YA New York

I honestly don’t think I’ll ever stop wanting more of Princess Mia Thermopolis, who emerged in 2000 as an awesome vegetarian/die-hard liberal/Greenwich Village-dwelling teenager and completely unwilling heir to the throne of Genovia.

Which is why this book left me a little, you know, misty. It’s the final installment of Meg’s series, and it takes place almost two years after volume nine, Princess Mia, just as our awesome heroine is about to graduate from high school.

Her friendship with Lana Weinberger (!!!), formerly the evil wench who tortured her when she was naught but a nerdy, gawky girl, has thrived. Indeed, Lana has become part of Mia’s pack, while Lilly Moscovitz is still not quite a friend. Furthermore, Mia is still dating J.P., aka the guy who hates when they put corn in the chili. And Michael, Mia’s long-lost love? To her knowledge, he’s still off in Japan.

The future looks bleak. Like, you know, Mia is going to end up with chili-corn guy, not friends with Lilly, and to top it all off, her father may lose the election for prime minister of Genovia to his own cousin!

Okay, but down to the nitty gritty: The book is well-written (of course), and super-fun (of course), and generally everything we’ve come to expect from the legendary Meg Cabot.

… But what can I say? I want more. I want more Mia. I will always want more Mia, because the girl is seriously awesome. (Although I’ve yet to read her romance novel, Ransom My Heart, but it’s next on my to-buy list.)

Seriously? I think we all sort of have to mourn the end of an era here. Meg has written lots of other awesome books, and she’s got lots more coming. Still, my dear friend Jami B. introduced Meg’s writing to me shortly after I’d left college because I’d gotten sick. She sent me a copy of the freshly minted Princess Diaries, along with a plastic tiara (covered in pink feathers and pink rhinestones). Jami insisted I’d enjoy the novel best if I wore the tiara while reading the book, and she was right. I think I still have that thing in one of my “memory boxes” somewhere.

Suffice it to say, Meg’s writing has made dark times more bearable for me for a good eight years now. When I’m really down in the dumps, I whip one of Meg’s books off the shelf I have reserved for her writing, and then I draw myself a nice rose-scented bubble bath. It never fails.

So yes. I’ll miss Mia’s crazy antics quite a bit. Almost enough to suggest that you shouldn’t read Forever Princess until you’ve prepared yourself emotionally. But honestly? Who can wait. Go dig in. And don’t forget the bubble bath. I personally recommend JASON Cosmetics rosewater and glycerine bath gel. Grab the book, grab a bottle of JASON bath gel wherever organic cosmetics are sold, and hop into the tub.

Then, of course, come back and tell me what you think.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 13th, 2009 at 8:07 am and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.