Mia the Melodramatic by Eileen Boggess

Summary/Cover Image from Publisher's Website:

Summer has finally arrived, but Mia Fullerton doesn’t have much to celebrate. Her best friend, Lisa, is spending the summer at a Mensa camp, and her boyfriend, Tim, will be at his grandparents’ house in Maine. So, stuck with a choice of spending the next two months hanging out with her younger brother, Chris—who has declared a prank war on her—or taking a job on the stage crew at a local children’s theater group, Mia chooses the lesser of two evils and begins working at Little Tyke’s.

The moment she meets the other student members of the stage crew, Mia realizes she’s not at St. Hilary’s anymore. There’s Zoë, a Goth punk rock singer with fifteen facial piercings; Henry, a caffeine addict with the self-declared ability to predict people’s coffee preferences; and Eric, a former childhood friend who’s definitely outgrown his shy ways and geeky appearance.

At first, Mia’s mortified when she’s forced to perform for audiences dressed as Playtime Pal—the clown who introduces the plays—or be a last-second stand-in for a kid who’s just tossed his cookies on stage (after she has cleaned it up, of course) or is abruptly hauled off for a family vacation. But as the summer progresses, Mia realizes something very strange—she actually enjoys acting!

As Mia begins to explore this less meek version of her former self, Tim does something that destroys her trust in him and shatters her heart. This act of betrayal ultimately sends Mia into the arms of the easy-going, Adonis-like, and very willing Eric. And when the summer comes to an end, bringing Tim back into her Des Moines, Iowa life, Mia has a tough decision to make: Should she return to Tim and her former shy ways, or should she continue to let this new Mia grab some limelight of her own? In this sequel to the much-loved Mia the Meek, readers will again enjoy spending time with Mia Fullerton, watching as she navigates the next stage of adolescence, one humorous and memorable fiasco at a time.

Review:

After reading the first Mia book, Mia the Meek, and falling in adoration to the world Boggess had created, I was eager to read the second one, so as soon as humanly possible I started Mia the Melodramatic. And while Mia the Melodramatic provided to be funny and fast paced addition to the Mia series with some of my favorite old, as well as new characters, it didn't quite live up to it's prequel.

In this addition, Mia is not looking forward to the tedious, boring summer that is sure to ensue, because of the fact Tim, as well as Lisa, are leaving her for the summer. Though, soon enough, she is given the chance to work at Little Tykes, the local community summer with Eric, former shy boy turned out going hottie, Henry, Eric's best friend, and Zoe, a girl who has 16 piercings along with goth attire and an attitude that seems to be leading to the making of the "Join if you think Mia is a preppy princess!" club. This leaves Mia to wonder how on earth she'll make it through the summer, especially when a secret about Tim, one that may change everything, comes pouring on out.

Mia is yet again an overly likable character with a great and funny out look on life. I really enjoyed seeing how she broke out of her shell even more in this addition, as well as the drama that ensued with her employment and the new friends she made. My favorite out of her new group would have to be Zoe, a girl whose sarcasm provided to always be funny and fierce. Eric and Henry were also great additions, though I really would have liked more depth to Henry, because I often had trouble remember who exactly he was; a bad sign, no? Tim, though, was the one who brought down my liking of this novel. I knew he was arrogant and pompous from the first Mia book, but he seemed overly so in this one, leaving Boggess to ultimately kill him slowly but steadily, in my opinion. I mean this was a character I secretly adored in Mia the Meek, but here I started to despise him because of his actions. Hopefully, he manages to redeem himself in Mia the Magnificent.

The plot of this once again provided laughter, as well as page-turning fun. I adored the different funny moments that ensued with Mia's new job, as well as her and her brother's new pranks pulled on each other. Also, I liked the way Mia dealt with Tim's betrayal, because she showed maturity through it, as well as setting a great example for other teens out there. Further more, Boggess writing moved swiftly, making this novel I finished in record time.

In all, Mia the Melodramatic is a funny novel filled with countless characters that you can't help but love. I can't wait to read the sequel!

Lastly, I have to mention that I like how Eileen makes this a series you can pick up and enjoy no matter which book you start on.

Grade: B

Mia the Melodramatic is now out!

Source: Author. Thanks, Eileen!