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I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
***** (5 out of 5)
The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back by Sariah Wilson
If you liked Fangirl then you will like this book! It was awesome. I got this book from NetGalley. I thought it was an Advance Reader Copy (ARC) because NetGalley says the publish date is 12/26/17, but you can buy it on Amazon right now, so I don’t know. Either way, it was a great book and I highly recommend it!
Mattie and Ella are stepsister’s in their senior year of High School. The story is told through the eyes of Mattie (who considers herself the ugly stepsister). I can totally relate to Mattie. For starters her favorite book is Pride and Prejudice. That right there makes her awesome!
She is also insecure, awkward, nerdy, smart, funny, artistic, passionate, emotional and sassy. The whole enchilada. Her nerdom of choice is Manga, which I don’t read, but that didn’t distract from the story at all. No matter what your nerdom is, you can relate to how deeply she feels toward Manga, and how it gets her through the tough parts of life.
This is a coming of age teenage romance, and I know some people think that trope is overused, but I really liked it. I got completely absorbed in this book and time flew by. I read waaaaay past my bed time to finish it. I cried and laughed and just loved the whole book!
If you couldn’t tell by the name, this is a Cinderella spin-off, but its not overly cliche. It is unique in the fact that its told through the eyes of the stepsister (who isn’t actually evil). Also its not Ella’s love story. It is Mattie’s. So it only loosely follows the Cinderella structure. I love Cinderella spin-offs but this was a fun new way to take the story!
There were two issues I had with the book. The first was a couple comments that belittled emotional distress. The first time Mattie cried she seemed surprised she was crying because apparently she rarely ever cries. Then later, her love interest comments that she didn’t seem like the kind of girl to cry. The rest of the time crying was treated as a normal, acceptable response for the stress in Mattie’s life. Crying is perfectly normal! I don’t like it when books portray emotional girls as weak. Crying does not equal weakness! Other than those two comments, this book handled emotional distress very well.
The second issue I had with the book is with the model on the cover. I really like the purple background with the green dress. The contrast is great. The title font is bold and catches your attention. But the more I look at it I can’t figure out what is going on with the girl. She looks super uncomfortable and unnatural. What is she doing with her hand on her face? Give her a normal teenage girl stance instead of that half seductive weirdness and it would be perfect!
So I highly recommend this book. I loved it! Go read it! Right now!
