Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality

by Elizabeth Eulberg, Mery Riansyah (Translator)

Saatnya melakukan perubahan!

Hidupku dikelilingi putri-putri cantik. Adikku, Mac, ratu kecantikan cilik. Ini gara-gara Mom yang ketagihan mendaftarkannya ke semua kontes. Alyssa, pacar dari gebetanku juga bintang fashion show. Cantik dan populer tentu saja!

Mereka, selalu sempurna di mata banyak orang. Apa kabar orang-orang sepertiku? Di dunia itu, aku merasa ada yang salah. Semuanya tampak dipaksakan, dan … palsu. Seharusnya, orang merasa sempurna bukan hanya karena penampilan yang kece, melainkan juga punya kepribadian yang mengagumkan.

Aku harus melakukan ini, gerakan orang-orang berkepribadian mengagumkan! Lihat apa yang akan kulakukan. Mau ikut denganku?

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Realistic Fiction, Chick Lit, Fiction, High School

314 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2013

About the author

The short and sweet version:
Elizabeth Eulberg was born and raised in Wisconsin before heading off to college at Syracuse University and making a career in the New York City book biz. Now a full-time writer, she is the international bestselling author of over a dozen novels, including The Lonely Hearts Club, Prom & Prejudice, Take a Bow, and Better Off Friends, along with the middle-grade series The Great Shelby Holmes and Scared Silly. She now lives in London where she spends her free time aimlessly wandering around historic streets and eating all the scones. ALL OF THEM.

To check out the long version, head over to my webpage: http://www.elizabetheulberg.com/bio/

Also, I'm not checking e-mails on my Goodreads, see my website for information on contacting me! http://www.elizabetheulberg.com/faq/

Happy reading!

Reviews

[Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies · Rating 2 out of 5]

“So you’re cool that he only showed interest in you once you got all glam?”
“Yes!” Benny and I say in unison.

The book's title is rather misleading, for one, there's no "revenge." For another, the sorta-but-not-really-"revenge" of the "girl with the great personality" is to become hot.

:\

I get it. This is an YA book, and in the scheme of adolescent thinking, beauty is everything. I'm trying not to offend any high schoolers here, but generally, the teenaged mind seeks the most simple explanation, and in this book, the solution for lack of popularity with the boys, for not having your parents' attention, for lack of a boyfriend, is in a person's looks, or lack thereof.

Again, this is just my own experience, but in my high school, nobody really cared about dating or getting a guy or becoming hot, which is why I found it so hard to connect to the main character from the way I felt as a teen. The teenaged years are never good years, I think it's the same across the board. Upon reflection, the adult version of us will realize that it takes more than good looks to win a guy, and even the most beautiful person can be so tremendously alone, seeking for love in all the wrong places. Happily married supermodels are quite rare, it seems.

I was an socially awkward teen who didn't know how to talk to people. I was gangly, awkward, flat-chested, and never once in my high school life did I feel like I was a failure at life because I couldn't get a boy. Throughout high school, I didn't have a single date. I never got asked to a single dance. And I never thought the problem was because I wasn't hot or pretty enough.



I could barely string together two words in public (and look at me now!). I didn't have a great personality, because I was kind of the depressed angry sanctimonious little snits once you got around to talking to me, and I realized that. I had more to worry about than how I looked, because, like the sanctimonious little snit I was, I was too busy worrying about the existential crisis of life (true story, I carried around Sartre like the fucking Bible).

So forgive me if, from my own experience, I found the main character rather hard to relate to. I know that this is an YA novel, but I want the situation and the character to be framed in a way that I could understand the character, even if I couldn't relate to her. This book didn't do that for me.

The kind of "become hot, get a boyfriend!" message is kind of a shallow one. Because this is a growing-up type of book, the main character overcomes, but it's still a really, really shallow message, made furthermore by the complete lack of character transformation. The main character likes the fact that she's hot and she's got boys looking at her BECAUSE she's hot in one moment, only to throw a hissy fit that she feels like she's only seen for her looks and not her personality in the next 5 minutes.

It's contradictory, it's hypocritical. This book has:

- A caricature of a pageant family. Think Honey Boo Boo, complete with the grossly obese, obsessed mom living vicariously through her youngest daughter's success in pageantry

- A shallow main character without the "great personality" in the first place, as far as I can see

- Fat AND thin shaming. Her mother is shamed for stress-eating and becoming obese. A thin, beautiful Mean Girl is accused of having an eating disorder.

- A very shallow portrayal of beauty. Those who are beautiful must be shallow, those who aren't beautiful must be worth more in character

- A love triangle that pissed me off more than your average love triangles

The Summary:

Most trouble usually starts with a boy. But he’s not just any boy. No, he’s possibly the most amazing, hottest, and sweetest boy ever known to teenage kind.

Lexi is a cool girl. She's got a lot on her plate, like an overbearing pageant mom, and an unbearably bratty 7-year old baby sister Mac, the competitor in said pageants. Mac is the pretty one. Lexi has always been the girl with the "great personality." And it kind of sucks.

When a guy uses great personality to describe a girl, it’s the polite way of saying fat and ugly.

Except she's not fat. She's not ugly. She just can't get the boy of her dreams, Logan to notice her. Ok, the other part of why she can't have Logan may be due to the fact that Logan is the happy boyfriend of the school beauty queen.

But Lexi's fed up with being ignored.

I know that once I leave high school and go to college, it’ll be different. There’s got to be someone out there who’s willing to give a girl with a great personality a shot.
But for now, I have to bide my time and wait for the moment when the Great Girls inherit the earth.

But she'd fed up with biding her time. She wants her future now. She has a gay friend named Benny who's pretty sick of being ignored by the guy of his dreams, too. They make a plan, change themselves, change their lives.

A makeover and a dress? There is a very good chance no one will even recognize me on Monday.
Including myself.

It works. The only problem is that it works too well, and instead of attracting the boy of her dreams (who has a girlfriend), she attracts the attention of Taylor, the school football star, instead.

Is Taylor in love with the person Lexi is underneath, or does he only see her newly-improved appearance? Will Lexi stop thinking of one guy while she's with another?

“I should be jumping for joy that I’m with somebody as amazing as Taylor, but now all I can think about is that Logan is going to be there. And that he might dance with me.”

The Family: This isn't the sort of family you can usually relate to in a contemporary YA novel. Lexi's family is all sorts of weird. For one thing, her mom is a woman hell-bent on making her 7-year old daughter, Mac, into a tiny pageant queen. Her mom also has problems with overspending, she goes so far as to slap Lexi, to call her ugly, to constantly snub Lexi in favor or the adored child Mac, she steals $4,000 from Lexi, and she has a problem with overspending (which makes them constantly in debt) and with overeating, which is why she is grossly obese.

While I know genetics are partially responsible, I also know that she gained over a hundred pounds after Dad left. She stopped taking care of herself, and just kept eating. The only thing that would get her out of her rut was pageants.

Her mother is just so outrageous, she's the epitome of everything that one can caricature from a reality show, and I expect a little more realism from a book.

Lexi:

Taylor didn’t pay attention to me until I glammed up. But so what? I was a drab version of myself — why would he want to be with someone like that? It’s no wonder guys would never give me the time of day.

The trouble with Lexi is that her journey into looking better devolved into shallowness. We started off with Lexi KNOWING she is a good person, if only people would notice her beyond her fairly plain appearance. After she started making herself over, Lexi became a different person. She makes justifications when guys start noticing her, she starts feeling like she should have tried to be more beautiful all along.

“Well, what do you want me to do? Do you want me to show up in sweats and no makeup and see how he reacts? Did you ever think that maybe I like to dress up? That I like to wear makeup?”
To be honest, I don’t like to wear this much makeup.

She starts lying to herself and ignoring the completely pragmatic advice of her best friend, who's just well-meaning and giving her the big overall pressure. Telling her to not be so quick to rejoice that a boy who has never noticed her before suddenly sees her now that she's "glammed up."

“He never really paid much attention to you, and then you become a fancy version of yourself and suddenly you seem to matter. It’s a little insulting.”

She starts ignoring her best friend, Cam, she of the sage advice, for her new bf.

Cam agrees and, yet again, assures me that she’s okay. But I feel like I’ve let her down. I did the one pageant thing I swore I’d never do: Step on whoever to get to the top.

Because she doesn't like Cam's way of giving her the cold truth. Which makes it all the MORE baffling when Lexi starts getting pissy at Taylor and accusing him of liking her only for her looks when she was completely ok that he apparently noticed her improved appearance a few weeks ago.

