Customer Reviews

Princess on the Brink (The Princess Diaries, Vol. 8)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I've enjoyed every book in this series so far and will continue to read to the end, but this book changed my mind about ever sharing this series with my daughters. Mia is as sweet, innocent and neurotic as ever. In this book she acknowledges a bit more selfishness than usual (she hopes to prevent Michael from pursuing the development of his life-saving invention since it would entail him moving to Japan for over a year) but, considering her young age (16) and her general insecurity this is forgivable. What appalled me was not any diminishment in the quality of writing but in the attitude toward sexual relationships that is revealed in this episode.

Mia's attitude has been that sex is something special, to be shared with someone you love. Sex for the first time - losing your virginity - is especially important to her. She wants it to be not only to the person who will hopefully be her life-long love, but she wants the event, itself, to be extra-special. NOTE: even romantic Mia thinks saving oneself for marriage is ridiculous. Her idea of a "special" night goes no further than the Prom.

The response to this attitude from most of her friends, her boyfriend and every responsible adult in this story (and even Grandmere) is that Mia's attitude is wrong. It is, at best, a sign of her immaturity and at worse a "judgmental" attitude that is crazy and that puts into jeopardy an otherwise healthy, happy, potentially life-long romance.

[Spoiler Alert]

It turns out that Mia's boyfriend, Michael, lost his virginity before he even started dating Mia (2 years before this episode). He lost it to a girl whom he told Mia he was not even dating. He insists this wasn't a lie since he and this other girl weren't going out, they were only having sex. They had no special feelings for each other at all and, in fact, the other girl had a boyfriend (not Michal) at the time. Michael sees nothing at all wrong with this and can't understand why Mia gets upset. It turns out that no one else in Mia's world - especially not the "wise" adults she turns to for advice - see anything much wrong with Michael's attitude - only with Mia's. It is clear by the end of this book (which leaves you on a hook, awaiting the next book) that Mia's "foolish, juvenile" romanticism has possibly destroyed this important and, supposedly, healthy love relationship in her young life.

What is never asked is this: has Michael really been faithful to Mia all these years? Mia still assumes he has but, given Michael's cavalier attitude toward sex and the fact that he saw nothing wrong with his first girl cheating on her boyfriend to do him, she actually has no reason to trust him. She doesn't think to ask and it is clear he won't tell if not asked directly with every possible word of the question clearly defined. Would Michael even think he had done anything wrong if he had cheated on Mia, as long as he didn't fall in love with anyone else while they were dating? Furthermore, given their upcoming separation (with him moving to Japan for over a year) is there any reason at all for him to even consider staying faithful to her, even if they remain "a couple" over the distance?

Instead of asking these legitimate questions, the conflict evolves to encourage the reader to want Mia to throw off her juvenile fantasies and beg Michael's forgiveness for her overreaction to his expression of reasonable, modern attitudes. After all, he has done more than enough by being patient with her silly values all these years. Isn't it time she grew up?

Personally, I find myself regretting that these books are so well-written and enjoyable. Two generations of Americans have already suffered much unhappiness directly traceable to the attitudes and morals encouraged by this book. I would hate to see a third generation encouraged to repeat the same disastrous mistakes.

With the 8th in the Princess Diaries series, Meg Cabot gives Mia much more complex problems to deal with than in her previous installments. Mia, fresh from a summer in Genovia, arrives at school a junior, ready to face a new year, put student government behind her, and continue her romance with Michael. Oh, if only life could go as planned! First and foremost, Michael hits Mia with the news that he's going to Japan for a year to work on a surgical robotic arm he's invented; while Mia understands this is good news for Michael, she's devastated at the thought of not seeing him for an entire year. Then she finds out that Lily intends for her to continue in her role as President of the student government, and she's enrolled in both precalculus and chemistry, neither of which she understands. What else can go wrong? Well, how about Michael admitting that it will be a good thing for him to go to Japan because of what he and Mia are not doing....having sex. What's a princess to do? Mia hatches a plan to keep Michael in the States; will it succeed or is she doomed to a year of loneliness?

This installment has themes which are more grown-up than the previous ones; Mia's uncertainty about giving away her "Precious Gift" (which, like Michael, made me nuts every time I read those words) and her decision to try to manipulate Michael into staying put this one on a different level. This one is full of teenage angst and emotional outbursts that will undoubtedly disturb some readers but adds to the reality of the situations (such as they are). Once again, I found myself irritated with Lilly and wondering why on earth Mia puts up with her, and I found myself enjoying Tina's antics and also getting to know J.P. Cabot leaves us on a major cliffhanger that will have us all running for the bookstore the minute the next in the series is released. Overall, this book, while set in a very compressed amount of time, packs a wallop and is fast reading. I wouldn't precisely say it was a fun read, simply because the subject matter, while vintage Mia, is definitely more mature and heart-wrenching. If at times you want to strangle Mia, rest assured that you're not alone. Recommended as a worthy installment in the series!

