The Princess Diaries, Volume IX: Princess Mia (Hardcover)

by Meg Cabot (Author)
Key Phrases: princess lessons, Domina Rei, Principal Gupta, Lana Weinberger (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

A princess on her own . . .

Mia has been invited to speak at a gala for Domina Rei, an elite society of powerful businesswomen. But what could she possibly have to say? Now that Michael has broken things off, Mia can barely get out of bed, and her parents are making her see a therapist. School, where Lilly still refuses to speak to her and Lana suddenly wants to be bff, is a total nightmare. Even J.P.'s efforts to cheer Mia up (he's being really sweet!) aren't helping. What's a royal to do?

Just when things couldn't get worse, Mia uncovers an old family secret, a long-forgotten diary of a teenage princess of Genovia. It could be just the thing to help Mia write her speech—but it might also change the fate of the Renaldos forever.

About the Author

Meg Cabot was born in Bloomington, Indiana. In addition to writing adult contemporary fiction, she is the author of the bestselling young adult fiction series The Princess Diaries. She lives in Key West, Florida, with her husband.

Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: HarperTeen (December 26, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060724617
• ISBN-13: 978-0060724610
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #157,138 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 13 in The Princess Diaries Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The one book you can't miss this year!, December 25, 2007

By	Erika Sorocco (Southern California, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Mia Thermopolis - Princess of Genovia - may be sixteen, but her year has been anything but sweet. After two years of calling Michael Moscovitz her boyfriend, and spending countless hours smelling his neck; Mia made the mistake of calling of their courtship when she learned, on the night she was going to bestow Michael with "her Precious Gift," that he had lost his virginity to Judith Gershner - a girl who can clone fruit flies - years earlier. Devastated by this newfound revelation, Mia called it quits with Michael. But, after much thought, she realized that a mistake had been made; and strived to make it right with the love of her life. Unfortunately, he was already on a plane to Japan, where he will spend one very long year of his life constructing a robotic arm that is destined to change the medical world forever as we know it, leaving Mia on her own for the first time since their whirlwind romance began.

Flash forward a bit, and Mia finds herself devastated beyond belief. After countless e-mails, calls, voicemails, and text messages to Michael, she has heard nothing from her beloved. Sure, she enjoyed a fun night at the theatre with J.P., a boy who managed to sit through the entire "Beauty and the Beast" production without laughing and/or falling asleep, and actually managed to shed a tear or two; but it's not the same. Mia wants Michael, and only Michael, and finds herself throwing a pity party all her own. One that consists of watching TV, avoiding people at all costs, raiding the refrigerator at all times of the day and night, and living in her Hello Kitty pajamas. Until her father gets wind of her newfound personality. Whisking her away, Mia finds that she is now forced to endure therapy with a Psychologist cowboy on a weekly basis, and couldn't be more shell-shocked. Even worse, she's forced to go back to Albert Einstein, to finish out her high school education - much to her chagrin. Unfortunately, Lilly refuses to even look in Mia's direction, the whole school believes that Mia is dating J.P. - which she's so not - and, suddenly, for the first time ever, Mia finds that her school uniform - along with the rest of her clothes - have gotten a little snug...everywhere. With all of the drama surrounding her, Mia is convinced that she'll never make it through the next two years. Luckily, she has stumbled upon the diary of one of her long-lost relatives, who ruled Genovia for a total of twelve days; and has discovered a secret that will rock her future, and the entire country of Genovia, more than she ever thought possible.