“Oh, come on. You didn’t show any interest in me until I started dressing like all those Glamour Girls at school. Don’t pretend you care about anything but how I look.”

The Romance:

“Oh, so you realized that I was at the table.”
“Of course, I knew —”
He cuts me off. “What was that with Logan?”
I don’t know what to say. Of course I had to mess this up. Of course. I mean, yeah, for a split second I thought I was on a date with Logan, but what I did wasn’t fair to Taylor. I should’ve known better. He deserves better.

So Lexi got herself a new boyfriend after her glamorization. Taylor may be a jock, but he's a pretty awesome guy. He's nice, attentive, sweet. The only trouble is that Lexi is constantly dreaming of her crush, Logan, while she's with Taylor.

Logan has a girlfriend. Lexi now has a boyfriend in Taylor. She still has feelings for Logan.

I try to shake off the jealous feeling that’s overwhelming me. I thought that as Taylor and I got more serious I’d stop obsessing over Logan, but old habits (and delusional fantasies) die hard.

She never, ever stops thinking about Logan throughout the entire book, and shall I emphasize that she's still dating Taylor?

I don’t even know if I like Taylor. He’s gorgeous, so I’d be stupid not to. But because I’m pathetic, all I keep thinking about is Logan. I was hoping that once I had a real date with a real boy my Logan delusions would end, or at least subside.

And she can't stop comparing her fantasies of the Best Kiss Ever with Logan while Taylor's taken her out on a date and didn't try to make a move on her.

“Wait a second.” Benny snaps me back to reality. “So because he didn’t shove his tongue down your throat, you’re convinced that he’s not into you? Has the thought ever crossed your mind that he’s being a gentleman?”

So in conclusion, Lexi thinks she's an awful person for having feelings for two guys at the same time, one of whom is the sweetest guy ever.

“Oh, it’s … I think I’m an awful person.”
“What?” Benny and Cam ask in unison.
“Why can’t I get Logan out of my head?”
“Because you’re a glutton for punishment,” Benny says with a grin.
“I should be jumping for joy that I’m with somebody as amazing as Taylor, but now all I can think about is that Logan is going to be there. And that he might dance with me.”

And I would have to agree.

[jv poore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes. The book is as good as the title. I love a story of self-discovery and acceptance through trial and error. Revenge of the Girl With the Great Personality centers around that theme, but is so much more.

Lexi is an almost-typical teen living with an atypical family. Her narcissistic, unhappy mother that tries valiantly to live vicariously through her youngest daughter is easy to despise, yet somehow, manages to elicit a bit of empathy here and there. The young sister appears as a despicable, spoiled brat; but, there may be hope for her. One of Lexi’s best friends, Benny, steals the show. The Beautiful People are well depicted, with each adding unique traits to enrich the story.

I found this book compelling. I enjoyed the layers of Lexi: the “adult” and the big sister at home, the Great Personality at school and work. Lexi hadn’t initiated a journey of self-discovery, which (to me) makes the tale so much cooler. Her transformation is immediate and stunning. Effects are varied, resulting in confusion, hurt feelings and lots of attention. Fortunately, Lexi’s drastic change encourages her not only to truly examine herself, but to take a hard look at real friends versus Beautiful People.

I admire the way the author captured true teen personalities, without resorting to the use of crude and lazy conversations that I’ve come to expect from Middle School and High School students (Don’t misunderstand, I do love the crazy kids.) Ms. Eulberg’s writing weaves in small details that enhance the story. Benny’s t-shirts make me smile, and the chapter titles are hilarious. I couldn’t wait to see if Lexi’s 180 became a 360, or if she could create a middle ground. Rooting for her to summon the courage to speak her mind to those she finds oppressive, I forfeited sleep to see how her story would end. I am not sorry for that, I liked everything about this book.

[Jill · Rating 2 out of 5]

This review will probably be longer than the short book itself, but unfortunately the author has inspired me to go off on a diatribe.

Eulberg tries to incorporate some good messages into this novel but I’m not sure she doesn’t undermine herself at most turns. Her biggest messages seem to be:

(1) There is nothing “wrong” with being gay; in fact, there is no reason for gay kids and their romances and romance angstiness to be treated any differently than hetero romance and angst. The author does a great job on this score.

(2) Preoccupation with looks is absurd and does not indicate true worth. Here, I think Eulberg submarines her own case. In the story, Lexi Anderson, 16, has a seven-year-old sister, Mackenzie (“Mac”) who is pretty much a fictional incarnation of Honey Boo Boo (the nickname of seven-year-old child beauty pageant participant Alana Thompson, who appears in a reality tv show along with her family.) Lexi is considered the one with “the great personality” while Mac is “the beauty.” (Lexi explains that “When a guy uses great personality to describe a girl, it’s the polite way of saying fat and ugly.”) Presumably, the author (via Lexi) aims to show us this is not the case. But the way she goes about it actually vitiates her point.

First of all, notice how fat is paired with ugly. Fat is also paired with unpleasantness in general: the mother is not only a horrid, screeching caricature of pageant moms, but is overweight to boot. The obesity helps contribute to her image of being repulsive. Moreover, Lexi frequently makes observations like this one:

One of the benefits of having a morbidly obese mother is that it has made me overly paranoid about my weight. I stick to mostly non-processed foods, which is basically the opposite of what Mom eats. So I’m not fat and I’m not the most disgusting girl in my class, but I’m nowhere near the prettiest.”

Message: fat equals disgusting.

I’d love to be able to report that Lexi goes on to develop some understanding for her mother, who is divorced, emotionally devastated, financially strapped, and afraid for her future. So okay, she might use food as a way to relax and/or as an antidepressant. How many of us are free enough of those tendencies to throw stones and not exhibit a little compassion? But Lexi’s only epiphany is that you don’t need to look like a full-blown beauty pageant contestant (i.e., tons of hairspray, makeup, provocative clothing, and an anorexic frame) in order to thrive and be happy. But a little bit certainly helps, to Lexi’s mind.

In fact, one of the worst things about the book, to me, is that Lexi turns out, when primped up with makeup and short skirts and tight tees, to be “a hottie” afterall. Thus, she really is a babe, destroying the whole argument that one can simply be a great girl with a great personality and still get the guy or be valuable or whatever other positive message the author would like to convey. What if she weren’t actually a “hottie” in disguise?

This is such a common meme it is almost unrecognizable on a conscious level. But think about The Ugly Duckling. Sure, the duckling got its “revenge” against the bullies when it turned into a beautiful swan, but what about if it just grew up to be an older ugly duck?

And then there’s this most awful bit: When Lexi finally starts dressing for school like a sex kitten, her best friend Cam reports that boys are talking about her:

Cam sighs. ‘They’re all like…’ Cam makes her voice low, ‘Dude, have you seen Lexi, she’s looking hot, wouldn’t mind getting me a piece of that.’ You know, stupid guy stuff.”

Wait for it:

Lexi:

‘Really?’ I try to not make it known how happy this makes me.”

Gaaaah! The author never takes this issue on at all (except obliquely in reference to the pageants), i.e., the perception of girls as sex objects and worse yet, girls being HAPPY to be thought of in that way. GAAAAH! How bad is the societal addiction of women to look attractive to men that “finally” being totally objectified makes girls HAPPY? Gaaaaah!

Lexi does manage to have some good insights in spite of these plot elements that negate them. For instance, she comes to understand that:

...high school is exactly like a beauty pageant. … Instead of a tiara,” she observes, “you’re anointed worthy of a spot at the Beautiful People table [in the cafeteria].”

She also has lots to say about the vileness of pimping little girls in the beauty pageants, although disappointingly, no sophisticated insights on gender, sexuality, power relationships, or even sexual trafficking, which could have been appropriate under the circumstances. And finally, both she and her little sister Mac occasionally sound much more sophisticated than their years, although its possible that living on the pageant circuit can do that to you.

So let’s move on to the good things:

1. The book is fast paced, and keeps your interest.
2. The chapter titles are very clever, reminiscent of the style used in Hold Me Closer, Necromancer.
3. I like Lexi’s constant impulse to interrogate her own behavior and motivations, and to try to be a good person, or at least recognize when she is not.
4. As mentioned above, I love the way the author developed the story with Lexi’s BGayFF Benny. It’s done well enough that I [almost] can forgive the tired trope of Lead Girl’s Best Friend Who Is A Gay Guy.
5. There is a lot of humor, and a spot-on description of the concerns a teenage girl would have on her first date.
6. The story has not one but TWO “hair tuck” quotes for my hair tuck database (and once again a cute guy with a “crooked smile.” Why oh why didn’t a start a database for THOSE passages too?)

