The Princess Diaries : Ten Out Of Ten

“No one has ever died of embarrassment – never, not once in the whole history of time. Of which I am living proof, having a grandmother like mine.” ~Mia Thermapolis

And that pretty much sums up Meg Cabot’s last and final instalment in the hugely popular Princess Diaries series.

PROS: Mia or should we say Princess Amelia Mignonette Grimaldi Thermopolis Renaldo is at the tail-end of her senior year. She has mastered the reluctant art of being a princess of a small European Principality, Genovia. She also has an assorted clique of well-meaning(and slightly delusional) friends. AND…she has the perfect boyfriend : J.P.

CONS: So along the way, she broke up with the love of her life Michael Moscovitz (who went off to design a surgical arm in Japan), parted ways with her best friend Lilly Moscovitz and ended up in therapy. And oh…let’s not forget the Princess Lessons, from her singularly freaky grandmother, Dowager Princess Clarisse!!!

BIG SWEATY-PALM INDUCING CONS: She hasn’t yet chosen her college, despite having received acceptance letters from each and every one of them. (which she suspects has something to do with her being a princess). The book she has been secretly writing for the past two years gets rejected with alarming regularity by most of the publishers. Her father is running for Prime Minister of Genovia and according to the current polls.... he is far, far behind. Add to that the little fact, that Michael is back…his CardioArm has been a huge success and he’s looking better than ever(or as Tina would put it: he got hit with a stick of pure awesomeness!).

So what does Mia do? She freaks out, hyperventilates and writes. She writes in the weirdest places and at the most inopportune moments. She pours out her insecurities, her doubts and her guilty secrets. While this sounds quite alarming and tedious, it actually isn’t. Meg Cabot’s quirky sense of humour guides Mia through her angst. Questions are answered, mysteries unravelled and Mia slowly but surely grows up.

A must for all Cabot (and Mia ) fans…this is the perfect ending to a great storyline.