Mia enters her junior year of high school ready for a fresh start without the chaos of her sophomore year, ready to take on life with everything settled down for once. Unfortunately, Mia's life can never be easy and Michael breaks her the heart-breaking news that he's going to Japan to develop a robotic surgical invention that may be able to save the lives of others.
From this point on, SPOILER WARNING, and also a warning that I'm about to give this book a scathing review. I love most of the Princess Diaries series-especially the first three books where it was perfectly normal for Mia to be having chaotic breakdowns and insecurities, but now that she's supposed to be a junior in high school this is getting a BIT old, and by a bit, I mean at some points in this book I wanted to throw it out of my bedroom window. To begin with, how does Mia not notice that JP is hitting on her? How? It's so obvious Meg Cabot could only have made it better by writing it in giant pink letters across every page. The major problem I had with this though, was Mia's incredible stupidity when it came to Michael.
This series started its downward slope, in my opinion, as soon as Michael wanted to have sex with Mia. It's so hard to remember that she's sixteen, and by that I mean that she acts like she's twelve. I agree with Mia's decision to not have sex, because if she's not ready she doesn't have to, and there are just oh-so-many things she is not ready for. Like the truth, for instance, when Michael tells Mia about how he didn't save his "Precious Gift" for her at all, that it was randomly given to Judith, Mia's arch enemy until Michael chose her in the earlier books. I can't say that in the same situation most girls would freak out and get angry, but BREAKING UP WITH HIM? Someone seems to have forgotten that her boyfriend is in college, that he's older than her, that he has more experience, and though for a minute it was disturbing that he didn't seem to think much of it, I remember Michael's attitude towards Mia in the previous books and know that Mia and him becoming intimate would be entirely different and meaningful.
Which is exactly why I am sick of this spoiled-brat little girl, who hasn't developed in the eight books published about her one bit. She moans and complains about her Creative Writing grades when I can't exactly see anything special about her writing at all, she forms a childish plan to keep her boyfriend from going to Japan to do what he really loves, and if I have to read the phrase "doing it" or "precious gift" from the mouth of this pathetic high school student one more time, my eyes will start bleeding.
The writing is still classic Princess Diaries, the rest of the characters keep to their personalities (although I wish Lilly's would change), but the drama is a little too out of control, and personally, I hope Mia and Michael remain broken up because there is a promising hope of JP in the future, although, having read enough books like this, I'm sad to have to say:
"Like that will ever happen."

Finally, in the eighth book of a ten-book series, Mia Thermopolis again gets a honest-to-goodness conflict. It's been a long, long time. Mia's has dealt with plenty of anxieties, but most of them have been minor problems she's blown all out of proportion. Not since she learned she's a princess and had her whole future (and present) made over accordingly has she had to grapple with a real life-changing problem.

In Princess on the Brink Mia's boyfriend, Michael Moscovitz, tells her that he has the opportunity of a lifetime. He intends to go to Japan to produce a working model of the robotic arm he invented for a knife-free surgical procedure. Michael wants to prove - to the world and Mia's grandmother - that he's worthy of being a princess's intended. But that will require a long stay abroad. Mia panicks at the idea of being sans Michael for so long and comes up with the bright idea of tossing her virginity to him as an incentive to stay stateside.

The story takes place over a very short period, less than a week, from the time Michael tells Mia he's going to Japan to the time he actually leaves. During this period Mia also starts school so she's also worrying about her Chemisty and Pre-calculus classes and the pressure Lilly is again asserting on her to be in student government. She also has a creative writing teacher who fails to appreciate Mia's innate creativity and style (i.e., Mia's failure to follow assignment directions).

I LOVED this series when it first debuted, but the premise here is growing pretty thin. Mia's high-school worries and escapades simply cannot support the weight of so many books (8 so far and a number of shorter half-books). Her constant pop culture references, so cute and endearing at first, have also grown annoying. Or perhaps it's me - I've unplugged myself from cable and magazines and can't really relate to much of what Mia throws out there to explain her own worldview and perspective.

Also annoying is Mia's constant reference to her "Precious Gift" - that's her virginity to you and me. She gets this term from a True-Love-Waits-type book her friend Tina leant her. It's typical of Mia to over-romanticize anything, but she uses the term so frequently it deserves its own acronym - PG - if only to spare trees. Mia's willingness to set aside her previous sexual timeline in order to manipulate Michael tells a great deal about where she is in her personal development. What's best for Michael and the relationship in general is the last thing on her mind. This is typical teenage behavior, but Mia has never seemed so Machiavellian (albeit clumsily so) as she does here.

