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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
WOW lot of thoughts. Okay. My stance is different from what I remember as a child, so that will be interesting to reflect. Initial thoughts: the whole presidential debate and Lilly's involvement reminds me so much of Gilmore Girls with Paris and Rory. I wonder if that's where Cabot got that idea. I mean, she does watch it, she makes plenty of references in here. But Lilly is a lot less cognizant of Mia's feelings than Paris is, which is wild since Paris and Rory are technically frenemies and Lilly and Mia are supposed to be best friends. I like Grandmere's involvement in this one, I think her teaming up with Lilly is always horrifying and has hilarious results. I'm very proud of Mia for not only sticking up for her English grade but also giving her speech at the debate. She's come a long way since the first book.
Alright. Michael. Sex. All that stuff. I remember Michael being really supportive of Mia's indecision and taking their time but. Wow. That feeling has Changed. I want to reiterate that I'm aroace. I just don't get sex (like the idea of it, but also the act lol). So my feelings are a lot different than Mia's or even Michael's, who are incredibly, incredibly straight. But I've always felt like sex is a big deal. And it doesn't have to be. For some people sex really is just an act; virginity is just a concept to them. But for people like Mia, virginity is a really huge thing. It's kind of like the prom: "losing" it is a big step towards what Mia constantly calls "self-actualization." It's a big event in a young person's life that helps them grow as a person. So her feelings towards sex is that it's a big deal and shouldn't be taken lightly.
And as much as Michael says that he's not pressuring her or wants to pressure her... I felt like he was pressuring her a bit. Cabot writes that he says tiredly, "so we ARE going to do it right?" Which felt... well, rude. Out of all of the characters in these books that completely ignore Mia's feelings, Michael is one of the rare ones that actually doesn't. But it felt like on this topic he didn't really do that. This could be my ace brain screaming at me but... I mean GOD every three months they'll get together and reevaluate when Mia's ready to have sex. That's what Cabot wrote! And she didn't write in a joking way! That's fucking pressure! To constantly have to reiterate whether or not you're ready every three months is a lot! Especially for Mia who just wants to make people happy and not have them be mad at her (since a lot of her actions always makes people mad at her for whatever reason). I just felt really bad for her in this book.
Alright. Some other thoughts: Doo Pak is um... His character just kind of reminded me of Long Duk Dong in Sixteen Candles where he's there to be funny and that's it. Hopefully we'll get to see a bit more of character in later books. He seems like a sweet guy! Also he thought that Mia is totally out of Michael's league and calls Michael "Mike" which made me laugh so kudos to him! But yeah... maybe a bit more fleshed out. Just kind of rubbed me the wrong way.
Quote time (with commentary a la Lilly/Mia):
"Just because I didn't think it was appropriate for my mother to take her six-week-old newborn on a peace march across the Brooklyn Bridge does not make me a baby-licker!!!"
"'She's always worried,' said Gretchen... 'She's Mia, remember?' All the feminists laughed uproariously at that, too. This made me feel bad. Like my mom's been talking about me behind my back."
"My mom said, 'Mia, this is a really bad time for you to have a breakdown. Our flight to Indiana leaves in two hours.'"
"You're positive you're going to be okay? Because I won't go to Versailles if you don't want me to."