Evaluation: I was made very uncomfortable by the handling of both weight and beauty issues in this book. While it seemed as if the author had good intentions, I think maybe she couldn’t quite escape her own socialization. To me, the story didn't seem as “empowering” as I think she intended it.

Rating: 2.5/5

[Fafa's Book Corner · Rating 2 out of 5]

Review posted on Fafa's Book Corner !

Beware spoilers ahead!

I had heard about this book through GR. It sounded really good, light and just what I needed. I was very happy that this was in my library. Unfortunately I did not enjoy this.

The book begins with Lexi at her little sisters beauty pageant. As always Lexi is cheering Mac on. Lexi hates pageants. Her mother ends up spending a lot of money just for her sister to wear this cheap plastic tiara.

When Lexi was younger her parents would always argue. She didn't understand what they were talking about but she knew it must have been bad because they would always shout. Then Lexi's mom was pregnant with Mac. And her parents started getting along. Unfortunately Mac wasn't enough to save their parents marriage. Her father left them nonetheless.

Her mother was trying to look for ways to mend the whole in her heart. When they were shopping they came across an add for a beauty pageant. Lexi refused to participate but her mother was able to Mac to. Ever since then Mac has been in all these competitions. They can't actually afford any of it but they manage to get by because Lexi is working.

The reason I couldn't finish this is because of Lexi's mother. I couldn't stand her! All she cared about were these pageant's which they couldn't afford. She didn't even care that her daughter was having fun participating in these pageant's. No she only cared about winning so that she could say her daughter won. She treated Lexi terribly. She was horrible and ridiculous. While I know that this is realistic because some mothers are like that isn't a reason for me to continue.

However I did like some things. There are a lot of good lessons to be taken from this book. And in the end Lexi chooses herself over a guy and her relationship with her sister improves. Unfortunately this wasn't enough for me to put with their mother.

Overall I didn't like the mother. But I still recommend this to everyone because of the lessons learnt.

[Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book, you had a cheerleader in me at the beginning. But you lost me somwhere after halfway through.

I mean, with this quote

“You’re just jealous because you’re ugly.”
And like that, the camel’s back has been broken. I turn around and see panic flicker in her eyes. She knows she’s gone too far. But instead of forgiving her, I say, “Yeah, well, I’d rather be ugly on the outside than on the inside. I can be painted up to look like one of your precious beauty queens, but you’re always going to be an ungrateful brat.”

I couldn't keep my inner cheerleader from screaming: YOU GO GIRL!!!!!!!!1!!1!111

But yeah, that was the start and end of my short-lived cheerleading for this book. It was OK, I guess, at some point it just turned a little too dramatic, preachy and YOU STOOPID GURL??? for my taste.

Also, the love triangle drama was just making me feel like headdesking. Obviously there's this guy she's been in luuurve with since forever and then there's the nice and fun guy who actually likes her for being her, not only after her makeover (like luuurved him since forever guy), and of course she goes on treating him shitty, even if he doesn't deserve it. Le sigh. She doesn't end up being with either of them at the end and I'm like well, Nice And Fun Guy is better off without her anyways. Not only here did she make ALL THE WRONG CHOICES (hi there, new shelf!), so I don't think I would be interested in spending time with "the girl with the great personality", which isn't as great as she (and everyone else in this book) likes to think.

I guess I'd recommend this to fans of Toddlers & Tiaras. This is supposed to show how utterly ridiculous beauty peagants are and is all preachy about it but all I could think after a while was: meh. So I don't know, I'd say go watch Honey Boo Boo instead because girl is way more entertaining than this book was, no matter how good its intentions were.

[Natalie (Natflix&Books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

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 from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Tiff · Rating 4 out of 5]

What the synopsis doesn't tell you is that Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality is about more than just appearance vs. inner beauty. It's about Lexi's family, and her struggles after her parents divorce. To me, this is a family book with a lot of comedy, and a nice shot of self-esteem.

Lexi's mom is obsessed with her sister Mackenzie's pageant career, even though the family can't afford the thousands of dollars that they sink into pageanting for hair, makeup, clothes, choreography, etc. Mackenzie, meanwhile, has turned into a total brat who only thinks of herself and ensures that Lexi never has a weekend off because she thinks everyone should be on Team Mackenzie, helping her win.

Lexi not only feels like the ugly sister , but she also has to work constantly just to ensure that she can eat right (her mom and sister seem to exist only on fast processed foods), have a life with her friends, and save money to go to a summer program at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. No wonder she's fed up with her life.

Lexi's struggle to find herself after her father leaves is the most interesting part of the story for me. Lexi's low self-esteem is such a symptom of her role in the family, and her father's abandonment. She really believes that she *is* nothing but the ugly older sister. That's scary to me, because even from the beginning we see that she's a funny, awesome person. But her problems stem a lot more from her struggle to find a place - and a parent - who can accept her as she is. Yes, there's a lot of emphasis on Lexi's outer appearance, but through all of her makeover, we see that Lexi just wants to belong somewhere.

Read the rest of this review at Mostly YA Lit!

[Naoms · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally Posted on: Confessions of an Opinionated Book Geek

3.5 Stars

Lexi has a great personality. She is funny and is a lot of fun to be around. Everyone likes her, but no one wants to date her. Add to that the fact that Lexi’s kid sister is a beauty queen who controls all of the attention and you have one self-deprecating heroine. Lexie doesn’t think she’s beautiful and doesn’t think she’ll get the guy, until her best friend challenges her. If Lexie wants her bf Benny to take the plunge then Lexie must put some effort into her looks. Lexie dolls up and so her revenge begins. The girl with the great personality is actually pretty hot.

This book is a lot of fun. It is charming, sad in some places and the characters will frustrate you, but it is honestly an enjoyable read. Lexie is an average teenage girl. She has her two best friends, has issues with her parents and thinks a lot about boys, but she is not whiney or annoying. She is a likeable heroine, because she takes life in stride. She wants things her mom cannot afford to give her? That’s cool; Lexie gets a part time job and meticulously saves her money. I like that about her.

I like Lexie, but hate her family. Her sister is spoiled and her father is a deadbeat who pretends not to be, but it is her mother who I despised. First of all, I have no respect for parents who dress their children up like adults and parade them around a stage. Second, any parent who favors one child and ignores the other does not deserve children. Lexi is marginalized and treated like second best, while her sister is treated like a princess. Lexie is forced to be apart of the pageant team, spending her free time supporting and working for her little sister. It is disgusting. Her mom doesn’t support her in anyway. She just expects Lexie to take the abuse and fall in line. I have never been supportive of open rebellion, the way I supported Lexie. I wanted her mom brought low.

This book is entertaining, but not genius. I saw every twist and turn coming a mile away. Not a single action taken by the characters surprised me. The great thing is that I didn’t care. I just really liked reading Lexi’a journey.

It doesn’t get four stars or higher, because I did not like the ending. It wasn’t a horrible ending, but a lot seemed unresolved. What is Lexie going to do about Tyler? When will Benny and Lexie realize that they were awful friends to Cam and make amends? What about Lexie’s relationship with her parents? Have they learned their lesson? Will they evolve? Will Lexie simply have to leave her parents behind?

My final thought is that there is nothing wrong with putting on a little make-up or wearing fancy clothes. I like make-up and I have been known to splurge on a pretty dress. If you decide to be what the author refers to as a “glam girl” that is your right. Not every girl who dresses up, does that to impress anyone or to gain the attention of the opposite sex. Also, not every girl who puts on some foundation and eyeliner is going to be the sexiest girl in the school.

I am sick of these stories like “She’s All That” where a girl changes up her style and everything is perfect. Some of us are not gorgeous, some of us are just average or maybe even below average. It would have been nice if Lexi actually put on the make-up and just looked ok. Nope! She puts on a dress and the entire school population is stumbling all over themselves, because wow she’s pretty. Have you actually seen a pretty girl without make-up? She is still very pretty. So, for everyone to be like “OMG!” just because she put down her hair and put on some make-up, I found it wrong and misleading. Sixteen year old girls, who feel the way Lexie feels, are going to read this. It is not ok for them to believe that just putting on an expensive shirt and some eyeliner is going to make all the boys fall in line.

Beauty comes from within. Everyone has to learn to love themselves, before they can expect someone else to love them. That is something my mother said to teenage me as I struggled with body issues and the fact that I am not the most attractive girl. She was right. I think by the end of this book, Lexie would agree with my mom’s sage old wisdom.

