If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where's My Prince?

This novel is another Cinderella story by Melissa Kantor. It is about your average girl next door teenager, Lucy, dealing with the hardships of her friendless high school career. When she was young her mother died, leaving her and her father behind. Her father got remarried to the "wicked stepmother", and along with her, Lucy received two twelve years old snotty twin stepsisters. She's forced to learn how to hold her tongue, and often wonders if her prison time would be worth it if she drove a stake through her dear stepmother. Finally, in our little Cinderella's life, something changes. The most popular school's athlete is looking Lucy's way. And when he asks her out on a little innocent date, Lucy is unexpectedly saying hello to strangers in the hallway who suddenly would love being her friend. She now had friends and a busy schedule. But of course, the fairy godmother forgot to sprinkle some of her magic on Lucy's home. She's almost leading two lives. On one side, she is trying to put up with her new "family" for her father's sake. While on the other, she is living the life she'd always wanted. Lucy is popular, and she has the perfect Prince Charming boyfriend. And yet, she still isn't happy. Why is that? (When I continue reading, I'll let you know.)

As I was reading, I was thinking about Lucy's character. I wondered if I would want to be her friend had I been apart of her story, or she a character in mine. I wondered if timid, friendless, teenage girls were mostly the same in personality. Why is it that whenever I read these sort of novels, the teenage girl is the same? Very much like Lucy. How come we never hear about a strong and independent "nerdy" girl? Or a cool and collected "bad" girl? We always read about a Lucy, a "go with the flow" quiet girl. And why Lucy? I thought, coming back to the idea that all timid teenage girls were the same. But they aren't, so why write them all the same? Then I came to the conclusion that, no, I wouldn't be friends with Lucy. I wouldn't want to be friends with a cliche. Don't authors want to create characters that they know readers will be able to relate to? Why write another story about a girl who's looking for a boyfriend, but mostly for her own happiness? Why have her win it through having a boyfriend? And why is her boyfriend always popular?! Why not write about something important? I feel like all two-hundred and thirty pages that I read were a serious waste of time. The only thing I'm looking forward to at the end of the book, is how she deals with her family. After all, she can't have half of a happily ever after.