A review by veraveruchka
Princess in Love by Meg Cabot

3.0

How is the life of Mia Thermopolis at the start of book three?
a. Mia is still the princess of Genovia
b. Her mother is newly married to Mia's Algebra teacher, and she's pregnant with his child
c. Mia's cousin, Sebastiano, is visiting her in New York, and Mia is worried that Sebastiano intends to choke her to death with one of the dress he designed for her
d. Mia is still deeply in love with her bestfriend's brother, Michael Moscovitz. Only he seems to like other girl, who is his fellow Computer-Club geek and apparently so intelligent she can clone fruit fly in her free time.
e. Mia finally got a boyfriend. The only down side is that boyfriend is not Michael.

Our overly-dramatic princess is still writing charming diary entries, in an early teenager-ish way. Her entries are getting longer and more detailed, but still hasn't lost her personal taste, although sometimes I admit that it doesn't feel as 'diary' as the previous two books. As more conflicts introduced, it's getting harder to contain them purely in Mia's usual diary-writing style.

I have a few musing while reading this book:
1. The character Lilly is so annoying. I understand that she's genius, critical, and all, but I seriously want to punch her at times. I don't know how Mia put up to be 'bestfriend' with this coercing, tyrannical girl sometimes.
2. Mia's main concern is now expanded. First, her 'lack of mammary gland growth' (her phrase, not mine). Second, her tall stature (or 'gigantism', as she prefer to call it). Now add 'kissing and frenching' to the list. I remember when I read this book for the first time (when I was 11 or so), I wondered what is this 'French Kiss' they talk about. A wondering I want to spare my daughters because I'm not going to permit them reading it until they are 15 or older, and we have to discuss it afterwards.
3. One of Lilly's hobby is psychoanalyzing Mia because her parents are psychoanalyst. I thought most of psychologist in America are more inclined to behavioristic approach. Maybe it's sort of a pun, since The Moscovitzes are Jewish, like Sigmund Freud (who is the father of Psychoanalysis. I wonder if MY children's hobby will be analyzing their friends' personality and mental state too, since at least one of their parents is a psychologist! Hahaha, fun to imagine :)

I once thought that this is the last book of the series, but it turns out that there's seven other books following, haha.