Customer Reviews

Princess Diaries, Volume X: Forever Princess

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I began reading The Princess Diaries when I found the book at my sixth grade school book fair. Now, I am a freshman in college and I have read every PD book during those many years. This was a classic Princess book. Yes, it was predictable, but more importantly, it was heartwarming, which is the reason that I pick up Meg Cabot books in the first place. Mia and I have learned so much over the years, and now she gets her very own happy ending. I for one, could not be happier.

It's been nearly two years since Princess Mia declared Genovia a democracy, and in that time she's been very busy--too busy to write in her journal. She's had her senior project to work on, her father's campaign for prime minister to worry about, princess lessons to take, and her senior year to finish. But now, just a week before her graduation, Mia's facing some issues. She's been telling a lot lies still, and they're threatening to blow up in her face. Michael has returned from Japan, making for many awkward situations. And her biggest secret of all? Ransom My Heart, her four hundred page senior project--that's actually a romance novel. It's going to be a hectic week for Genovia's princess...

Forever Princess, the final book in the Princess Diaries series, is full of the same smart, independent, and fiercely passionate princess we've all known and loved, but with a bit more maturity and wisdom that has been a long time in coming. The fairy tale elements of the series that have sucked countless girls in are ever present in Forever Princess--the ball gowns and parties, hi-tech gadgets and name dropping to name a few. Throughout it all, Mia is kept down to earth by her flaws and outbursts and true-to-life emotions that readers can identify with. One of the main conflicts of the story is Mia's love life, and readers will root for her as she discovers what it means to truly be in a healthy and happy relationship, and fights for what she wants. Themes of courage, independence, and standing up for yourself are also evident, and Cabot presents them in a convincing style as Mia struggles with the decisions she must make, and her journey through high school and all of her experiences culminate, giving us a Mia who is strong and sure of herself. With a satisfying, optimistic, romantic, and slightly cheesy conclusion fit for a princess, Cabot ensures that Mia goes out with a bang.

While reading over the other reviews on this book, I somehow felt alone in the fact that I was immensely disappointed with the whole "I was writing a book so I couldn't write in my journal for two years" plot theme. I felt cheated, especially since I've been reading this series faithfully since I was 13 and am now 22. Couldn't she have spaced the books better so as to cover more time in each volume? I know Cabot has been writing this series for awhile, but I feel as though the fans who have been there since the beginning deserved a bit better than this.
Also, with this whole series I've felt more and more that the books were becoming more adult themed than necessary with each volume published. Call me old fashioned, but when did all teenagers have to become sex-obsessed? I felt that the last few volumes were a little too focused on that kind of material.
Also, in the first and second book, Mia made lots of lists, witty ones which never failed to make me laugh. But more and more I've felt that the comedy factor in the book was pushed out to accommodate for Mia's ever expanding romantic life and social calendar.
In short, I feel as though the series could have survived a few more books. I feel like these books are an old friend, and I don't want them to end! Not yet anyway, and definitely not the way it did.

If you have read the previous books in the series and enjoyed them, you'll love Forever Princess. If you hate "cliche and predictable" endings that are obviously going to happen in a ROMANCE book, then don't waste your time reading it let alone reviewing it.

Bottom line: I've been reading these books religiously for years and I think this was my absolute favorite, expect for maybe Princess in Love. Yes, you know how it's eventually going to end. But honestly, the events leading up to how it ended weren't exactly what I thought they would be. I was surprised by quite a few of the things that happened. Some parts were actually suspenseful and I literally could not put the book down - I read it in one sitting, only stopping to take bathroom breaks. I'm only disappointed that the series has ended!

Some can complain that this last intallment was predicable, but I say: so what? It ended they way it was supposed to end and I am happy about it. I enjoyed the book very much, the ending was true to previous books in the series and extremely satisfying (unlike another YA series: Breaking Dawn anyone?).

*SPOILERS*

After reading the last few books in the Princess Diaries series, I admit I was quiet annoyed with Meg Cabot. Though it was clear that Mia would be with Michael in the end - simply because Meg Cabot enjoys her happy endings, which is not necessarily a bad thing - I found the J.P. plot to be utterly frustrating. I admit, at the end of book 9, I was ready to pull my hair out.

I, of course, knew all along that J.P. was a snake. He flirted with Mia outrageously, even when she was with Michael...and the second she broke up with him, he was right there, "shaking his head" at those who were supposedly "flirting" with her...in other words, he took advantange of her when she was vulnernable. Let's face it: Mia's not the brightest bulb in the drawer when it comes to seeing what's in front of her.

Forever Princess, though predictable and somewhat frustrating at times, kept me on the edge of my seat. I recieved the book - after ordering it via Amazon, of course - at 4 this afternoon, and I finished it a little bit after 9. Even though I knew Mia would get her fairy tale ending, I just couldn't put the book down...I was at the point of NEEDING to know what happened, simply because we were left with a glimmer of suspense - and I say glimmer because it wasn't quite suspense, having already known that the couple was inevitable.

