Forever Princess.

Forever Princess

By: Meg Cabot



It's ridiculous that still feel like I have to, but often when I read a lighter book I feel like I have to defend that particular type of book. So that's what this beginning part is going to be; It's going to explain why I read light-hearted and just plain fun books and why I don't feel the need to be a literary snob about such books as this.

This series is kind of like Mia's book, they might not be the most well-written or world-changing or the most literary books in the world, but that doesn't mean they don't have value; It doesn't mean they don't mean anything.

I'm not embarrassed to admit that I loved them. You can't help but grow to care about these characters and what happens to them. And I think a big part of this series' appeal is how real it seems despite its ridiculousness. Sure, it's more than highly unlikely that any normal American girl is going to randomly find out that she's the princess and heir to the throne of a small European principality. But that's the funny, ridiculous side of the books. The more genuine side is how real the characters felt. You can relate them to people you know and even to yourself at some points. You can learn with them and from them.

Quite honestly, I believe that if a book can make you love the story it has to tell and the characters it has to tell it with then it's worth something.

Now on to the more in-depth feelings I had in this book character-wise:

I liked J.P. until he didn't encourage Mia with her writing, even if it was "just a romance novel." And his play made me kind of angry. And, you know, of course what he did to Lilly. I probably wouldn't have minded if she'd had Michael punch his lights out, but I get why she didn't. I think Meg Cabot did a great job of showing why he wasn't a good choice for Mia while still keeping it relevant to his character.

It was REALLY funny when Tina got all stressed out about everyone else's romantic lives. Also, she was a really great friend to Mia by telling her what she needed to hear, not what she wanted to hear. Also, I will never not love her and Boris.

I think I died during Mia's interview with Michael. And his note about the book with the flash drive. And when he donated the CardioArm. And how Michael was so convinced that he was the one who ruined their relationship, not Mia. And the carriage ride. IT WAS JUST SO SWEET, OKAY?

I'm strangely a fan of Lana and Mia's friendship. I think it was kind of brave of Meg Cabot to change up the typical Mean-Girl stereotype. Sure, Lana is still completely shallow, but she's not portrayed as evil or even bad. I think that makes her a much more interesting character.

I forgot to mention it in other reviews, but it's REALLY funny seeing all the references to the real-life movie that are made in these books. Like that it was lying about Genovia having a Prime Minister and Mia knowing how to shoot an arrow and Michael's band going on tour. It never failed to crack me up (and make me want to watch the movies again).

Quotes:

"I know one [book] isn't going to change the world. But it would be lovely if it made a few people as happy reading it as it made me when I was writing it."

"It was like something went cold inside me. Something I didn't even realize was still living inside me. Which, it turned out, was this little tiny ember of hope."

"Some people can seem perfect...everything about them can, on paper, be just right. Until you get to know them. Really know them. Then you find out, in the end, while they might be perfect for everyone else, they just aren't right for you."

"It's taught me that...as you get older, you lose things, things you don't necessarily want to lose. Something as simple as...well, your baby teeth when you're a little kid, as they make way for your adult teeth. But as you age, you lose other, even more important things, like friends--hopefully only bad friends, who maybe weren't as good for you as you once thought. With luck, you'll be able to hang on to your true friends, the ones who were always there fore you...even when you thought they weren't. Because friends like that are more precious than all the tiaras in the world."