Princes Aren't So Charming

(SPOILERS)

In the story “If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where’s my Prince”, the main character, Lucy, is the new girl.  She’s an outcast, nobody knows her, and like everyone else she’s hopelessly in love with Connor Pearson, school hottie.  Typical plotline, right?  Even more typical when he asks her out.  But the reason he does it is because she’s different—in one way that matters the most to boys—she likes basketball.  I think the author of this story is trying to say that it’s good to be different, have your own opinions.  And Lucy isn’t like the other girls—she doesn’t depend on her prince to make everything better.

Throughout the book, Lucy has doubts about whether Connor and all his friends are just playing a huge joke on her.  It would make sense—the royalty poking fun at the common people.  She begins to think that his kissing is staged.  She says that she thought “basketball was the tiny oasis we stood on, and if we strayed off we would drown in silence”.  She was afraid to talk to him about anything other than what they both understood.  She really has no one she can talk to—she still doesn’t  really trust Jessica and Madison (again, royalty and commons), and her stepmother and stepsisters are cruel to her.  She lives in the basement (no really), and Mara (her stepmother) refuses to buy her even a proper bed, or a dresser, then blames her for the mess.  Her father is too in love with Mara to do anything about it.  They act nice to her when Connor is around, but it’s all an illusion.  He thinks she has a good life.  She’s afraid to tell him otherwise.

In the end of the book, Connor begins to lose interest in her, but she’s fine with that, because she found someone better—Sam, the artist who understands how she thinks.  She doesn’t fall apart sobbing when they break up—in fact, she’s the one who ended it.  Her new friends stayed loyal to her after the break up.  Everyone finally accepted her for who she was, not just Connor Pearson’s girlfriend, but Lucy Norton.  I think this shows incredible strength of will and self acceptance.  Lucy overcame all sorts of things in the book—mean kids at school, a non-loving family, and a false boyfriend.  She’s a strong character, and I hope if I’m ever in her situation, I’ll be able to do the same.