My god Mia - why do u have to get so upset? Now both Micheal and Lilly aren't talking to you!

I feel like I should have hated this one, but surprisingly did not

She is getting way too whinny now. And stupid. She thinks too much and I liked her theorist until he ruined himself when he was the cause of why Mia did what she did. I get want to finish the series so I can say i read all of it and her conversation are tempting me so murder her. Yup

Yikes. Big yikes.

Alright. Where to begin? Michael is moving to Japan for a year to work on something really important so he can not only contribute to society, but also prove himself to everyone who looks down on him for being with Mia. I HATE noble idiocy. It's a common k-drama trope and it includes the love interest leaving for some "noble" reason and not ever contacting their partner, basically leaving them in the lurch. I think it's stupid, I think it's unnecessary, and I think it's a little lazy! One reason Michael also wants to leave is because he says it'll be easier. "Of course I'm going to miss you. But I have to admit, it's going to be a lot easier to miss you than it's been to be around you lately." He means that he's finding it extremely difficult to be around Mia because they're not having sex. This is shitty and it's a shitty thing to say to your girlfriend a full three years younger than you who is still in high school and has anxiety about pleasing people. It's even shittier given that he's leaving in a week. Look, I think it's a good opportunity, but the way he presented his absence to her gives her no ability to be upset about it. It's also incredibly fast and Mia does not do well at all with change. Does that excuse what she does and how she reacts? No absolutely not. But Michael's not innocent in this either.

Speaking of Mia! Oh baby girl. She makes it very hard to love her sometimes. She gets the idea (from Clarisse, who else?) to seduce Michael so he will stay. Yikes! But that's not the worst thing that happens in this book! No, that's her reaction to the fact that Michael is not a virgin.

I first read this book at I think eleven or twelve and even then I felt like him not being a virgin wasn't a very big deal. I still don't really understand why Mia feels so strongly about that (well, no, I do, I read the next book when she's at therapy). It just unfolded in a way that was so bad and not pleasant at all. And she overreacts and breaks up with him. And then she accidentally kisses J.P. in front of Michael and that's the end. Big yikes!!

J.P. I'm debating talking about my feelings about him because I know what happens and I know what his intentions are. I'll say this for now: he is so perfect, isn't he? He's there to take Mia's side every time and be a shoulder to cry on and someone to make her laugh and feel better. Every single time he is there. And he's there because he's dating Lilly. He's even there to give Mia a hug when Michael shows up at the school! For God's sake, he even keeps a journal just like Mia! He's like the boy version of her.

Quotes!

"When I lifted the serving spoon from the sour cream and aimed it at her, she shrieked and said, laughing, 'seriously, I don't know.'" This was so cute!

"Is it impossible for me to take a science class in this school and NOT have Kenny Showalter be in it?"

"It's always nice to get hugged by your mom, no matter how old you get." I still stand by what I wrote about Helen but this was nice.

"Mia, when I said describe a scene outside your window, I meant for you to describe something you actually see outside your window, such as a dumpster or a bodega." Ms Martinez pissed me off in this book! Like it's creative writing, why does she have to stick to what she actually sees?

"'You should dump him,' Boris said after joining us." I think Boris is probably my favorite side character. No joke. I love him. He is so funny and so blunt and such a great boyfriend.

"Grandmere's gaze hardened on me. 'Sometimes,' she said, 'I cannot believe that you and I are related by blood.'"

"Did you know that the single most likely to occur crisis currently facing Americans is a pandemic?" ...

"CHEERLEADERS????? ON THE SATS???"

"Mom says she doesn't think Michael not telling me about losing his virginity to Judith Gershner is that big a deal- not worth breaking up with him over, anyway. Her exact words were, 'Oh, Mia. It's just SEX.'" Fully agree with her.

"Are you sure you didn't pick a fight with Michael over this because it's easier for you to cope with him being gone if you're mad at him than if you were still loving him, and missing him all the time?"

"I only meant to kiss him on the cheek. But he moved his head. And so I ended up kissing him on the lips." OH I WONDER HOW THAT HAPPENED

"'I think I know what she needs,' Grandmere went on, as I continued to wail.
"'Her mother?' Dad asked hopefully.
"Grandmere shook her head. "Bourbon. Does the trick every time.'"

"It's even more foolish to let someone you feel that strongly about go- at least, not without a fight. That's something I did once. And I've always regretted it, because the truth is, I never met anyone I felt that way about ever again. I don't want to see you make my same mistake, Mia."

"Then he said, 'Don't tell her,' very quietly." Phillip makes me feel lots of things! He and Mia are so similar. That's where she gets her dramatic flair from and her anxiety, no doubt. But the fact that they both feel so strongly about the people they love makes me want to bawl. They get each other in a way that no one else does. It's very, very sweet. I think it's awful that the movies took Mia's relationship with her father out of the storyline because I think it's one of the best relationships in the books. He loves her so damn much and is always there whenever she needs him. It's so sweet.

This is the eighth installment of the series, and by now it has just become a series of problems one after the other which unfortunately is probably pretty accurate to a teenagers life. By book 8 I am pretty sick of Mia but I can’t stop reading the books! She is definitely a character you love to hate.

Oh geez.. Lots of people made mistakes in this book, but it was highly entertaining. I'm so anxious for the next! I know I've read these before, but I actually can't remember what happens in the next book..