Many of the recurring characters are beginning to seem like cardboard cutouts of themselves marching around Mia. Lilly, in particular, seems less like a real person and more like a generic-but-cruel blowhard. Why Mia is still friends with her is beyond understanding. Of course, Mia is clueless as to the motivations of most of the people surrounding her. Watching both Kenny Showalter and J.P. zero in for the kill when they learn of Michael's departure is painful to read - Mia is so oblivious.

The book ends with everything about as unresolved as it can be. One of the series's underlying conflicts - how Mia will deal with the difference in maturity, particularly sexual maturity, between herself and Michael - finally comes to a head here, and Mia handles it in the most immature way possible, screwing up a number of her relationships in the process. Getting Michael out of the picture temporarily might have been a good idea a few books ago, but now it just seems ill-timed. The next book will no doubt be concerned with Mia's rebound, and then the last book with their reunion. That may be romantic in the final pages, but is Cabot going to shove two school years into two books? When it's taken 8 books to get to the beginning of Mia's junior year of high school? At this point, given Mia's shallow self-absorption, I think Michael would be within his rights to cut and run. And that's a painful thing for me to write about a series I once enjoyed so much.

In the latest installment, Princess on the Brink, we skip ahead to the beginning of Mia's junior year where things are looking up for her... that is, until they come crashing down. Not only does Mia have to deal with student body government again and suffer through another one of Mrs. Martinez's "biased" English classes, but she's got to contend with even harder math and science classes, and to make it even worse -- Michael's leaving for Japan!

Top this off with Mia finally coming to a decision on the S-E-X issue (with rather disastrous results), JP showing us more than ever where his true intentions lie, and a Grandmere who is even more demanding and entertaining than ever -- and you have one unforgettable addition to your Princess Diaries collection.

I really, truly enjoyed reading Princess on the Brink, but I've noticed that a lot of people are voicing their disappointment with its cliffhanger ending and Mia's unresolved problems with Michael. However, it is precisely those things that make this one of the best and most memorable Princess Diaries books to date. Meg Cabot breaks away from her typical "Mia has a problem, Mia frets, Mia's problem is resolved by the end of the book" formula. In this volume, Mia doesn't have the perfect plan to fix everything; she doesn't have all the answers. In fact, a lot of her actions in the book are immature, unhinged, and even foolish -- revealing her to be your average 16 year-old girl muddling through life. It just goes to show now more than ever that being a princess will not fix everything for you.

I found it a refreshing change for Meg Cabot to present obstacles that were not magically overcome by the end of the book. It shows that not all of life's problems can be neatly wrapped up by the last page, and it makes me look forward to the next volume even more. I just wish that it weren't so far away!

I have been following the series from the beginning and must confess that it is getting lamer and lamer...Cabot should have ended it when it was hilarious and lovely with Michael doing his real guy thing and Mia doing her charming panic highschool thing. Now we see a nasty side with all of the editors saying "it is okay, it is realistic" Well who in the hell wants it to be realistic when this is the realism they are shoving at us?! This ending alters the canon and the history of Michael/Mia when Michael recounts the truths behind some of his previous actions...these truths not only ruin his character amiablity and this volume of the canon they also RUIN vol.3 in which these truths supposedly happened. Thanks alot Meg Cabot. You Suck. I would have prefered it if she just killed somebody. She turned a funny charming teenage love story into a blundering soap opera. Bloody brilliant. I won't read the next book and I will pretend this one doesn't even exist.

As soon as I finished this book, I wanted to go back in time and tell myself not to read it until IX was out. The ending doesn't feel like an ending; it leaves you confused, uncomfortable, and incredibly annoyed with some of the characters. I am willing to reserve my final judgement until the next book comes out, but Meg better have something brilliant planned to bring back the usual joy found in the Princess Diaries. Mia's immaturity reached a breaking point for me in this book, and I hope she can grow up a bit in the next book.

My advice: if you are sincerly engrossed in the lives of Mia, Michael, Lilly and JP, do yourself a favor and wait until at least November to read Princess of the Brink. I wish someone had told me that, because having finished it, waiting a year for the next installment is torture.

As much as i love the princess diaries books, this one left me very unsettled. Michael leaving for Japan wasn't so bad in the begining, when I thought that everything would work out like it usually does in these books. I was wrong, and at the end of the book things happen that I never thought would happen, and it left me very unhappy. I love the rest of the books, but this one just left me uncontent. I guess I have to hand it to the author though, she does know how to leave us with a cliffhanger. I may not have liked this one but I will definatly read the next book to see if she redeems herself, by doing what I think all non JP lovers want.

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 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.

Reviewed by: Andie Z.

My granddaughter check this book out at the middle school library. What a shock that we got as we were reading this book. Starting on page 6 with the girls passing notes about whether Lilly "touch it" under or over the boys pants. It went on from there, as having sex with a boy before marriage so you can tell if he is gay. Give me a break.
This book is a fun and easy read(4 grade level) for adults, but no way is it anything like the Disney version of Princess Diaries