Alright, those four quotes are about Mia's mom. I'd kind of held off talking about her mom just cause I didn't really pay her much attention but it's gotten to the point where I feel I should talk about her. Helen is... kind of a really shitty mom. Look, okay, she's not horrible. She's not even bad. It's just... in the beginning of the books, she doesn't even ask Mia if it's okay if she dates Mr. G. She just kinds of does it even though it obviously hurt Mia's feelings and made her feel weird. She did give her the journal, but she could've fostered more trust between them so Mia felt like she could go to her with her problems more. Mia's made a few remarks about how growing up, Helen was neglectful of paying bills and would cause them to lose electricity for a few days. That's not horrible. But it did cause Mia to feel like her life was a bit unstable and like it was her responsibility to take care of everyone and everything. That's why she's so worried about Rocky. She doesn't want him to go through the same things she went through. Her mom is really dismissive towards her feelings and her experiences. But it's not like she's horrible. She's only kind of shitty. She does tell Mia that she'll stay if she really wants her to, but also come on. Helen just told her that she was choosing the wrong day to have a breakdown. Of course Mia's not going to feel secure enough to have her stay. I think more than anything, Helen's just kind of forgetful and irresponsible and like the epitome of an early 2000s New York artist. She does love her family so, so much. And she does show that. But Mia has like no one in her corner most of the time. She's really just doing it all alone. She's super anxious and nobody really listens to her, and if they do listen to her, they tell her that she's overreacting- which yeah most of the time she is, but it's anxiety and it comes from a very real place. I don't know. Maybe I'm overreacting.
"Lana spent her summer at her family's house in East Hampton and Josh was in Southampton and the four miles between the two was just too much."
"'But Mia, you're pure and good of heart,' Boris pointed out to me. 'People who are pure and good of heart always beat out evil.'" I love Boris. He's such a nice friend.
"Good grief, you have an uncanny ability to turn everything into a country western song."
"Just like Dean married that other girl on Gilmore Girls." Wait does this mean that Mia's Team Dean? Oh God... I think she might be. I think that makes a lot of sense. Even though Michael is way more Jess than Dean, I think she genuinely is Team Dean. Wow. Yeah... I wonder what her feelings on Tristan were.
"I am totally lacking in the Do It gene." Me too!!
"So, in other words... in about ten to fifteen years, we're all going to die?"
"Basically."
"There is a Euler diagram appearing on my thigh where Lana hit me with that ball."
"This kind of self-conscious pseudo-zaniness has no place in serious expositional work." Okay. So. Yeah. I have a lot of thoughts about Ms. Martinez. I agree with her. Mia's writing samples from freshman year surprised me! They were very impersonal and included a lot of pop culture references! That's a big no no in the world of academia! I completely agree with Ms. Martinez! I think instead of repeatedly giving her red marks on her papers she should've talked with Mia and showed her how she could write more academically but overall yeah, I agree with her. I think that there is a fine line between impersonal and creative when it comes to papers. Not to say that Mia's voice should be compromised in her papers, I think her voice is very strong, but come on. It's a paper! Be more serious! Although, I will say, this note is very harsh. Mia's 15.
"Mr. Harding? A decent guy? My God, he threw a piece of chalk at Trisha Hayes's head today! Granted, I'd do the same if I thought I could get away with it. But still."
"Your act of ecoterrorism, concerning the dumping of ten thousand snails into the Bay of Genovia." Oh yeah, I forgot to mention this! Mia literally engages in ecoterrorism! Granted it was for the greater good and it worked out in the end but Jesus Christ, Mia!
"Calm down, PIT. Everything's going to be all right. My brother's not going to dump you for not Doing It with him. At least, not if he wants to keep his stupid dog alive." Oh my god. Look, Lilly is not great in this book either, but her threatening Michael for Mia's happiness made me smile.
"You would think people would want the smartest leader they could find, but instead, they seem perfectly content to elect total MORONS." Yeah... Lilly insulted Mia's intelligence once again. Come on girl.
"'Can I take a rain check on this whole thing?'
"'Absolutely,' Michael said, with a smile that was so sweet, it made me want to lean over to kiss him...
"Until he added, 'But just so you know, Mia, I'm not going to wait around forever.'" OH BROTHER GET A HOLD OF THIS GUY!
"Okay, only you, Mia, would call my brother a manly man." The guy owns Magic cards and is obsessed with anime, I have to agree with her, Mia.
"You aren't. I have a secret weapon."
"YOU'RE GOING TO SHOOT HER?????"
"It would never occur to Principal Gupta that Lana might have done anything wrong." This is so true!! Every time Mia is sent to Principal Gupta's office, she's always the one in the wrong even though Lana always, always instigates it! My heart goes out to you, Mia. I would've thrown a fucking bitch already.