Mia matured a lot in this book. Did I still want to her smack her in the head at times? Yes, of course! It was clear that Michael loved her, and that J.P. did not...and that she had no feelings for J.P. - at least, not the kind that matter. The plot was a bit dragged out in this sense...Mia wonders endlessly whether or not Michael is the "One"...and in full-blown Mia style..."This couldn't be true! Of course it can't be true....could it?"

One thing I will bring up: while reading the Prom scene, I was suddenly reminded of another book, rather like indegestion; I know I'd read this somewhere before...a girl goes to the prom with a boy that she doesn't truly love, while the boy she does truly love is somewhere else...she even wins the title of Prom Queen, again paired with the boy she doesn't really like...

And then it hit me: Meg Cabot's Teen Idol. Very similar ending in that sense, and I was hoping for something a bit more original. This is redeemed by the fact that J.P.'s cover as a snake is fully blown, and I was glad to see him suffer.

So, all in all, I was happy with the conclusion to the series. It's been a long ride...I started reading these books when I was 11, and now I'm nearing 17. I'll definitely miss being in Mia's head, no matter how cluttered or annoying it was at times.

I read this in one sitting...the last book in the series that a friend started buying for me when I was in grad school. I wasn't sure what to expect for an ending, but it more than delivered! Sure, the story lines are a bit predictable, but I couldn't help but get swept up and cheer for Mia as she graduated high school and had to deal with friend and boyfriend problems and her dad's election. I will very much miss the series...and would love to see what happens when Mia goes to college. Do you think Meg Cabot could write Mia's diaries in young adult book format now? :o)

I was very satisfied with this book. I was waiting for it since I finished the nineth one and was anxiously waiting for the ending. For a while I was super terrified that it wouldn't end the way it should--that she'd end up with J.P. or whatever, but I am glad that Meg Cabot ended it this way. All in all, it was an amazing book, but I felt it could have gone more, like there could have been more to tell and more to say. Other than that, very satisfactory and a good end to the series!

I can't believe it's been about eight years since I picked up my first Meg Cabot book, The Princess Diaries. I was in college then, and although the protagonist was a fourteen-year-old girl from New York City who discovered she is the heir to the throne of Genovia, I found her relatable, extremely likable, funny, witty, and endearingly self-deprecating--in short, a great character who has brought me a lot of joy over the years. So it's with bittersweetness that I write about the last book in the Princess Diaries series.

A lot has happened since readers were first introduced to Mia Thermopolis. Four years have passed since Mia first found out that she's the Princess of Genovia. She's now a senior in high school and about to make some of the biggest decisions of her life. If only she could stop lying!

Mia hasn't exactly been honest to her friends about which colleges she's been accepted to or about her 400-page senior project. She's written a medieval historical romance*, but has revealed to her friends that it's a paper on the history of Genovian olive oil pressing, circa 1254-1650. What does it matter, anyway, since no one wants to publish her book?

Her eighteenth birthday party, senior prom, and high school graduation are coming up. How can she even think about all that when her father's running for prime minister of Genovia, something that wouldn't even be happening if she had only kept her mouth shut in the first place?

To add to her stress, her ex-boyfriend Michael is back from Japan, his invention of a robotic surgical arm a huge success. Is it just Mia, or is Michael looking better than ever? Never mind that, because Mia already HAS a boyfriend--the sweet and perfect J.P. Just because her first love is back in town does NOT mean that Mia is still pining for him. She's a mature, almost 18-year-old who's able to be friends with her ex, even if he does smell really, really good.

To say that I had been looking forward to reading this book would be a gross understatement. I was chomping at the bit. Readers who have followed Mia on her four-year journey through high school and princess lessons won't be disappointed with Cabot's swan song to her popular Princess Diaries series. While we are presented with a more mature Mia, her quirky sense of humor and observations are still in tact, making this a joyously entertaining read that was difficult to put down. I desperately wanted to know if Mia and her family and friends would get their happily ever after, so I read the book with an urgency that I hadn't experienced in a while. As someone who usually peeks at the ending of books (gasp!), I told myself that if I didn't do it this time, I'd appreciate the ending that much more, and I was right. After I had finished the book, I re-read some of my favorite passages, something I rarely do. I, along with many other Princess Diaries fans, just don't want to say goodbye to Mia and her friends so soon. Brava, Meg Cabot, on a wonderful conclusion to your Princess Diaries series, but it would please me to no end if you decide to revisit Mia from time to time.

*Ransom My Heart, the medieval historical romance that Mia wrote, is available for purchase. Proceeds go to Greenpeace.

I enjoyed every sentence of Princess Mia's wonderfully quirky diary entries. In this conclusion to the long-running Princess Diaries series, awkward situations and romantic moments abound. As the last few weeks of Mia's senior year come to a close, she has to deal with her father's election, prom, her romance novel, and of course, her ever confused feelings about Michael and JP. Some will call this book clichéd and predictable. I however, enjoy happy endings. If you like books where the hero and heroine remain parted forever or one of the central characters dies, then this book is not for you! The end of the book is satisfying in all ways and has reaffirmed my lifelong dream to one day meet Meg in person. The only problem is, as when any series comes to a close, that the ending comes as bittersweet. It is satisfying, but I would love to see more! Hopefully if we pester Meg Cabot with enough emails, she will relent and give us more Mia Thermopolis! Hurrah for the happily ever after!