I feel as if I have grown up with Princess Mia. From day one, I have devoured each and every one of her rants and raves, and have found myself drawn deeper and deeper into the world of Mia. PRINCESS MIA is no exception. The second to last installment of THE PRINCESS DIARIES series packs more punch in its 274 pages than any of the previous novels. Mia, as always, is her usual philosophical self - freaking out over mysterious illnesses, worrying about anything and everything in her life. Only this time, she has fallen into a deep depression that has truly changed her. Gone are the complaints about the lack of vegetarian items in Albert Einstein's cafeteria, and her musings about whether or not she will ever develop a chest; and in their place are insecurities about where she stands with Michael, wonderment over who has started a hateful website about her, and confusion over her feelings for Michael, J.P., and even her new psychologist. Lilly has been one of my favorite characters for years, but her new personality, and way of thinking, has truly made me dislike her. The mere presence of her character brings a sour taste to my mouth. On the other hand, Lana's character is presented in a new light that makes you see that she's simply misunderstood, and, possibly, not as mean as originally believed. The disappearance of Fat Louie was rather disheartening, as I always loved reading about his furry face. However, the inclusion of Dr. Knutz was humorous and rather delightful from the moment he was introduced to the story. Cabot has dropped many bombshells over the years, but none have rocked Mia's world as much as the ones found within the pages of PRINCESS MIA. It's obvious that Cabot is gearing up to end the series; and, at this rate, it will most certainly go out with a bang. The one book you can't miss this year!

Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Real and Riveting!, December 31, 2007

By	Tamela Mccann "taminator1" (Nashville, TN USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Nine books into this series, you might expect that the story of Mia, Princess of Genovia, has grown stale and predictable, heading toward a pat ending soon. If so, you're in for a treat with Princess Mia; it's definitely the freshest, most absorbing entry in the series to date.

The book opens with Mia and Michael, her one true love, having broken up; Michael's gone to Japan for a year and through a series of misunderstandings, he feels it's best for them to just be friends for now. Mia is beyond devastated; she takes to her bed and refuses to leave or shower. We can feel Mia's pain with every word, and it's apparent that this is not something that's going to pass quickly. Indeed, her family becomes so worried for her that her father "kidnaps" her and forces her to go to a psychologist. No quick fix here; Mia begins therapy reluctantly but also sees the value in trying to pull herself out of the black hole of depression. Along the way, she makes friends with Lana (her archenemy), discovers that J.P. is in love with her, and finds a long-lost directive from an ancestress that declares Genovia should be a democracy. What she decides to do is both believable and mature.

One of the issues that forces Mia into depression is the fact that her friendship with Lilly seems to be over, and in a most vehement way: Lilly actively shuns Mia and seems to blame her for every ill effect that's ever happened to her. While my heart ached for Mia because she was so upset over the loss of such a close friend, I have to say that this is a turn of events that tickles me because I've felt for a very long time that Lilly has not been a friend to Mia at all. Mia's learning to deal with it, and also her loss of Michael, and I was behind her all the way.

This is indeed the best book in the series so far, and can be highly recommended for readers of all ages. Mia's coming into her own, and it couldn't have been harder or more hard won. Cheers to Mia and to Meg Cabot for keeping this series fresh and entertaining!

12 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Aiming for Mediocre, January 4, 2008

By	Smitty (NY, USA) - See all my reviews

Meg Cabot promised that, over the course of this series, her character Mia Thermopolis would begin to show maturity. On page 160 of 'PRINCESS MIA', Mia states that she would rather have the plague than be friends with her ex-boyfriend. Then, on page 161, her friend Tina comments on the fact that Mia is growing up. Hmmm...

Sure, girls at sixteen are immature. But I was hoping that we'd see some change from Mia's fourteen year-old-self, and that is clearly not the case in 'PRINCESS MIA'. Rather, she seems to be regressing. Book 8 'PRINCESS ON THE BRINK' in the series showed a little promise in the fun factor of these books, but Cabot continues to rely on tiresome IM conversations and transcripts of phone conversations instead of actually taking the time to write out a page of actual place and setting.

These IM conversations were cute when they were used sparingly, but now it's obvious that Cabot puts too much faith into her dialogue to carry the story. Unfortunately, it is not strong enough to do so. There is a ton of white space throughout the novel and 3 or 4 pages dedicated to the filmography of actress Drew Barrymore. I realize very young girls might find this funny, but it's been overplayed again and again, weaker every time throughout her books.

With edgier, more witty YA novels being sold, her books are no longer as original as they used to seem. Even a thirteen year old can't be expected to laugh at character names like 'Rocky' and 'Knutz.' Jabs at other YA series appear consistently in her books and in her online blog, and jokes are campy and condescending. It's frankly disappointing that a promising series turned into a dismal, frothy mess. There is no heart anymore and it feels like Cabot is pulling storylines out of her butt just to get to the last book in a rush.