"Give me anime, or give me death."
Alright. Michael. Sex. All that stuff. I remember Michael being really supportive of Mia's indecision and taking their time but. Wow. That feeling has Changed. I want to reiterate that I'm aroace. I just don't get sex (like the idea of it, but also the act lol). So my feelings are a lot different than Mia's or even Michael's, who are incredibly, incredibly straight. But I've always felt like sex is a big deal. And it doesn't have to be. For some people sex really is just an act; virginity is just a concept to them. But for people like Mia, virginity is a really huge thing. It's kind of like the prom: "losing" it is a big step towards what Mia constantly calls "self-actualization." It's a big event in a young person's life that helps them grow as a person. So her feelings towards sex is that it's a big deal and shouldn't be taken lightly.
And as much as Michael says that he's not pressuring her or wants to pressure her... I felt like he was pressuring her a bit. Cabot writes that he says tiredly, "so we ARE going to do it right?" Which felt... well, rude. Out of all of the characters in these books that completely ignore Mia's feelings, Michael is one of the rare ones that actually doesn't. But it felt like on this topic he didn't really do that. This could be my ace brain screaming at me but... I mean GOD every three months they'll get together and reevaluate when Mia's ready to have sex. That's what Cabot wrote! And she didn't write in a joking way! That's fucking pressure! To constantly have to reiterate whether or not you're ready every three months is a lot! Especially for Mia who just wants to make people happy and not have them be mad at her (since a lot of her actions always makes people mad at her for whatever reason). I just felt really bad for her in this book.
Alright. Some other thoughts: Doo Pak is um... His character just kind of reminded me of Long Duk Dong in Sixteen Candles where he's there to be funny and that's it. Hopefully we'll get to see a bit more of character in later books. He seems like a sweet guy! Also he thought that Mia is totally out of Michael's league and calls Michael "Mike" which made me laugh so kudos to him! But yeah... maybe a bit more fleshed out. Just kind of rubbed me the wrong way.
Quote time (with commentary a la Lilly/Mia):
"Just because I didn't think it was appropriate for my mother to take her six-week-old newborn on a peace march across the Brooklyn Bridge does not make me a baby-licker!!!"
"'She's always worried,' said Gretchen... 'She's Mia, remember?' All the feminists laughed uproariously at that, too. This made me feel bad. Like my mom's been talking about me behind my back."
"My mom said, 'Mia, this is a really bad time for you to have a breakdown. Our flight to Indiana leaves in two hours.'"
"You're positive you're going to be okay? Because I won't go to Versailles if you don't want me to."
Alright, those four quotes are about Mia's mom. I'd kind of held off talking about her mom just cause I didn't really pay her much attention but it's gotten to the point where I feel I should talk about her. Helen is... kind of a really shitty mom. Look, okay, she's not horrible. She's not even bad. It's just... in the beginning of the books, she doesn't even ask Mia if it's okay if she dates Mr. G. She just kinds of does it even though it obviously hurt Mia's feelings and made her feel weird. She did give her the journal, but she could've fostered more trust between them so Mia felt like she could go to her with her problems more. Mia's made a few remarks about how growing up, Helen was neglectful of paying bills and would cause them to lose electricity for a few days. That's not horrible. But it did cause Mia to feel like her life was a bit unstable and like it was her responsibility to take care of everyone and everything. That's why she's so worried about Rocky. She doesn't want him to go through the same things she went through. Her mom is really dismissive towards her feelings and her experiences. But it's not like she's horrible. She's only kind of shitty. She does tell Mia that she'll stay if she really wants her to, but also come on. Helen just told her that she was choosing the wrong day to have a breakdown. Of course Mia's not going to feel secure enough to have her stay. I think more than anything, Helen's just kind of forgetful and irresponsible and like the epitome of an early 2000s New York artist. She does love her family so, so much. And she does show that. But Mia has like no one in her corner most of the time. She's really just doing it all alone. She's super anxious and nobody really listens to her, and if they do listen to her, they tell her that she's overreacting- which yeah most of the time she is, but it's anxiety and it comes from a very real place. I don't know. Maybe I'm overreacting.
