Eulberg, Elizabeth. Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality.

Eulberg, Elizabeth.  Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality.  Scholastic Press/Point    2013  261p  $17.99  978-0-545-47699-7  Conflict  VG-BN 

Sixteen-year-old Lexi is tired of playing second fiddle to her seven-year-old sister Mackenzie.  It seems their mother, who is a single parent, is trying to live her life through Mac’s participation in the beauty-contest circuit.        Lexi is smart, popular, and funny.  She is not having any fun spending all of her free time as wardrobe mistress to her bratty little sister.  It seems their mother only has eyes and concern for Mackenzie, and Lexi is tired of being unloved and considered ugly.  Her best friends Cam and Benny support her and try to get her to glam herself up a little for school.  The fun and games begin when she stops wearing just any old clothes and puts on some makeup.  Heads begin to turn at school as the new Lexi emerges.

The situation at home is going from bad to worse because Mother is spending all of their money (even money they don’t have) on dresses, false eyelashes and even false teeth for Mac’s costumes in the beauty contests.  At one point, Mother even takes money out of her bank account.

The ending of the story is very dramatic.  Readers will be horrified at Lexi’s actions while they are laughing at the pictures they conjure in their minds.

           

Conflict–Fiction, School–Fiction, Physical appearance–Fiction

                                                            --Linda McNeil