Review : If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where's My Prince? by Melissa Kantor

Title : If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where's My Prince?
Author : Melissa Kantor
Publisher : Hyperion Book CH
Genre : Young Adult
ISBN : 978-0786809615
Series : Stand Alone
Release Date : March 27, 2007
Rating  : 3/5 Stars - Good

Description from Amazon :

Wicked stepmother? Check. Evil stepsisters? Check. Miserable life? Check.

Lucy Norton’s life has all the makings of a Cinderella story. Her dad’s always away on business, leaving Lucy with her cruel stepmother and bratty stepsisters. She’s burdened with chores, and has a hard time fitting in at her new school. So when she sees Connor Pearson, the star player on the varsity basketball team, Lucy hopes her destiny has finally changed. With everything else going on in her life, doesn’t she at least deserve to get the handsome prince?

Melissa Kantor’s enchanting novel proves that sometimes the happy ending isn’t quite the one you’d expect. Lucy’s about to discover the truth about finding her real Prince Charming… and finding herself.

Review : 

Lucy Norton might actually have a wicked stepmother, or so she seems to believe.  While her bratty stepsister practically get away with murder, she gets in trouble for the smallest things.  Her father is hardly ever home to know the difference, and merely takes what she says as over reacting.  Lucy believes that her life has seriously gone down the drain, until the day she sees Connor Pearson.  Every Cinderella gets a prince, right?

If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where's My Prince? is a cute, quirky, short read.  It caps out at 283 pages, and I flew through them in a matter of mere hours.  I've always had a love for modern day fairy tales, and this one is no exception.  At first I thought this book was going to be a lot about how Lucy was just a drama queen, and for awhile, it really was.  I had to read on to get the full picture.

As far as I'm concerned, the way Lucy's stepmother treated her in this novel was quite wrong.  I personally would have labeled her as a wicked stepmother myself, and it wouldn't have hurt to throw a bucket of water of her head to see if she melted.  Her bratty daughters were no exception, as they were only nice when it benefited them.  And for Lucy's father?, her blood related father?, he rarely listened to his daughter.  I understood why Lucy was as dramatic as she was, and I probably would have acted the same way had I been in her shoes.

Melissa Kantor easily gave the impression of a modern day Cinderella story, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  A few other great things about this story are the life lessons that Lucy learns along the way.  It's not only a modern fairy tale, but a coming of age novel about a girl growing into herself, and understanding her place in the world.  I'd highly recommend this title to those of you who enjoy a good modern day retelling of one of your favorite fairy tales, as well as fans of other works by Melissa Kantor.

Where did I get this book? : 

I received my copy from a swap on Bookmooch.

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