Recommended for fans of Mean Girls, readers of Young Adult Fiction and anyone looking for an easy and fun read.

[Sassy Sarah Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality by Elizabeth Eulberg

4 stars

Lexi is funny, popular, and smart… but she’s never been one of those girls. You know the beautiful ones? The ones that boys hold doors open for, whistle at, and flirt with. She’s always just been the girl with the great personality. She stopped caring about her appearance and sees no point in competing with her beautiful sister, Mackenzie. Mackenzie is what every girl strives to be and she’s only seven. When her and her best friend start to make deals about her changing her appearance she becomes the girl that she’s always wanted to be. But is it what she wanted? This book was amazing. I sped through it in one day. It’s been a while since I picked up a girly YA contemporary. I’m so glad I picked up this one though. It was worth it in so many ways. I came across this book on a blog and when reading the review I thought, “This sounds awesome and something I could relate to.” I think we’ve all felt like the girl that only had the great personality. Lexi’s discovery of herself is such an inspiration. It was easy to relate to and I sped through all of the drama that reminds me so much of myself.

Whimsical Writing Scale: 3.5

The main female character is Lexi. Lexi is exactly as she’s described, but she’s also super sarcastic. I happen to love sarcastic heroines, especially when they are smart and have good quips and logic to back up what they are saying. Lexi is incredibly brave for all the stuff she had to put up with. I teared up a little bit at one part, but my reasons for being a huge softy are best kept secret.

Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 4.5

The main male characters are Taylor and Logan. A bit of a love triangle, but I enjoyed it and was satisfied with Lexi’s decision in the end. Out of the two boys Taylor was most definitely my favorite and I never swooned over Logan like Lexi did. Maybe it’s because I was like her friends and thought she needed to drop him like a hat.

Swoon Worthy Scale: Taylor-4 Logan- 1.5

The Villain- This really made me cry, because I knew it would happen. I had that sneaking suspicion the closer we got to the climax and I was sad that I was right. It was totally unfair to Lexi and Mackenzie as well.

Villain Scale: 4.25

Mackenzie comes off as such a spoiled brat, but towards the end of the book we see the real Mackenzie. Not the makeup and tiara-wearing Mackenzie, but the little seven-year-old that just wants to have fun. Benny and Cam are great friends and their whole dynamic felt like a real friendship. Benny was my favorite though because he never fell to make me laugh, but Cam was always there even when she wasn’t.

Character Scale: 4.75

This is a very strong character driven novel. It worked well for me because Eulberg has such a brilliant writing style. I was entranced from page one to the ending. I’m so glad I decided to read Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality. The ending though was slightly disappointing. While we did get a lot of closure for events, I also wonder what happened to their mom and their relationship afterward. Even though there wasn’t much revenge there was a very satisfying showdown. This book reminds me of The DUFF. I don’t want to make comparisons but it made me feel the same way. A book that was just like me and that I could relate to. Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality is a brilliant novel with great characters, drama, and a lesson.

Plotastic Scale: 4.5

Cover Thoughts: The cover is absolutely gorgeous. I love the simplicity and how easily it fits the story.

ARC kindly provided by Scholatic and Netgalley for an honest review.

[Lottie Eve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Revenge of the Girl With the Great Personality is one of those books that one will be able to romp through in a very short amount of time. This book is fun, interesting, cute, but it can also be quite emotional at times. Sure, there are some clichés but the book is still a fun read. Comparing this book to a good pile of sweet candy would be pretty accurate. Revenge of the Girl With the Great Personality is sweet and made me want to devour it as fast as possible.

And no, I didn’t eat a whole bag of candy awhile reading this book. Okay, maybe a little bag of candy.

This is the story about the girl with the Great Personality. She doesn’t go on dates or gets invited to parties. She isn’t gorgeous either. She is only that girl with the Great Personality. She is almost always inferior to her other classmates as she doesn’t stand out much and she is always being compared to her bratty, beauty-queen little sister and taken for granted by her mother. The reader gets to see this girl who loathes being the girl with the Great Personality grow into a fine, strong young woman who knows that in fact, it is a good thing to have a Great Personality and proudly holds the label.

The things that I liked:

*The opening chapter. The book starts off with Lexi applying butt glue to her sister. How can that not interest you?

*Lexi is a well written character that I couldn’t get enough of. She is a determined, fun, and hardworking character that was absolutely refreshing to read about. Her voice is witty and kept me reading until the last page. Her development was also very nice.

*The novel was able to evoke a lot of emotion within me. Whether it was excitement, happiness, sadness, or outrage.

*Lexi’s sister Mackenzie also gets some character development. At first, she is very bratty and selfish but we start getting glimpses of how she feels about the pageants and the reader is able to sympathise with her.

*The fun. There was a lot of fun parts in this novel and I enjoyed them when they came

*The positive message. Revenge of the Girl With the Great Personality contains a very positive message: beauty is not what make who you are it is the personality that does.

Thing that were okay:

*The love interest. Taylor and Logan were okay but not that great. They both fell a little flat.

*Lexi’s parents. I wished that there was something that could have me feel at least some sympathy for them. Unfortunately, the only thing we see in this book is how careless, stupid, and selfish they are.

*Lexi’s friends. They felt very cookie-cutter to me. They did support Lexi and helped her when she needed it but I didn’t find any depth to them. Benny seemed like a comic relief and I am getting tired of homosexual characters being used as such. And Cam just didn’t have much page time.

Things that I disliked:

*The ending didn’t satisfy me. The reader doesn’t get to see what happens to Lexi and her family. It felt as if there should have been at least two more chapters to give the reader some closure.

Overall…

Revenge of the Girl With the Great Personality is very well worth the read. It is poignant, fun, and contains a well written main character that will win you over. I enjoyed reading this novel immensely and I am sure many others will!

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a huge, huge fan of Elizabeth Eulberg and Take a Bow was one of my favorite books that I read last year. When I saw Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality on netgalley, I was so excited to start reading it. With a title like that, how could it not be good? Revenge was a fun, quick read and it was everything that I was expecting and more!

I loved Lexi as a character. In her family, she isn't considered the pretty one, that title is reserved for her 7 year old beauty queen sister (think Toddlers & Tiaras). She is known as the girl with the great personality and she is ok with that. She is used to never being noticed, that is until one day when she decides to do a makeover. She starts to wear tighter fitting clothing, changes her hairstyles and wears make-up. Now everyone is noticing her, including some of the cutest boys in school. In an instant, Lexi's life is changed. When it comes down to it, is fake friends really worth it? The boys and girls only want to talk to her because of how she looks and Lexi isn't sure if that is the life she wants.

Even though this story is focused on teenagers, everyone can relate to it. We live in a society where looks matter above anything else. But there is so much more to a person then how they look on the outside. What matters is who they are on the inside. Revenge has a great message for teenagers, and I think it would make a fantastic book for my school book club!

Another aspect of this book is beauty pageants. There is a huge debate in this country about little girl beauty queens. Personally, I think these pageants are disgusting. Those parts in the story were really hard to read because it is something that I feel strongly against. I think we got a realistic portrayal of what happens behind the scenes, about the parents who support this, and the girls who participate in it. I felt so bad for Mackenzie. She can be such a terror, but then you realize that she is a 7 year old who is forced to act like an adult which is one of the reasons that I am so against this. Children should be children, and nothing else. These pageants force them to grow up so much quicker then they should.

[Daniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eliazabeth Eulberg
Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality
Bentang Pustaka
312 halaman
5.4

Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality sepertinya diilhami oleh lagu "Beautiful" dari Cherrybelle. Tapi, memang amanat dalam cerita kalau "cantik itu datangnya dari dalam hati" memang tidak pernah ada habisnya. Apalagi mengingat banyaknya remaja (terutama remaja cewek) yang tidak henti-hentinya pusing memikirkan penampilan, berusaha keras untuk mengikuti tren masa kini yang tak ada ujungnya sampai akhirnya capai sendiri. Beauty comes from the inside menjadi satu hal yang penting untuk dicamkan baik-baik buat para remaja, dan enggak heran kalau banyak young adult yang mengangkat tema semacam ini. Buat saya, sebagai cowok, saya selalu ngeliat cewek dari kepribadian--dan meskipun penampilan yang menarik juga enggak bikin saya mati, tapi saya percaya kalau semua cewek itu cantik. Jadi, kalau kalian para gadis bilang kalau cowok yang tertarik ama kepribadian itu cuman bullshit-bullshit belaka, itu salah. Saya contohnya. Tapi siapalah saya ini hanya cowok butiran upil Anisa Cherrybelle.