"Lana spent her summer at her family's house in East Hampton and Josh was in Southampton and the four miles between the two was just too much."
"'But Mia, you're pure and good of heart,' Boris pointed out to me. 'People who are pure and good of heart always beat out evil.'" I love Boris. He's such a nice friend.
"Good grief, you have an uncanny ability to turn everything into a country western song."
"Just like Dean married that other girl on Gilmore Girls." Wait does this mean that Mia's Team Dean? Oh God... I think she might be. I think that makes a lot of sense. Even though Michael is way more Jess than Dean, I think she genuinely is Team Dean. Wow. Yeah... I wonder what her feelings on Tristan were.
"I am totally lacking in the Do It gene." Me too!!
"So, in other words... in about ten to fifteen years, we're all going to die?"
"Basically."
"There is a Euler diagram appearing on my thigh where Lana hit me with that ball."
"This kind of self-conscious pseudo-zaniness has no place in serious expositional work." Okay. So. Yeah. I have a lot of thoughts about Ms. Martinez. I agree with her. Mia's writing samples from freshman year surprised me! They were very impersonal and included a lot of pop culture references! That's a big no no in the world of academia! I completely agree with Ms. Martinez! I think instead of repeatedly giving her red marks on her papers she should've talked with Mia and showed her how she could write more academically but overall yeah, I agree with her. I think that there is a fine line between impersonal and creative when it comes to papers. Not to say that Mia's voice should be compromised in her papers, I think her voice is very strong, but come on. It's a paper! Be more serious! Although, I will say, this note is very harsh. Mia's 15.
"Mr. Harding? A decent guy? My God, he threw a piece of chalk at Trisha Hayes's head today! Granted, I'd do the same if I thought I could get away with it. But still."
"Your act of ecoterrorism, concerning the dumping of ten thousand snails into the Bay of Genovia." Oh yeah, I forgot to mention this! Mia literally engages in ecoterrorism! Granted it was for the greater good and it worked out in the end but Jesus Christ, Mia!
"Calm down, PIT. Everything's going to be all right. My brother's not going to dump you for not Doing It with him. At least, not if he wants to keep his stupid dog alive." Oh my god. Look, Lilly is not great in this book either, but her threatening Michael for Mia's happiness made me smile.
"You would think people would want the smartest leader they could find, but instead, they seem perfectly content to elect total MORONS." Yeah... Lilly insulted Mia's intelligence once again. Come on girl.
"'Can I take a rain check on this whole thing?'
"'Absolutely,' Michael said, with a smile that was so sweet, it made me want to lean over to kiss him...
"Until he added, 'But just so you know, Mia, I'm not going to wait around forever.'" OH BROTHER GET A HOLD OF THIS GUY!
"Okay, only you, Mia, would call my brother a manly man." The guy owns Magic cards and is obsessed with anime, I have to agree with her, Mia.
"You aren't. I have a secret weapon."
"YOU'RE GOING TO SHOOT HER?????"
"It would never occur to Principal Gupta that Lana might have done anything wrong." This is so true!! Every time Mia is sent to Principal Gupta's office, she's always the one in the wrong even though Lana always, always instigates it! My heart goes out to you, Mia. I would've thrown a fucking bitch already.
"Give me anime, or give me death."
Oh Mia... As I mentioned in my last review.. it's during this stage that I have to give these books 4 stages instead of 5 because of how annoying Mia can get. She's only 15.. I get it. It's just a bit harder to read now that I'm older. Still really enjoyed it and it definitely made me laugh! Really wanting to speed through rereading the rest so I can read A Royal Wedding when it comes out!!
