After a disastrous 4th book, I was really worried about this series. Worried that it would just turn out to be all like this. And I didn't want that, so I went into this book with worry and I was looking at with different eyes. Thankfully the book turned out to be great, a lot of fun and Mia was mostly doable in this one. Still a bit weird, still a bit strange, still a bit annoying, but I saw another girl as well. She is really growing up, she starting to see more of the world, starting to tell her opinion more clearly.But, something that was a bit annoying was the prom stuff. On the one hand it was cute, but on the other hand, was it really necessary to have it going on and on for like 200+ pages? Can't she just have told him quicker, couldn't she have done something else? Her relationship with Michael is really cute and I love them together. I am also happy that the book doesn't shy away from talking about bases, and about Mia's questions about second bases and such. However, at times, especially with how Mia acts (not always like a 15 year old), it felt also weird. At times Mia felt like she was more like 12/13, while Michael stayed the same age for me, so yeah. Awkward. But still, I feel that these 2 will be together for a long long time to come, they are truly a great match, and I hope that Meg Cabot won't shy away from further topics, as I feel that it is what makes this series so great. That she dares to talk about stuff like this, and it also makes Mia seem more realistic. After all what girl of her age doesn't think about stuff like that. Michael, while I did like him in the previous books, I didn't always like him in this. That he didn't have a clue what Mia would like, that he was so stand-offish about prom and didn't get that he hurt Mia in the process. That he wouldn't even let his prejudices go away for her, for the girl he apparently loves. But he was also sweet, and I loved him at the end and what he did there. Not everyone dares to speak up like that, so I applaud him for doing that. We also have 3 special events happening in this book. Mia's birthday (and the disaster that that was), the birth of Mia's sibling, and the prom. I won't say if it is a brother or sister, you will just have to read the book to find out, but I was delighted with the name they picked.Grandmere, still one of the characters I truly hate the most. At times she has some sweet moments, but mostly she is just so annoying and apparently thinks she is above everyone and everything and I hate that kind of attitude. She should see that she is only hurting people, that she is only being a bitch.The last thing that I want to address in my review is Lily. I always didn't particularly like Lily. I don't mind strong-willed, strong-minded characters, but Lily? Lily is just a bitch. Lily is just annoying. And what she did in this book? I am not one to call someone a slut immediately, but sorry, with what she did in this book? For once I will let my resolution go. What a slut. What a bitch move to do. Seriously, what the hell is wrong with you. And then that ending part? Convenient amnesia is what I would call it. This is not how relationships work, this is not what you do. But then again, it is not the first time that Lily can't see more than 2 centimetres in front of her, and if something makes her look bad (even if it is the truth) she will just ignore it or make up something totally different. This behaviour is disgusting. I hope that Lily will soon grow up out of this horrendous behaviour. I truly can't see how she and Mia are friends. Often she chews out Mia, instead of helping she says harsh and mean things, and while I am guessing that Lily will always be Mia's friend, I hope that Mia will go to Tina or Shameeka more in the future, and that she will just let Lily alone.All in all though, this was a good part in the series, and I am delighted it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be! :DI can't wait until January when book 6 and 7 come out (no clue why all of the sudden there is like 4 months between the books (this one, the 4th book, the 2nd and 3rd, and the first one all came out from July to August, and now we have to wait so long?)). Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/
To see full binge for books 4, 41/3, 4 1/2, and 5 click here.What I Remembered: Really hating Lilly in this installment and not really feeling Toris.What I Got:Really hating Lilly. Finding Toris a lot more tolerable and believable. And finding Mia almost as intolerable as Lilly in this installment.In fact, if I wanted to, I could have a drinking game every time Lilly or Mia annoyed me. I get that they’re fourteen/fifteen year old girls, but both of them need a good swift kick in the pants to reality.To be fair though, I did enjoy Princess in Pink a lot more than I remembered.I had some nice things going for it.For one, it had an actual plot (unlike Princess in Waiting) and their was some slight character development in this book.I think the best thing about this one was Michael. Sometimes I really wonder how he tolerates Mia so much though, because her neurosis is full blown in this one.He really must be the master of zen.The supporting characters though really carried this novel, save for Grandmere. I think this is the point where she starts developing into almost a caricature of sorts. But you could argue that about all the characters to a certain degree. Especially Lilly and Mia.I keep complaining about them…I guess I should discuss them.Lilly is just a horrible person. It’s a conclusion I came to a long time ago with these books, though she does have an entertaining moment or two when she’s not stuffing her tongue down some random guy’s throat. In this book, we don’t see those entertaining quirks since she’s mostly sticking her throat down some guy’s throat.Add to it, that Mia is sort of slut slamming her friend at the end with this little gem:Tina just called. She is kvelling over getting to go to the prom. It is, she says, like a dream come true. I told her I couldn’t agree more. She asked me how I thought we’d come to be so lucky.I told her: Because we are both kind and pure of heart (237).Look, I get Lilly was really stupid in this installment. But as her best friend Mia shouldn’t quasi dis her to Tina with that stupid pure of heart trash. Then again, this is the girl that obsesses about her virginity to the point where she calls it her precious gift.And plus, it’s just prom.I think this is me being no longer fifteen. Maybe I could’ve agreed with Mia back then-maybe not.Despite my grievances with two of the characters, I did find this installment to be a huge improvement over Princess in Waiting. It’s fun and light, and actually has a plot.
