I have enjoyed Elizabeth Eulberg's work in the past--The Lonely Hearts Club and Prom and Prejudice--so I was hoping that I would enjoy her newest YA novel. It didn't work for me. But I think it may still work for many readers.
The heroine of Revenge of the Girl with The Great Personality is Lexi. She is the girl with the "great personality." It's a label that she has difficulty letting go of, in a way, because she believes what she hears or overhears about herself. What should you know about Lexi? Well, she has a seven year old sister who's into beauty pageants. Her mom is obsessed with putting her sister into every pageant possible--no matter the cost, no matter the drama. Lexi is part of this lifestyle--like it or not. And her favorite thing about the pageant life is spending time with Logan. (Logan has a girlfriend, Alyssa, who's in pageants.)
Essentially Lexi hates not having a boyfriend or a life and one day she's dared by her gay best friend, Benny, to do something about it. He dares her to wear make-up for a week, to do her hair, to wear dresses, etc. She then dares him to start talking to the guy he likes, to ask him out, etc.
What will happen when Lexi transforms into the most beautiful woman ever? Will she get attention? The right kind of attention? Will everyone suddenly think she's worth knowing? worth talking to? worth eating lunch with? worth inviting to parties? worth dating? What will people start saying about her and her new look? And dare she go back to her old self?
I did not like this one. Lexi's obsession with Logan prevents her from taking the one guy who might actually like her seriously. Though it doesn't stop her from dating him [Taylor] for most of the book. While I am glad that Lexi did not get a happily ever after--with either Taylor or Logan--and that she eventually realized how silly she'd been over Logan once she caught a glimpse of the real Logan, I still found most of the book annoying.
Revenge of The Girl with the Great Personality has plenty of drama and conflict. Lexi's family is certainly dysfunctional and broken. Lexi struggles to have a good relationship with her mom and her sister. And there is even a love triangle, of sorts. For those that like YA books focusing on popularity and fitting in or not fitting in...it may be right for you. But. It didn't work for me.
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