Monday, June 10, 2013


Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality

Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality

Author: Elizabeth Eulberg
Publisher: Point
Number of Pages: 272
Release Date: March 1, 2013

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Don't mess with a girl with a great personality!

Everybody loves Lexi. She's popular, smart, funny...but she's never been one of those girls, the pretty ones who get all the attention from guys. And on top of that, her seven-year-old sister, Mackenzie, is a terror in a tiara, and part of a pageant scene where she gets praised for her beauty (with the help of fake hair and tons of makeup).

Lexi's sick of it. She's sick of being the girl who hears about kisses instead of getting them. She's sick of being ignored by her longtime crush, Logan. She's sick of being taken for granted by her pageant-obsessed mom. And she's sick of having all her family's money wasted on a phony pursuit of perfection.

The time has come for Lexi to step out from the sidelines. Girls without great personalities aren't going to know what hit them. Because Lexi's going to play the beauty game - and she's in it to win it.


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MY THOUGHTS:

A cute, quick read set in the world of little-girl beauty pageants.

So over Christmas break my sister made me watch some child pageant reality show on TLC or whatever, not the Honey Boo-Boo one (which, I'm sorry, is truly the most despicable thing on TV--the show, not the girl), but some other show that follows a group of child pageant contestants, but is really about the crazy moms and families (my sister is a perfectly intelligent woman btw, she just has horrible taste in TV shows). So I watched this show in absolute horror as these poor little girls in these atrocious outfits and way-too-much makeup danced around the stage while their mothers mirrored their dances in the aisles. I was saddened by the way the mothers and "trainers" cut up the competition. Calling the other little girls names and just in generally being totally trashy to one another. A little girl shouldn't be judged by her looks (and neither should women, of course). Kids should be able to play and discover and...whatever else kids do these days, without having to worry about what they look like. I'm not saying that some of those pageant girls don't enjoy doing the pageants, but I'm sure that a good portion of them do not like them, but do them anyway to please their pageant mothers. Anyway, I'm just against the whole thing. That's pretty much what this rant was trying to say.

Anyhoo, Revenge of the Girl with a Great Personality follows Lexi, a smart, funny teenaged girl who lives with her mother and little sister, Mackenzie. Mackenzie, who I believe is 9, is a little pageant girl, and their mother is the epitome of a pageant mother. Their mom is a hugely-overweight, lives-in-a-trailer, spends-all-their-money-on-pageants pageant mother. All she seems to care about is Mackenzie and her pageants, ignoring Lexi unless she is needed to sew a costume or take Mackenzie somewhere. And Lexi is sick of it.

Lexi has spent the past few years dressing down in an effort to separate herself from her family. She never wears make-up and is always in something baggy and comfortable, but that changes after she makes a deal with her best friend, Benny. If Benny asks out the boy he likes, then she will start making an effort in her appearance--wearing make-up and dressing up nicer. To her surprise, the transformation actually garners her some attention from both nice guy, Taylor and from her mega-crush Logan, who happens to have a pageant queen girlfriend.

I enjoyed Revenge of the Girl. Like Ms. Eulberg's previous books, this one is fast-paced, light, and easy to read. I really liked Lexi's character and enjoyed her journey and I loved Benny and their third friend, Cam. I didn't love the characterization of her mother--I'm so sick of the trailer-park mom stereotype. I mean, for real, not everyone who lives in a trailer is a fat, horrible person. Why are there so few good parents in YA books these days? However, to be fair, part of the story is definitely about the problem with pageant moms...so I understand why she had suck.

Also, I couldn't help but think about this scene in this one movie--Not Another Teen Movie--where the sister of the boy who made the bet about the unpopular girl (spoofing on She's All That) comes over to do a makeover and literally just takes off the girl's glasses and takes her hair out of the ponytail and then says, "There I'm a genius." I'm kind of skeptical that just putting on a dress and some make-up would make the entire popular clique stand up and take notice of somebody. Pretty girls are pretty without makeup...that's why they are pretty. But whatever.

Overall, I did enjoy this book--even with these little gripes and would recommend it to anyone wanting to read a quick, cute YA contemporary. I really enjoy Elizabeth Eulberg's writing and will continue to look out for her next book.