Tidak seperti kebanyakan novel young adult bertema serupa yang lebih menitikberatkan kepada body image, seperti di The Princess in Me atau Perfection, Revenge of the Girl ini lebih ke penggunaan make-up. Saya percaya setiap orang, regardless of the gender, berhak melakukan apa pun untuk mendongkrak rasa percaya diri mereka, termasuk make-up, tapi jangan sampai rasa percaya diri kamu bergantung kepada make-up. Bingung, ya? Saya juga, mayan. Tapi maksud saya, yang bikin kamu percaya diri itu bukan make-up, tetapi perasaan dari dalam diri kamu. Dan, itu yang Lexi, sang karakter utama, berusaha pelajari di buku ini.

Lexi, cewek SMA rakyat jelata yang sedang-sedang saja, tiba-tiba saja berubah ketika ia bertaruh dengan sahabatnya untuk mengenakan make up ke sekolah. Hasilnya, ia berubah menjadi cantik dan dilihat banyak orang. Tapi, tentu diikuti dengan pengorbanan: sahabat, keluarga, dan kehidupan asmaranya.

Dengan begitu banyaknya subplot, Revenge of the Girl ini terasa penuh dan compact, meninggalkan sejumlah plot yang mengambang hingga di akhir cerita. Semuanya jadi serba nanggung dengan akhir cerita yang tidak mengakhiri apa pun. Anehnya gaya terjemahan yang digunakan di buku ini juga lumayan bikin saya enggak terlalu menikmati ceritanya. Dibandingkan dengan cerita Eulberg yang lain, Take a Bow, misalnya, yang jauh lebih heartwarming, Revenge of the Girl ini terasa tidak berkesan. Apalagi saya juga curiga kalau Bentang Pustaka sengaja mengubah karakter Benny yang gay menjadi ungay, dengan alasan yang jelas, tetapi jelas tidak bisa diterima.

Eulberg terkenal dengan premis cerita yang sederhana, mengingatkan saya akan Sarah Dessen. Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality menawarkan amanat yang tak akan lekang oleh waktu, tetapi jelas bukan karya Eulberg yang terbaik.

Ulasan ini juga bisa dibaca di sini.

[Katy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ahhh!!! I love it! I hate it! I thought it would make me laugh. It actually made me cry! Okay, deep breaths.

Well, I really needed to get my mind off Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare, so I just wanted a light, quick, cute, fun read, and what's better than a "hilarious new novel from Elizabeth Eulberg about taking the wall out out the wallflower so she can bloom." So why not.

I admit, it took me a little while to get into the book, because it was your cliche, by-the-book story about the older sister whose younger sibling gets all the attention. Big surprise, she's an average nobody at school who wants to fit in and wants to get the guy everyone loves, and of course, you have all of your usual pageant elements and drama. But hey, I wasn't expecting much.

Then, about a third of the way through, it really grew on me. First of all, I love Taylor because he was always real, and he really did charm me from the start. And Benny and Cam were you stereotypical best friends, but they felt real to me, unlike your typical best friends in such books. And their problems were more than the petty you became beautiful so you ditched us types of concerns. Cam genuinely looked out for Lexi's best interest regarding Taylor, and Benny just wanted her to reach her full potential.

But the thing I liked most about this book was that Lexi never lost herself throughout the change. Sure, she became beautiful, and she wanted to please the popular crowd. But she never forgot her friends, giving up the popular crowd to make sure her friends knew they came first, even when they sometimes didn't. And the scene where she said she could have told them that she gave up the popular crowd for them but decided against telling them - that right there earned my respect for what a great person Lexi was.

So what exactly did I love… er… hate? The end! I thought my book was missing a few pages. Ack! The torture! This was exactly what I did NOT need after reading Clockwork Princess. Ugh!

Okay, okay, so it was a pretty cool ending, very powerful - one that leaves you with a renewed sense of hope and determination. Yeah, yeah, but what about Taylor! Or I guess more importantly, her relationship with her mother and her father. Hmph, I guess I'll have to leave it up to my imagination.

[Carie · Rating 1 out of 5]

You should know that I did not read this entire book. But I feel compelled to write a review lest I ever cross paths with this book again and think "oh, that sounds like a fluffy fun YA read...'

This is not about a girl with a great personality "getting revenge." This is a book about an abusive mother, splashed with a diatribe against child beauty pageants. I would like to state for the record that I am very much against child abuse and despise beauty pageants for children. I just didn't want to read a book about them, especially a book with a tone similar to an after school special.

If you would like to read a book about a girl with great personality getting revenge, may I recommend a very well written one? "The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks."

[Stephanie A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book candy. "Average" looking girl wears makeup, people trip over themselves when they see the difference, and then the makeup-wearer realizes, "Oh no, people only respect me when I'm artificially beautiful!" (Even though I think a makeover just gets your foot in the door so that people realize you exist and are interesting regardless of how you look.) The parts I liked best were when she was screaming at her horrible, self-absorbed mother who puts the family into debt to keep her sister in pageants, even though said sister never wins any money doing them.

[Kaitlyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

this book is eh. there is no climax/exciting point. i wasn’t eager to keep reading or anything. a basic love story where the girl like someone and ends up with them but looses feelings and has family issues.

[Estelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review originally posted on Rather Be Reading Blog

My awesome baby-sitting skills have become sort of a running joke in my family. My sister even mentioned them in her maid of honor speech at my wedding. My name is Estelle and I used to tie my sister to a chair in front of the television. For the record, it wasn’t because she was a snot to me. She just would not sit still. And hey, she turned out okay? So really, this was not traumatic at all.

A few pages into Elizabeth Eulberg’s new book and let me tell you, my sister was a saint compared to Mac. While my sister and I are five years apart, Lexi and Mac have a staggering 9 years between them and their upbringing couldn’t be more different. Even though Lexi’s parents fought a ton, she was brought up with two parents. Upon Mac’s arrival, Dad peaces out and Mom decides to bond with her youngest by signing her up for beauty pageants. And, hence, Mac the brat is born.

So not only is Lexi reeling from her parent’s divorce (still), she is forced into assisting with all the details of Mac’s pageants too. It’s not often that we have a character who is cast in the shadow of her younger sibling, and I liked this change. The age gap between the two is so apparent, especially when Lexi sees that their mom is spending ALL their money on this obsession (even after Mac can’t win back their entry fee many times). But Lexi’s mom doesn’t want to hear it. I was appalled (APPALLED) by how she dismissed Lexi’s worries and continually accused her of being jealous of Mac.

Luckily, Lexi has some great best friends to turn to. (The kind of friends that always make me miss high school.) Cam and Benny are very supportive, awesome people and I love that Benny convinces Lexi to show the world what she is made of. They both challenge each other to dive into something new: Benny is going to ask out a boy he likes (he’s gay but not completely “out”) and Lexi is going to primp and polish her appearance and see herself as beautiful for once.

In some ways, this plan soars and, in others, it backfires. Mac sees Lexi as competition, and becomes even more of a whiny brat (if possible). But, on the other hand, Lexi starts to be more social with her peers and even gets to go on her first date with the adorable Taylor. (Even though she can’t stop thinking about Logan, who has a girlfriend and never looks at her like that.) While I know a makeover is not the answer to esteem issues, I do like the way it helped Lexi build her confidence and figure out how she wanted to present herself to the world.

But, at the heart of this book are some deep, intense family issues and I applaud Eulberg for giving a lot more depth to her storylines and characters this time around. (This was one of my reservations with Take a Bow.) Lexi and Mac’s mom was so resistant to her daughters’ pleas to change their life for the better. Their mom was severely obese, and goes to some disgusting lows to keep the appearance of their “beauty pageant” life going. In the end, though, this storyline seemed to suffer with a quick ending and not enough resolution. I’m not sure their mom was capable of being a good mom. She was emotionally and physically unhealthy, unwilling to see her family for what it really was, and used the pageants as a distraction from reality. I finished the book still worrying about the well-being of both girls. (Especially for Mac, who wasn’t lucky enough to have college to escape to.)

While The Lonely Hearts Club still holds my heart as far as Eulberg’s work goes, I was really pleased to see growth in both plot and characterization in Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality. The author brings up some great points when it comes to appearance and the strength it takes to be honest (especially when others don’t want to hear it). While Lexi has a few more opportunities than the average person to tell it like it is in a public forum, I respected her for her patience, honesty, logic, and willingness to try new things.