The student council race between Mia and Lana was highly entertaining and reminiscent of high school elections, but I hated Lilly's role in it. Who does she think she is, expecting Mia to get elected then just hand Lilly the position, without even revealing her plan until the last second? I also lost a lot of respect for Michael in this book. He may not have directly pressured her to start sleeping with him, but saying things like "I won't wait forever" and expecting to have a monthly "sex readiness" check in is cringey at best and predatory at worst considering he's in college and Mia is still only 15. Hopefully things will get better in the next book.
Great book, but i honestly think Mia is a little weird. One, she doesn't take constructive criticism very well. (Who freaks out over a b?) Two, she has attention issues. She doesn't pay attention in class because of the mostly trivial problems in her life. I mean, i get that she should be worried about the snail thing, but should she stop listening in class because her boyfriend wants to have sex- someday? And she seems slow, not realizing that she has a hotel suite to herself with no supervision, and doesn't consider inviting her boyfriend over. They didn't even have to do IT. Overall, i just think she's weird. And yea, yea, i know it's just a book but seriously? Like i said, all the other aspects of the book are fine but i'm not really liking the main character herself. 3/5 though.
I just re-started this series and I forgot how good it is. The continued adventures of Princess Mia- now that Michael is at college. Addresses some big topics for teenagers and that's really important.
Still fun, still nostalgic, still dripping with early aughts high school drama.
I can’t believe Mia proved actual marine biologists wrong, that was probably the most unrealistic part of the book.
Mia is definitely still pretty annoying, but at least she’s starting to come into her own as a princess. The snails incident and her student council president speech proved that. (I am annoyed that Ms. Martinez ended up apologizing to Mia in the end tho. The woman was CORRECT. Mia does need some discipline in her writing. And a B isn’t even a bad grade! Mia keeps talking about becoming a great writer one day, but the second someone actually tries to bring that about, she throws a tantrum.)
Lilly continues to annoy the crap out of me, and Tina continues to be great, if a little naïve at times.
It’s kinda weird that a college freshman is dating someone who isn’t even close to graduating high school yet, but Michael is still such a great guy. He’s chill and respectful and honest.
Overall this installment was more of the same for this series, but it’s no surprise they’re kind of formulaic. They stay consistently good, if a little over-the-top on occasion.
Mia is definitely still pretty annoying, but at least she’s starting to come into her own as a princess. The snails incident and her student council president speech proved that. (I am annoyed that Ms. Martinez ended up apologizing to Mia in the end tho. The woman was CORRECT. Mia does need some discipline in her writing. And a B isn’t even a bad grade! Mia keeps talking about becoming a great writer one day, but the second someone actually tries to bring that about, she throws a tantrum.)
Lilly continues to annoy the crap out of me, and Tina continues to be great, if a little naïve at times.
It’s kinda weird that a college freshman is dating someone who isn’t even close to graduating high school yet, but Michael is still such a great guy. He’s chill and respectful and honest.
Overall this installment was more of the same for this series, but it’s no surprise they’re kind of formulaic. They stay consistently good, if a little over-the-top on occasion.
Mia is back from her summer in Genovia, where she caused quite a stir with her environmental actions. Now that she's back home, she's starting sophomore year and must face a new challenge - Geometry. School is different without her boyfriend Michael, who is in college across town. Also, Mia's best friend Lily nominated her for student council president (against her will), and now Lily and Grandmere are working together on Mia's campaign strategy. These problems all seem minor, though, when Lana tells Mia that college boys expect their girlfriends to (gasp) DO IT! How much more can a princess take?
This was my favorite so far in the series. I think Mia is growing up a little and starting to stand up for herself more. Of course there's a lot of time spent on Mia obsessing about her problems, but for some reason it was less annoying in this book than in the others. I look forward to the next installment!
This was my favorite so far in the series. I think Mia is growing up a little and starting to stand up for herself more. Of course there's a lot of time spent on Mia obsessing about her problems, but for some reason it was less annoying in this book than in the others. I look forward to the next installment!
Please, can we not use the term “borderline personality disorder” so flippantly and inappropriately?