*I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange of an honest review.*

16 comments:

  1. This book sounds really cute! Great review!

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  2. Thanks, Christianna! It is a cute, fast book. Great for summer. Thanks for stopping by!

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  3. Eulberg always has cute, quick reads, so I'll definitely read this one when I'm in the mood for one of those. I also liken anything to do with child pageants to watching a train wreck-horrible, yet you can't look away.

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    1. Her books are always cute and fun. Perfect for the summer. And, yes, child pageants are very much like train wrecks or car accidents on the side of the road. You just can't help but look. Thanks for stopping by!

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  4. You've managed to make this one sounds cliche and fascinating at the same time. I may have to check it out :)

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    1. That's funny. It actually kind of is a little bit of both. It's worth checking out from your library if it carries a copy. Thanks for stopping by!

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  5. Oh boy, I'd not like this book at all, I'm already sure of it. I just despice the whole pageant thing. I watched a show about the crazy families as well and it felt like the families are all a bunch of lunatics. Seriously! It's crazy!! I wouldn't mind checking it in a library, but since I live in Europe and English is not my native language, I don't think it'll be on the shelves of my library soon. Unfortunately I won't purchase this since I'm so against these horrible events. However, I'm glad you found it somewhat to your liking:)

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    1. The families are pretty extreme--especially the ones portrayed on TV. Lexi, the main character in the book, really doesn't want her sister to take part and thinks the amount of money her mother spends on them is ridiculous. If she was all for the pageants, I don't think I would have liked this either, but because she saw how them for what they are I liked her and the book. Thanks for stopping by!

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  6. Sounds like a light summer read, despite the pageant setting, which is a world I don't understand at all. I'm not sure I'd love this book, but I think I'd be happy while reading it and then could set it aside and not think about it, in a bad way or good, afterwards!

    Sarah

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    1. I don't understand that world at all either. It's weird and confusing. This book is light and cute. Definitely not the kind that stays with you, but perfect for an easy summer read. Thanks for stopping by, Sarah!

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  7. That trailer park stereotype would bother me too. I grew up with so many friends who lived in a trailer park and their family was just like everyone elses. But I'm glad you enjoyed the book. I've only watched one episode of Honey Boo Boo and yeah, it was... interesting. lol Great review! :)

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    1. Thanks, Sara! I lived in a trailer park for a little while in high school. With both of my parents. Who are totally normal. So, yeah, that stereotype really gets me. I've never actually seen an episode of Honey Boo Boo, but you'd have to live under a rock not to know who she is (or maybe just not watch The Soup on E! every week). Thanks for stopping by!

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  8. Oh, I KNOW - those little girl pageants and the tv show are gross! It's insane that there are actually mothers like that out there! I do agree about the overuse of the trailer park mom cliche, but I can imagine it worked more for this story than in most others. I've never read anything by Elizabeth Eulberg, but it's nice to know you like her writing so much. I'll have to keep this one in mind the next time I am looking for a quick, easy read - thanks! Really great review!!

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    1. Thanks, Aylee! The characterization definitely worked in this case, but it still bugs me. It is insane that mothers do this to their children. I saw this clip from some pageant show (on the Soup) where this mother was literally feeding her 2 year-old pixie sticks in order to keep her awake! Insanity. This author is great for a quick, fun book. My favorite is The Lonely Hearts Club. Thanks for stopping by!

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  9. Did you see Little Miss Sunshine? I kind of love Olive. But I am anti-pageants, too. And don't worry, my sis has terrible taste in tv, too, despite how intelligent she may be. ;0) (Queue the refrain:) I have this but I haven't gotten to it yet. I actually have a couple of Elizabeth Eulberg's novels that I haven't gotten to yet, though I really want to. They do sound light and funny but unbelievably cute. :)

    Oh, and I hate the trailer park stereotype, too. I've read it in quite a few books lately, and it's so inaccurate. But the same can be said of many stereotypes in YA literature, sadly.

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    1. I loved Little Miss Sunshine. Olive was the best. Her books are really quick and cute. You're right, there are a lot of overused and inaccurate stereotypes in YA. Thanks for stopping by!

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