[Maggie Boyd · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lexi spends all her time at beauty pageants for her little sister. After her parent's divorced, her mom got fat and then got determined - determined that her toddler Mac would become a beauty pageant winner. The family has spent the last several years using money and time they don't have on the toddlers and tiara circuit. And now they are on the edge of implosion - Mac is a seven year old brat who throws tantrums over everything, Lexi is working her butt off just to get her hands on fresh fruits and vegetables and save toward a future and their father never sees them since he refuses to go to pageants but their mother refuses to stop the pageants so the girls have a weekend free for their dad.

Into this explosive environment comes Lexi's best buddy Benny and his tit for tat bet. Lexi will glam up and he will start moving his relationship with the hot guy in his study hall into boyfriend territory. He calls Chris, she wears makeup and a dress to school. He goes on a date, she flirts with guys. Before long Lexi is spending two hours to get ready for school but in exchange is dating a guy from the popular table and is moving up in the world. Unfortunately, it's not the guy she's had a crush on for the last several years. Then something happens that makes her reexamine her recent behavior and ask, is this who she really is?

The author does a good job of showing us that the toddler/little girl beauty pageants are actually quite sick. She also does a good job of reminding us that it is very easy for children to become the defenseless victims of a divorce. It is clear their father is negligent for all his calling the girls "princess" and it is clear their mother is in so much pain from what is happening in her own life that she can do no more than hurt her children as she tries to fix it. Wisely, Ms. Eulberg doesn't try to show us two perfect by-products of this mess. Lexi can barely figure out how to manage dating relationships and Mac is being destroyed by what is happening.

However, Ms. Eulberg really makes a mess of her message regarding beauty and popularity in several key ways:

1. Pretty doesn't equal popular. The key to being popular isn't just buying makeup and getting the right hairstyle. There are dozens of factors that create the "in" crowd beyond looks. This message really needs to leave books/movies.

2. Not wearing makeup doesn't make you a better, more real person than dressing cute and wearing makeup. Not judging a person by how they look? That puts you ahead of the game.

3. A parent is more than how they look. It seemed that Lexi's fat mom was judged more harshly than her handsome but selfish father. It would perhaps have been better to give no physical descriptors of the parents and just let us judge them by their truly ugly behavior.

Problems in the writing not related to beauty:

1. What gave Lexi a great personality? That she was nice? A lot of people in the book were nice. This feature was never really described.

2. The "fixed by fiction" conversion of Mac. Seven year olds tend not to be that wise. Or that easy to fix. Wish they were.

The author has an engaging, entertaining style of writing that would have delivered a terrific story if she had concentrated on her story over her (confused) message.

[Catastrophe Queen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder... But let's be honest, people tend to gravitate towards more physically attractive individuals even if they have the personality of a rock.

This book addresses many issues such as self-image, family dynamics, self-esteem, and friendship.

The book stars Lexi. The smart, funny, and down-to-earth girl who hides behind her pageant sister's shadow. Her mom is basically depressed after separating from her husband and has thrown herself into being this monster pageant mom who is obsessed with getting her seven -year-old daughter a worthless, sparkly crown. She steals money from Lexi, treats her like shit, and doesn't listen to her children. I hated her! I tried to be sympathetic but in the end she didn't even think she did anything wrong. Dayuuum.

Lexi tries to bust out of her wallflower image by having an extreme makeover. But in the end she realised that it's not about the way you look that should attract people but the personality and values you have.

I liked Lexi. She was a good person and even though she went through a confusing time she didn't let her problems break her. I also liked her relationship with Taylor. I was disappointed that they didn't end up together.

I wanted to know more about Cam and Benny because they were the most amazing best friends a girl could have.

So basically my big problem with this was Lexi's unresolved family issues. I just couldn't believe her mom's horrid attitude. I tried to be sympathetic but it was too difficult because it's harder to help adults out of their crises when they have such fixed notions that are difficult to change.

But overall it was a very entertaining book. I highly recommend it.

[georgia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stars for character development and four stars for the protagonist not ending up with either of the love interests. Three stars for saying a great personality is all you need; fuck yeah for eating loads of junk food and not cuddling up to your boyf but instead your best friends. FUCK YEAH!!



Okay, so maybe there was no revenge and maybe there was pretty much no plot line to it apart from a non-existent love triangle and the mother stealing four grand from the kid but I liked the concept.

[Lauren]

A fun fluff book with a focus on what beauty (both inner and outer) really means.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars!

[Brittany S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Initial Reactions:This was a super cute and really fun read!
I've been there - The friend. The girl with the great personality.... And zero interest from guys - So I know exactly how Lexi feels. I'm sure most of us have (or at least felt like it) and I've gone through the same kind of life lessons and realizations to truly be happy with myself.

I really liked the way the story ended too (with one major/minor exception) - Without giving the end away, I was hoping it would go like that for the most part so PHEW.

Review originally posted on The Book Addict's Guide: REVENGE OF THE GIRL WITH THE GREAT PERSONALITY (henceforth known as “REVENGE” because WOW that’s a mouthful) was one of those books that I deem “fun” due to Lexi’s titular great personality, but don’t be fooled by the sass and cleverness – REVENGE also has a lot of big issues surrounding Lexi’s family and friends.

I love the plot of the girl with the great personality. I mean, haven’t we all been there? I know this book hit a personal note for me because I spent most of high school being the third/fifth/seventh wheel, the last person asked to dances (if I even got asked), and that girl sitting on the couch while my friends flirted with boys. There wasn’t anything wrong with me — I was just the girl with the great personality, not the girl the boys wanted to flirt with or date or ask to dances. I happened to have friends who were gorgeous or flirtatious or rebellious so they got all the attention and I always felt like there MUST be something wrong with me… It was a great story to identify with for me and I’m sure many other girls can relate! When Lexi goes through her makeover phase, she does start to get attention from the boys, but then she has to figure out A) if that’s the only reason she’s getting attention and B) is it worth it to totally change herself just to be noticed. She goes through a lot of personal changes throughout the course of this book and I loved how Eulberg brought us through that process.

I think the thing that I loved most about this book — in the most terrible way possible — was how awful Lexi’s mom was. A big part of this book is Lexi’s sister Mackenzie’s involvement in beauty pageants and their mother being the stereotypical “pageant mom”. Right off the bat we find out that all of the money Lexi’s mom makes goes into pageants — even over things like electric bills at times — so Lexi is forced into being the responsible one as far as money goes. That’s such a tough spot to put a teenager in and all of those interactions with Lexi and her mom… Gosh, my heart just broke seeing Lexi having to act like a parent to her family and watching her many failed attempts to get through to her mother that there are WAY more important things than pageants.

I also need to say that I LOVE that Elizabeth Eulberg let this story be about Lexi and Lexi alone. There were so many secondary characters who could have had runaway story lines (crazy pageant mom, parents’ divorce, fight with best friend Cam, gay best friend Benny & his first real romance, Logan & Alyssa romance, Mackenzie participating in pageants) but none of them went off on their own tangents. All of these characters did have their own issues going on, but they were all in the story to support Lexi and help tell her tale and I really loved that. I feel like I’ve read a few books recently where we get a little TOO into secondary characters and start to lose focus of the main character so it was nice to read REVENGE with the sole focus of Lexi and how all of these invents involving the people around her were affecting her life.

REVENGE was a great book that combined romance and big life issues in a very realistic way. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who’s felt like “The Girl with the Great Personality” at any point in their life!

[Audrey Wilkerson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rating: 2.5

Lexi is used to being the unnoticed one. Her sister, Mackenzie, is part of the pageant set, so Lexi’s world and weekends pretty much revolve around Mac. The plus side is that her crush, Logan, usually goes to the shows; the downside is he’s there to cheer on his girlfriend. Then, a bet with one of her best friends pushes Lexi from wallflower to noticed, and at first, she’s happy about it. But the family dynamic has shifted, she’s worried about her mother spending money she doesn’t have and she’s not sure that she’s liking what she’s turned into.

The set-up of this book, from the beauty pageant world to the overweight, unhappy mother and the blossoming girl are all ripe with possibility. Unfortunately, the potential was not fulfilled.

The fact that Lexi’s sister gets all of the attention, the mom uses food and pageants as a substitute for happiness; I get that. I can also easily understand Lexi getting marginalized because she’s not the focus, not the “pretty” one. I even understand her mixed feelings about making “improvements” to herself with makeup, a new hairstyle and clothing and whether that makes her no better than the pageant people. These are all great, realistic issues.

