The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back

 

 

The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back by Sariah Wilson

 

(Summary taken from an email the author sent me)

Everyone knows how all those fairy tales go. The princess gets beautiful, nabs her prince, falls instantly in love, lives happily ever after and leaves her evil stepsisters in the dust.

But what happens when you’re the ugly stepsister and your obnoxiously perfect—read pretty, smart, and, worst of all, sickeningly nice—stepsister is dating the charming, tall, devastatingly handsome guy you’ve had a thing for since you were nine years old?

Quirky, artistic and snarky Mattie Lowe does not lead a charmed life. Her mother is constantly belittling her on Skype. Mercedes, the school mean girl, has made it her personal mission to torment Mattie. But worst of all? Her stepsister Ella is the most beautiful, popular girl in school and is dating Mattie’s secret longtime crush, Jake Kingston.

Tired of being left out and done with waiting for her own stupid fairy godmother to show up, Mattie decides to change her life. She’ll start by running for senior class president against wildly popular Jake.

Ella can keep her Prince Annoying. Mattie’s going to rule the school.

And no one, not even a cute and suddenly flirty Jake, is going to stop her.

I loved this book! It caught me off guard and just drew me in. I liked Ms. Wilson's writing style a lot. It is witty, well written, and fun. I really liked the characters, especially Mattie, Ella, and Jake. I loved Tilly's wit and candor, and that she was normal, just like I was in high school: not especially pretty and definitely not popular. Nerdy, yes; talented, yes; unnoticed, yes; but fine with it, yes. Ella is the girl everyone wants to be in high school, but, unfortunately, there aren't very many Ellas around. It's hard to be perfect. And Jake sounds dreamy. If I didn't already have my prince charming, I'd probably want to steal Jake. I also enjoyed the storyline. This book has almost everything you could want. It has high school drama (which I would never want to do again, thank you very much........I hate girl drama, and high school drama is even worse), romance, revenge, sister bonding, and so much more. There are a few surprises, and some fun twists.  There are also some good "Ahhhhhhhh" moments. You know, where every girl in the room says, "Ahhhhhhh." So cute! There are a few spelling and grammatical errors, but not enough to distract you from the story.  

 

Also, this book is clean! I can't remember any language, there's no "physical intimacy," besides some kissing, and no violence, except some mean high school pranks. Yay! I love a true young adult book.

 

Rating: PG+ (High school drama, some mean pranks, some kissing)

 

Recommendation: 13 years and up.

Disclosure: I did receive a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.