Do You like book Princess In Pink (2005)?
My reading book for this week is Princess in pink, by Meg Cabot. I gave this book four stars because it is girly and talks about fantasy, the two things I love in books.I didn't give it a five star because there are many words I didn't really understand. Next time I will not wait for the book to come to me I will go to it. Like what Mia did she really wanted to go to the prom with Micheal,then her grandma asked him to go with princess Mia to the PROM, he didn't really like proms and they talked together. Finally it was a very happy ending.It all started one morning when Mia was at school, she saw a big poster of a prom. The prom was Friday night, she directly thought of Micheal her total crush. It was two days before the prom when Mia was really worried why Micheal didn't invite her yet. Then on Thursday Mia told everything to her grandma because she was always with her they are like best friends. When Mia told her she directly took the phone and called him. Her grandma discovered that Micheal had a crush on Mia too, and he didn't ask her because he was a anti-prom guy. The day of the prom princess Mia was so happy and exited with her beauiful dress. At the end of the prom, Mia had Micheal as her boyfreind.
—Rania
This time around, Princess Mia looks forward to having the best dance of her life. By going to the prom. With her boyfriend, Michael. But the big problem is: Michael doesn’t want anything to do with prom.Then there’s Grandmere who fires a busboy after something happens to her pet pooch. A strike among busboys ensue and soon Grandmere finds herself lodging in with Mia’s mom under one roof. Sounds exciting, eh? Oh but there’s more! Wait till you hear Mia’s moms exciting baby news!After a while, you’d think I’ll get tired of reading Princess Diaries. But no. As long as I have this series in my shelf, I intend to finish them. My own sons even commented about my passion for reading this series. They thought I’m already too old for fairytales. Ouch, that quite stings!But then, I realized, kids are being kids and they already have a lot of opinions when it comes to the books they read. As young as they are (my sons are 10 and 8, respectively), they already know which books make them happy and which ones would make them roll their eyes. In this case, when they see me gawking and controlling my laughter, they retort, “Mom’s being childish again,” and then they will tell me, “It’s okay Mom, if that makes you happy, go on…”So there, Princess Amelia Migonette Thermopolis Renaldo, aka Mia, makes me happy. I don’t care much anymore if she’s too smitten with her boyfriend or too absorbed in her royal duties. Others might say, she’s too good to be true. But that’s exactly what I want in a princess. Not perfect, not too aristocratic, not too shabby either. Mia and her cohorts make the Princess Diaries more exciting and exhilarating to read!
—Claire - The Coffeeholic Bookworm
SPOILERS!I finished this before midnight! Yay!By the way, I accidentally deleted everything I wrote just thirty seconds before, so let's see if I can redo this review from scratch. Sigh, clumsy me.This book had its moments. I especially liked it for its ending. Mia would be a great big sister, not to mention how much her brother would laugh at her.Okay, first of all, Mia thinks Ebola is a cool disease? Right. A virus that causes millions of deaths is cool. Uhuh. Anyway, Lilly. God, you won't imagine how cheery I felt when Lilly came bawling to Mia's door. She basically told Boris that she only dated him to "help". And then she just threw him to the side like, " Well, my work here is done. Mission accomplished, everybody! Oh, there's Jangbu Panasa in all his Nepalese busboy glory, my one true love, waiting for me. See ya!" I mean, she's only fifteen, for pete's sake. She needs to chill.Hm, I'm not sure what I feel about Tina and Boris. Sigh, to be young and in love. Seriously, though, the puppy love between them is kind of...off-putting.I understand where Michael is coming from, with not feeling the need to attend prom. But it would have been nice if Mia understood, you know? I get how passionate she feels about prom (come on, it's a dream!), but she was over-exaggerating everything AGAIN! What's new? The exaggerating I guess I could handle, but what peeved me is when she described herself as depressed. Depression is a mental illness that a person /gets diagnosed with/, don't use it as a way to say you're sad.Okay, moving on to a lighter topic. Pregnant Miss Thermopolis is amusing! “I will get you both for leaving me alone with her all day today. I don’t know how, and I don’t know when. But when you least expect it… expect it.” Hahahaha! Anyway, this book was pretty cool and I hope it's the same for the next one!
—Janine