So what kept me from connecting to this book? First of all, I don’t think that Lexi held herself to the same standards that she held others. She has this huge crush on Logan, and the adjective “hottest” is used. She thinks he’s amazing and sweet, too, but she is obviously attracted to him. And when she has her makeover? She’s later angry that the guys who now noticed her had never liked her before. The narrative made it sound like she really didn’t care about how she looked, so - duh - of course if the makeover makes you look different, people are going to notice.

Her pageant-going sister, Mackenzie, is seven years old. As Lexi starts to take more care in her appearance, Mac gets very upset. This is when I first noticed that Mac spoke like she was 25, not seven. She had observations that a kid that age, especially one that’s self-centered, just wouldn’t have. They seemed very mature for a child.

Also, about Logan. He’s just being himself, then, as soon as she stops liking him, she smells cigarettes and beer on his breath, something we never saw before. It seemed like overkill, a way to get the reader to agree with why Lexi ends her super long-standing crush.

I am all about girl power, but I am wary of books where characters say things like “I have never done this before because I am usually so shy...” or “I usually keep my mouth shut, but now I have all of this confidence...” Yes, I think YA is about changes and growing up; but sometimes these revelations are more of a plot device than realistic. I felt like Lexi honestly did improve when she cared more about her appearance; there is nothing wrong with that. Then she negated it all - she couldn’t see that by having others notice her, maybe wasn’t a totally bad thing. It’s easy to get someone’s attention, harder to keep it. She still would have had to use her personality for people to stay interested, right?

Truly, real live girls should not base their self-esteem on what others think or how a person looks, but there is a happy medium there, one where a girl can put on mascara and wear clothes that look good on her without feeling like she’s sold her soul to Sephora or Forever 21.

The Bottom Line: I really wanted to like this book. Unfortunately, it seems more cautionary tale than good story, and it suffers because of it.

Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality by Elizabeth Eulberg was published March 1, 2013 by Point. A free copy of this book was given to Ink and Page in return for an honest review. Big thanks to NetGalley, the Publisher and the Author.

Genre: Young Adult Fiction Contemporary Romance
Ages: 13 and up
You Might Want to Know: Mild profanity

[Rivkasilver · Rating 1 out of 5]

Shall we begin?

First things first, let's dissect The Title-

Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality

1. "Revenge"
Hey You, imagine revenge... an evil scientist rubbing his hands together, cackling...



Or these eyes plotting horrible things to do to you.

Now You, stop imagining.
Revenge in this book is...



Our main character, Lexi, putting on makeup. Her big plan of revenge on all the people who haven't appreciated her (more on that later) is giving herself a makeover. Well, woopity doo.


2. "The girl with the Great Personality."
How to say this nicely... Lexi's personality was simply not great.



If putting stiff witty banter into a character's dialogue was all it took to make her personality "great", then... Well, I don't know how to finish that sentence so it should be funny and make its point but you get the idea. Lexi wasn't funny.

The title is a big, fat LIE


Next up, The Characters:

1. Lexi- as discussed, she's supposed to have a great personality (key word: Supposed). She has a pretty crappy home life, with an obese mom who's living out her life through Lexi's little sister Mac- queen of child pageants.
(Cliche, much?) Lexi is SO ANNOYING, she spends half of her time complaining about her mother and little sister and the other half of her time crushing after a guy who seriously doesn't care about her.

She feels that nobody appreciates her and her "great personality" so hatches a wonderful plan to get revenge (go check that up in the dictionary.) Her revenge, like I said, is becoming pretty.
Case closed- Lexi is an idiot and I don't wanna read 272 pages of anything from her POV.

2. Mac- All I can say is that INCONSISTENT characters suck! For most of the book, Mac is a spoiled brat who treats everyone terribly and is addicted to tiaras.
You know, one of these kids...



Then, BOOM, last two chapters- Mac transforms into a pitiful child who really really admires her big sister and wishes, really really, to be just like her and not a stupid pageant princess, really.

Hey, Inconsistency, your shoelaces are untied.


3. Scary Mamma

~~~~~~~~



~~~~~~~~~~~





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~






I don't even know what to say. The mother is insane.


Finally, let's talk about The Ending-
I.
Hated.
It.

After Mac tells Lexi how much she hates pageants, Lexi devises a plot to humiliate her mother in the most absurd fashion- and nobody- NOT EVEN ONE PERSON- stopped her. There were adults who could have explained to her that embarrassing her Mom on TV was not necessary to save her sister from the Terror of Tiaras. There were friends who could have physically stopped her from going onto that stage and making fools out of a lot of people, and they didn't. They actually said her stupid plan (I'm sensing a theme here: refer to original Revenge Plan) was "Awesome." GAAH!


VERDICT: Suckdom.

[Mehsi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pageants, make-overs, family drama, friendship, romance, this all is found in this deliciously wonderful book!

Lexi was an absolutely lovely girl, I loved how apparently she was popular, yet not that kind of popular. More like the girl to laugh with and the girl to talk with, but not the girl that you come to for a date or some romance.
Add to that, that she is a dedicated supporter for her sister, who is a pageant competitor. However, she doesn't really like that. Especially since her mom just spends all their money on stuff like that. (More on the mom later, I really need to rant for a bit)
I loved how at first she was hesitant about make-up, but soon saw the benefits and tried to pay a bit more attention to herself, how she looked and what she wore. Of course, she also learns a lesson about beauty and inner beauty, and I loved to see how she went through this. How she started realising things.
One thing I didn't like about her was her constant OMG Logan attitude. It got a bit boring and annoying, and one event especially made me cringe and just want to smack her for being such a total bitch. She has a wonderful boyfriend, but they break up (mostly because of a misunderstanding), but then she doesn't correct it and goes with Logan... Like what the actual hell? So yeah, that was one thing that I just didn't like. Maybe if we had a little less Logan? Maybe if she actually cared about her boyfriend instead of pining for another one?

The whole pageant stuff was interesting, but also disturbing. I remember watching some pageant shows on tv, and 2 things that stuck to me were: 1. The clothes the kids wore, seriously, what kind of parent dresses their kids up as prostitutes or sexy cowboys? 2. The attitude of the parents/children. A lot of the children were acting like they were princesses and they could do anything they wanted. And oh dear, if they didn't get what they wanted immediately.
That was my problem with the sister. She was so spoiled, so used to getting her fricking will that she turned into a total little bitch. Saying mean stuff to her sister who is trying to care for her, who is trying to make sure everything is fine for her (otherwise she would incur the wreath of not only said sister, but also of mother). The sister changes, but sorry, I still couldn't like her. I can understand why she became like this, but she was already ruined for me. Suddenly having her act all nice and friendly, I just didn't buy it any more.

Then we have one of the biggest frustrations. The mom. Seriously, WTF is wrong with that woman. At times I was doubting she had any braincells. She acts like her younger child is a god, and mistreats her older child. Her older child has to work and make sure there is money, because her mom just spends all their money on pageants and making sure her younger child has a perfect life. Not only that, but the mom actually had the balls to steal money from her older child. Yes, stealing, like what the hell? What kind of parent are you to just steal money, oh and then when your kid is angry about it and demands the money back you act like she shouldn't whine and hit her. WTH WTH... NO, just no.
And sorry, but I couldn't care that she tried her bestie westie to get better and care more for her older daughter, I just hated her at that point and I wished that both the younger and the older child could have gotten out of her custody and just live with another family member. Some parents just don't deserve kids.

But other than that, the book was great and I loved it. Our main characters friends are wonderful and I had a great time reading about them.

This is one book I would really recommend, it is funny, a little bit frustrating, but ah so fantastic. :)

Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Emily]

Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality is a book about pretty. From what it does to a person to who it does and does not describe, this vague adjective becomes the basis for the entire novel as the protagonist lives with people who are obsessed with it and tries to achieve it herself. This emphasis on looks is the cause of my praise for and criticism of Elizabeth Eulberg’s book.

The importance that Lexi’s family places on beauty makes her an empathetic teenager readers pity but cannot help cheering for. After hearing about her mother, who spends every cent of her tiny paycheck entering her seven-year-old into pageants, I read the rest of her scenes on edge, ready to pounce and mentally excoriate her for being one of the worst fictional parents ever. Eulberg creates such an overpowering anger in readers that they cannot help becoming invested in the family dynamic and wanting Lexi’s hardworking, helpful demeanor to win against her family’s appearance-centric tunnel vision. Lexi’s position is so maddeningly unfair that it becomes a reason for reading in itself, making it difficult to turn away from the novel’s conflict.

