The Princess Diaries Book 9; Review

"Princess Mia" is the ninth installment in the popular Princess Diaries series. Having purchased this book recently with high hopes, I must say I was a bit disappointed, but not extremely so, as in my opinion, Meg Cabot never disappoints her readers. It has a more serious undertone than the rest of the books and rather lacks the lightheartedness and humor these series are so well known for, but it is as witty and charming as ever. The story revolves around the main character, HRH Mia Thermopolis, Princess of Genovia, who has parted ways with her long-time boyfriend Michael Moscovitz - who has left for Japan to complete a highly confidential robotics assignment - due to a spat the two had during the eighth book. She is extremely reluctant to bid farewell to the love of her life and is finding it extremely hard to cope with him being gone and grieves over the loss, wishing she had not agreed to let him go. In addition to this, her best friend, Lilly, who is coincidentally Michael's sister refuses to speak to Mia because of the way she treated Michael before they broke up and also because Mia instinctively kissed Lilly's ex-boyfriend J.P. - however, this was unintentional. Mia finds life harder than ever and refuses to attend school or leave bed which forces her parents to send her to a therapist, Dr Knutz, whom Mia thinks is more than just a little eccentric and resents greatly - and who declares that she suffers from adolescent depression. Mia struggles to recover with the help of her friends who just don't seem to understand how much she is hurting emotionally due to the break-up with Michael, and also has to bear the weight of living up to her grandmother's expectations of getting into the most prestigious women's society in the world - when, suddenly, the book takes a twist, revealing that Mia may not have to rule Genovia, after all. In my view, the book is just a little more gloomy than the others in the series but still a must-read for Meg Cabot fans as it brings about big changes for Mia and her throne. It accurately describes feelings of hopelessness and depression and is as satisfying as all the books Meg has written.