I feel the same way about what Loo said in the other topic on the same book. I like the way Maquire makes his characters relatable. I didn't mind Iris's and Ruth's mom in the beginning but I sure hated her in the end. Trying to get rich, not caring about her family, just that the prince would like one of them. After Clara's mother died and she became 'snooty' in a way I started not to like her. I'm glad that at the end Maquire told how the magical part of the story came in, with the Fairy Godmother being Clara's mom and so forth. I'm happy Iris and Casper ended up happy together. Was kind of surprised to find out Ruth told the story though.