However, once Lexi decides to focus on her appearance, things start to fall apart. My biggest problem is the unbelievable way in which she decides to change her lifestyle, overhauling her entire outlook in one day after a lifetime of owning her wallflower persona. Before, she described herself as plain and resigned herself to a life of servitude to the Chosen Ones and the Beautiful People (yes, she capitalizes those terms), but all of a sudden and for no apparent reason she becomes a hungry popularity searcher, desperate for acceptance and willing to spend her limited funds on makeup and new clothing. In the exposition, she seems content with her average status in society, so I was unable to grasp why the whim to beautify herself became so important so quickly. This story needs a catalyst, some big event to shake Lexi’s confidence, but it does not have one.

Even more nonsensical is the way Lexi views her outward transformation as a complete makeover of herself, both inside and out, but never seems sure about what kind of person she wants to become. As a result, she comes across as a poorly developed character and an annoying person, and although she is supposed to have a great personality, readers rarely to see it. She behaves in a confusing and shallow manner, alternating between egotistically demanding everyone love her for her charisma and putting herself down. Throughout her journey from self-deemed mediocrity to beauty queen to self actualization, her character development is scattered and she does not grow at all. Lexi needs to make up her mind as to who she wants to be, and even at the end, she does not seem to have decided.

These annoyances do not entirely demolish this book; I did enjoy feeling enraged toward Lexi’s family and smiling at the occasional gem of humor. I am forced to admit, though, that while I am still an unwavering Eulberg fan, Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality falls short of her other novels. Although the message is ultimately intended to be empowering, I picked up a shallow vibe and never understood the not-so-complex main character’s decisions. This is another case of a book with so much potential settling for fine instead of fabulous, and my disappointment lingered longer than anything else.

This review originally appeared at www.litup-review.com.

[Elizabeth Drake · Rating 3 out of 5]

This and other reviews can be found on Reading Between Classes

Cover Impressions: The cover is cute, though a bit simplistic for my taste. I might prefer if it had something in the background, like a mirror that the lipstick was scrawled on...

The Gist: Lexi has spent years catering to her 7 year old sister turned pageant princess. She sews, she primps, she meets the ever-increasing demands of her overbearing mother. She is known as the girl with the "great personality" and she is ready for a change. When her best friend challenges her to put some serious effort into her personality, she reluctantly relents, if only to prove that she is a hopeless case. Armed with perfectly coifed hair and fabulously fake lashes, she receives more attention than she ever dreamed, including one very cute guy - even if it isn't really the guy she wanted. As her world changes, she begins to doubt which Lexi is the real one: the beautiful girl, or the one with the great personality?

Review: Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality was a fun read with a few flaws. I loved the premise and the glimpse into the world of the sister of a pageant princess. Lexi had an interesting voice and I loved that she didn't buy into the whole pageant world. She was a but too whiney for my taste and she constantly lamented her lack of beauty (which was easily solved by a modicum of makeup - really, you're hideous and a touch of concealer fixes everything? I don't think so.) I thought the sometimes rocky but always backed by love, relationship between the sisters was pretty realistic. Even though it was sometimes painful to read about, so was the relationship between the divorced mother and her daughters. The mother was truly damaged and looking for validation in all the wrong places. At one point, she made a move so heinous that I was left feeling shocked and betrayed along with Lexi and it amped up my feelings of disgust and re-engaged me with the plot of the novel. Unlike the familial relationships, I didn't feel any real connection with either of the love interests but, to be fair, I don't think Lexi really did either. They mostly served as a backdrop against which she could make new discoveries about herself. Her friends, however, had a lot of unrealized potential. They were interesting, but fell flat and undeveloped while we followed Lexi through the "popular" world.

The thing that irked me about this novel was the way in which Lexi preached to pageant parents at the end. Being in a profession where I, occasionally, come across entitled, know-it-all children, I found her lecturing to be very off-putting. Her experiences with her sister and mother give her an insight into the beauty and ugliness of the pageant world, but they do not make her an expert on each family's situation not do they give her the right to judge parents who have twice (or more) her life experience.

Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality is, ultimately, a cute novel with a good message about self-love that would be enjoyed by most teenage girls.

Teaching/Parental Notes:

Age: 12 and up
Gender: Female
Sex: Kissing
Violence: Teen gets slapped by parent
Inappropriate Language: None
Substance Use/Abuse: Underage Drinking

[Cheyenne Teska · Rating 4 out of 5]

We've all heard of Toddlers and Tiaras, but we've never seen it from the sibling's perspective. Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality tells the story of Lexi, a teenage girl whose entire life revolves around trying to please her mother and younger sister. When the family is struggling with money due to Mackenzie's pageants, Lexi decides to step up. Someone has to be responsible for their well-being, right? Unfortunately, Lexi is still just a kid and she deserves to live a little too. In this story, we watch the Girl with the Great Personality blossom into a responsible and beautiful young woman and learn that what you see isn't always what you get.

I've heard it a lot growing up--you're such an awesome person, any guy would be lucky to have you--yet I didn't get into my first serious relationship until after I graduated high school. Guys hardly bothered to look my way. Why? Because I was the one with the so-called "great personality". It's not a bad thing, in fact, having an awesome personality is one of the best qualities anyone can hope for, but when you're younger, you don't always look at it that way.

Lexi is tired of hearing about her great personality when being compared to her friends, peers and even her seven-year-old pageant princess sister, so she decides to make more of an effort with her appearance...and it works. Everyone begins to notice her, at school and pageants, and even her sister is a little jealous. Her mom finally seems to accept her and she even gets asked on her first date, but is it really because of her, or is it because of the makeup caked on her face?

The characters were all done really well, and I couldn't help but love or loathe each one of them. Lexi's best friends were her rocks. They stayed with her throughout her transformation and remained there when she needed them most. The only character that really- I mean REALLY- bothered me was the mother, who resembled Honey Boo Boo's mom in my mind. I had to put the book down a few times just to regain my composure after certain scenes involving her. As for the love interests, I really took a liking to Taylor and could easily see that he was genuine from the start.

This story shows that the best revenge is self-acceptance. So what if you're the girl with the great personality? You can get beauty queens by the dozen, but Lexi realizes that personalities like hers are rare. Elizabeth Eulberg creates another heart-warming story about self-discovery that any contemporary lover will want to add to their TBR list.

[Jen Ryland (jenrylandreviews & yaallday)]

*I received an e-ARC of this book from the publisher for possible review*

Lexi dreams of being a fashion designer, gets dragged to the kiddie beauty pageants that her little sister competes in, and is secretly in love with a Logan, a guy who (inexplicably) also accompanies his beauty queen girlfriend to all her pageants. When Lexi overhears Logan telling a friend that she has a "great personality," she decides to glam herself up. When Lexi sees that pageants are bankrupting her family, she decides to take a stand.

It seems to me that this kind of plot could go a couple of different ways. It could a) be a fun escapist read that gently mocks the pageant world (false eyelashes and spray tans and butt glue -- ha ha) and ends in Lexi learning to appreciate her inner beauty and finding true love. Or it could b) offer more of a critique of the objectification of girls and women by the fashion and beauty industry, something like The List by Siobhan Vivian. Or it could be both a) and b), like Beauty Queens by Libba Bray. Because Libba Bray can totally pull that kind of stuff off.

I really wish that the book had not wavered ambivalently between a) and b). The weirdness of the whole "Toddlers and Tiaras" world is alluded to but all the blame for Lexi's problems is placed on squarely on Lexi's mother, who, though FAR from perfect, is also recently divorced, overweight, depressed and a compulsive overeater. (Her father, who lives in another city with his new girlfriend, gets let completely off the hook.) Lexi seems mildly outraged at her sister's participation in pageants, but eventually decides that the only way she can make her mother understand the wrongness of it all is to publicly humiliate her. Meanwhile, Lexi dreams of being a fashion designer. Is the fashion runway all that different from the pageant stage? Pot, meet kettle.

That aside, there were definitely aspects of the book that made it a fun and enjoyable read. The whole kiddie pageant world is a strange and fascinating subculture -- at least as it's portrayed on reality TV. Lexi's gay BFF is obsessed with the 80s, and nervous about taking his new boyfriend public. And it's unusual to see any YA book these days that resolves a sort-of love triangle with the heroine deciding to ditch both guys and have some "me time," a strategy that Tina Fey recently recommended to Taylor Swift. Though readers who expect this book to fall into the a) category may have issues with that aspect of the book, I though it was great.