Friday, March 1, 2013

Revenge of the Girl With the Great Personality

Personal Note: I joined my work's softball team, which had its first game last night (we won and I scored a run!) Consequently I am super behind on commenting but will be checking out what was posted on my blog as well as on all of yours tonight and over the weekend.

Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality by Elizabeth Eulberg
4/5 stars
Point, 2013
261 pages
YA Contemporary

Source: Received an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I've read all of Eulberg's previous work and I feel like I really click with her writing style so I was thrilled to check this one out especially as I would certainly consider myself a girl with a great personality (ahem :)

Our main character is Lexi and she has long bemoaned the way that boys skip over her, recognizing that she's fun and funny but paying attention to the pretty girls. In an effort to encourage boldness in her friend, she is dared to give herself a style makeover, amping up her look and soon garnering that attention she's always desired. But does Lexi want a boyfriend who only likes her because of her looks? Adding to her situation is her younger sister's beauty pageant entries, which her mother insists they entirely rearrange their lives around and which is bankrupting the family.

So there are sort of two main stories here: Lexi's outer makeover (because her inner personality is fabulous!) and the family's involvement in pageants, with the two colliding and overlapping but which I wanted to address separately. The makeover storyline is pretty predictable with me calling most of the plot points far in advance (re: the boys) and feeling comforted when they did in fact come to pass.

The plot with her mother and sister was a bit more surprising to me. The younger sister Mackenzie initially seems to be a huge brat with the mother catering to their every whim (the parents are divorced with the father basically dropping his family) but as the story progresses, there are more nuances. Mackenzie doesn't seem to love pageants as much as she used to and the mother is seeking solace in the competitions that she can't find elsewhere. She is a bit on the villainous side (wait til you read what she does to Lexi!) but they do have some good confrontations that will hopefully lead to a better home life. When I read, I sometimes feel a little overprotective of characters and this was the case here, indicating to me that Lexi is a very sympathetic girl. I think a lot of readers will be able to empathize with at least part of her situation.

Overall: Another great entry from Eulberg, tackling some deeper issues in a smart and mostly humorous way.

Other Opinions:
Books Live Forever 
Candace's Book Blog
Heise Reads & Recommends
Rather Be Reading 

33 comments:

  1. i kept seeing tweets about this novel all day! it sounds like my kind of read and i'm glad it lives up to the hype. i think i'm going to pick this one up :)

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  2. and yay for your softball team's win :D

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    1. Thanks! It's kind of new for me to be athletic but I'm having fun so far.

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  3. I've only read one of Elizabeth's books but I definitely want to read all of them, including this! It sounds like a great story for teen girls to read

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    1. You definitely should read them all-I love her style and think she's fun for her intended teen audience as well as for those of us who are a bit older.

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  4. Yay! I love this one. It was sooo good and I adored Lexi.. Wonderful review.


    Jenea @ Books Live Forever

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    1. Lexi was really great-I loved meeting her! I think Eulberg has created some really fun heroines.

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  5. I remember being the girl with the great personality, lol. I don't think I've ever read anything by this author, but this sounds like a good read.

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    1. I really love Elizabeth Eulberg and recommend her works-definitely check this one out!

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  6. Yay for your score!

    As you know already I loved this one! I actually didn't predict the romance, I saw it going in a couple different directions and wasn't sure which route it would take. I was happy with how it turned out though.
    And man, that mom! Now that is a mother I could really slap!

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    1. Thank you-I was so happy to contribute!

      I wasn't 100% sure the romance would go the way it did but I was guessing it might. The mother was just horrid although I was also pretty mad at the dad and wishing he had stepped up his parenting game.

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  7. I haven't read any of her other books yet but I have this one and the lonely hearts club (I think she wrote that one lol) they all sound like great contemporary reads. Thanks for your thoughts!

    Kristin @ Young Adult Book Haven

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    1. They are really fun and funny contemporary reads-I definitely recommend you give them a shot!

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  8. Sounds like a fun one! I would say I'm like the MC too...good personality, not conventually "beautiful" so guys don't really notice me. Ah, it sucks. I like books that focus on these type of girls though! :)

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    1. Yeah, it's pretty easy to identify with Lexi in that regard and that's why I liked her so much.

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  9. Sounds like a very fun book, with a main character I can relate to. :) Thanks for the review!

    Wendy @ The Midnight Garden

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  10. Oh I really don't think I could handle this one right now. Too close to a few things I in my life. ;-)

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    1. Oh virtual hugs-glad to provide a bit more information on this one so that you know to avoid it right now.

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  11. I can't wait for this one! I just got approved and will be starting soon(ish). I really loved The Lonely Hearts Club, so I'm hoping this one lives up to that.

    Great review!

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    1. I feel like Lexi is a better character than Penny although Lonely Hearts was a funnier book (to me) so I hope you like this a lot!

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  12. Lovely review! I've seen this around a couple of times, but I didn't know what it was about until now. Although I haven't read anything by this author before, I'm curious about this book now. I'm glad you enjoyed it overall. :)

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    1. I think this is a great place to start with Eulberg's writing so I hope you pick it up!

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  13. I loved The Lonely Hearts Club and liked Prom and Prejudice and this sounds like a story I would really enjoy with a good main character. I like that there seems to be some depth to the storyline with the mom and younger daughter and that you felt such a strong connection to Lexi and felt protective of her. That means the author is doing a good job of drawing emotions from the reader. Great review! I look forward to picking this book up someday.

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    1. I think you'll definitely like this one then since you liked her previous work-it's in the same vein but also deeper.

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  14. I can't wait to read this one next week (it's sitting on my Kindle waiting for me!) Besides the amazing title and subject (who doesn't love a good makeover!) I'm curious to read about the pageant mom! Those reality shows on TV drive me INSANE but I am looking forward to that aspect of the book:) Great review!

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    1. It's kind of odd because I hate those reality shows but I adore reading about them (this includes beauty pageant ones as well as dating shows)

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  15. I need to read this one ASAP - I LOVE LOVE LOVE her books!

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    1. If you've liked Eulberg's previous work, I'm pretty sure you'll like this one too!

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  16. Looks fun! I love books that deal with inner vs outer beauty. Usually makeover plotlines are pretty predictable but still sounds like a good one!

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    1. The great part was that the makeover plotline seemed very minor in comparison to all the other great stuff Eulberg was exploring. Really added to the depth.

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  17. Heyuhm...where did you download your book? Im trying to find a free download but cant seem to find one .... email response? Thanks -----> makeitrainsparkles@gmail.com

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