I am also currently reading Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire. I am on page 70; however, I plan to quit reading the novel. There are two main reasons for which I dislike this book. The first is that the hopeless tone of the main character, Iris, is very forced. The words do not seem to flow naturally, and as I read I feel very much like the author is trying incredibly hard to create something (to be completely frank I am not sure what that something is). It seems to have been written less to tell a story and more to convey a point; I am all for books with a message, I just feel that there needs to be some sort of narrative to go along with it. Also, the resounding theme of the book thus far seems to be that life is awful
