Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality by Elizabeth Eulberg

     Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality by Elizabeth Eulberg is a modern-day Cinderella story set in the midst of Toddlers & Tiaras with a dash of Mean Girls. With a mother who regards her as a personal assistant and a 7-year-old beauty pageant diva for a sister, Lexi is mired in the role of the smart, ordinary-looking, obedient daughter. She spends her weekends traipsing to pageant after pageant and though she does get to spend time with her secret crush, feels lost in her sister's shadow. After undergoing a makeover at the prompting of her best friend, Lexi suddenly finds herself being noticed. Reactions to this change are mixed and Lexi tries to discover her true self.

     Eulberg has written an engaging story of self-discovery and friendship. As I read I laughed, steamed with anger and quietly cheered. Lexi and her friends were well-drawn and I wanted to know what became of them. There were some characters, such as her father, that I felt were not as well fleshed-out and I was left wondering about a few things at the end of the story. That said, I finished the book in one sitting as I did not want to put it down and would recommend it to my 8th graders or to high school readers.

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