, PRINCESS ON THE BRINK is a great addition to the series, sure to please old and new fans, and there is no doubt that it will leave readers clamoring for more. show less