The Princess Diaries, Volume VIII: Princess on the Brink (Princess Diaries, #8)

by Meg Cabot

• ISBN10: 0061972029
• ISBN13: 9780061972027
• Publish Date: 6 October 2009 (first published 26 December 2006)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: Collins
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 272
• Language: English

Reviews

In Royal Scandal, Michael tells Mia that he's leaving for Japan for a year and Mia has to worry about whether Michael will still love her when he goes to Japan, whether a long distance relationship will work and she also has figure out ways to get Michael to stay.

♛ I enjoyed Royal Scandal more than the last four Princess Diaries books that I've read. The first three books and the last three books in The Princess Diaries series are good, but the rest of the series is made up of insubstantial and repetitive 'filler' books.
♛ Royal Scandal deals with more serious and real issues than previous books in The Princess Diaries series.
♛ Mia's really annoying and immature in Royal Scandal.
♛ Mia is too trusting and naive towards J.P. His crush on Mia is so obvious and he's such a jerk for leading Lily on.
♛ Royal Scandal deals with the topic of sex and if I see or hear the words "Precious Gift" one more time, I'm going to scream or throw something.
♛ My love for Michael Moscovitz faded after I read Royal Rebel, because Michael behaves out of character, becomes sex-obsessed and makes Mia feel bad for not having sex with him. I started liking Michael Moscovitz again in Royal Scandal. It's sweet that he wants to prove to Mia that he's worthy of her.
♛ The overall effect of Michael and Mia's relationship issues i.e. their break-up is necessary for the rest of Princess Diaries series, but I didn't like how the issues in their relationship were handled. There are two ways that Mia's reason for breaking-up with Michael can be interpreted:

1) Michael had sex with Judith Greshner and lied to Mia about it by saying that Judith was just a friend. However, Michael and Judith had sex before he started dating Mia and also, Michael having sex with someone who has a boyfriend seems out of character. Though, I can kind of understand Mia's anger and this reason for their break-up.

2) What is made to seem like the main reason for the break-up in Royal Scandal, is that Michael lost his virginity to someone else and didn't save his "Precious Gift" (*rolls eyes*) for Mia.

[girlinthepages]

*This review will contain spoilers.

This is the installment in The Princess Diaries where all of the long standing tensions and plot points really implode. While a lot of readers may see this as a tragic ending to a lot of long-standing features of the series, I found it really refreshing. Sure, Mia's neurosis is in full force in this book, and she acts pretty immature about certain things, but I actually think beneath Mia's obsessing she has some really valid points.

Mia is faced with the earth-shattering proposition at the beginning of the installment of being in a long-term relationship, as Michael is moving to Japan to develop a robotic surgical arm. Mia frantically (if somewhat ridiculously) tries to think of a way to convince Michael to go to Japan. When she finally admits her plan to share intimacy with Michael, he admits to her that he has already been with Judith Gershner (of fruit fly cloning fame). Mia flies off the handle and everyone chastises her for it. But honestly, I think Mia has every right to be angry. Michael had NO intention of telling her about being with Judith, and it's really uncool to hide your dating and intimacy past, especially when your partner has been honest and upfront with you. The fact that Michael thought it was no big deal, especially considering he's known Mia for so long, really left me disappointed in him. Honestly, their break-up was a long time coming and I really think that Michael isn't willing to be patient enough considering he's 19 and dating a 16 year old.

Also, it's quite obvious rereading this post high-school that Lily has so many jealousy issues when it comes to Mia. She's basically trying to turn into Mia 2.0 because J.P. is obviously in love with Mia (for self-serving reasons, but that's a discussion for the next book's review). When Lily catches Mia accidentally kissing J.P. (which was most likely orchestrated by J.P.) she certainly has a right to be mad, but she won't even listen to Mia's explination because she's so ready to hate her. This book really marks Mia's falling out with the Moscovitzes and while in some ways it's sad (they've been almost as central to her life as her family) but I was honestly glad to see it. I think her relationships with them defined her too much, whether it be as Michael's girlfriend or Lily's best friend, and while at the end of this book Mia's social (and love) life is in shambles, I think it's the start of a lot of personal growth for her.

Overview: Rereading this was a very different experience from when I read it in high school, as I initially found Mia to be too neurotic and the book angered me since it severed so many relationships. However, looking back on it now I see it as a really pivotal turning point in the series where Mia is certainly overwhelmed and finally cracks (which really, who could blame her?) but she manages shedding a lot of toxic relationships, and it's a shame she blames herself for that rather than feeling empowered.