Forever Princess

THIS ENTRY CONTAINS SPOILERS. (Well, they all do, but this is a particularly popular series, so I figured it deserved a particularly huge warning.)

Forever Princess
written by Meg Cabot


Pre-Review Warning: This review is not intended to be any sort of formal review. It is a reflection of my thoughts immediately after reading this book, and therefore, there will be caps-locking and excessive exclamation marks. Adjust your mood accordingly.

Oh, I went into reading this with cynicism. Grandmere or Louie were going to die. There was no WAY Mia would come out of this with a boyfriend (I was highly supporting the idea that she'd end up "self-actualized", realizing she didn't need a guy to be awesome). I...did not see this ending well. But, as has happened quite a bit lately, I fell in love. Maybe it's because of personal issues. I'm going through senior year, the same crazy college rush Mia's going through, with some similar personal problems as well. I really don't know. But this book reminded me once and for all why I read YA, and why I am proud to call myself a Princess Diaries fan--why I am proud to scoff at those who laugh and say it's all cliche. Screw them. They don't know a good book, obviously. They don't know a book that relates to the readers, that attracts millions of girls and tells them "hey, go out there and do your OWN thing". They'd rather be reading 'the classics', the ones that will have no immediate impact on their lives. Hm. Sucks to be them.
The book started out slow. Mia was with J.P. and the person she had become was not a very great one. Slowly but surely as Michael re-enters the picture, the book picks up the momentum found way back in the very first volume that launched this epic story, and Meg Cabot does not lose momentum. Everything ends...perfectly. It's not a "perfect" happily ever after (J.P. is probably not too happy at that moment), but...well, yeah, it really is. It's the most genuine, realistic happily ever after Meg Cabot could give her characters, and boy did she deliver. Did the woman channel Barack Obama on that last page or what?
Give her a hand. Good luck, Mia, we'll see you another day.

Rating: I only wish I could go higher than a 5/5.