Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly
Fairy Tale. 352 Pages. 4 Stars
Synopsis:
Isabelle should be blissfully happy – she’s about to win the handsome prince. Except Isabelle isn’t the beautiful girl who lost the glass slipper and captured the prince’s heart. She’s the ugly stepsister who’s cut off her toes to fit into Cinderella’s shoe … which is now filling with blood.
When the prince discovers Isabelle’s deception, she is turned away in shame. It’s no more than she deserves: she is a plain girl in a world that values beauty; a feisty girl in a world that wants her to be pliant.
Isabelle has tried to fit in. To live up to her mother’s expectations. To be like her stepsister. To be sweet. To be pretty. One by one, she has cut away pieces of herself in order to survive a world that doesn’t appreciate a girl like her. And that has made her mean, jealous, and hollow.
Until she gets a chance to alter her destiny and prove what ugly stepsisters have always known: it takes more than heartache to break a girl.
My Review:
Okay, so, first off, I must acknowledge that cover. Cause it is so cool! Very aesthetically pleasing and clever with the shards and blood and such. I love the whole shattered slipper and the back that says “Don’t just fracture the fairy tale. Shatter it.” <3 Like, who needs a synopsis after that??
Kay, onto the goods. The story is set in France in a time similar to most Cinderella stories, medeivalish, maybe later. And the plot follows Ella’s stepsister, Isabelle, the youngest of the two stepsisters. The story starts as Isabelle is trying on the glass slipper after her sister Octavia has already failed. So, right off the bat, we’re set to read an entirely new story rather than the tale we already know; though, to be fair, Donnelly reveals the classic tale piece by piece as we go along and puts her own spin on things there, too.
I really enjoyed the invasion plot line and watching the stepfamily respond after their loss. Once Ella was gone, we see how the stepsisters and stepmother recover from the devastation of failure and the ridicule of society upon the revelation of their past with Ella and deception of the prince. The story isn’t really much of a Cinderella story, honestly, so much as it is the story of a girl learning what redemption is, why she needs it, and recovering who she once was. I loved that Isabelle came to this realization that she wasn’t always this way, then asking what made her, shaped her, changed her into this cruel sister. I also loved that Donnelly portrayed Isabelle so beautifully. I mean, she didn’t brush off the cruelty or try to say that she never really was cruel. No, she embraced it and even pointed out how difficult it was to change your heart from cruelty, your habits, your words, your temper. She portrayed the struggle and that was refreshing to read.
Isabelle was a character I could sympathize with. I thought she was very, very well written. Her desires, her wish to the fairy queen, her brokenness, her hurt and her character. All very well done. Tavi was fun! I liked how she was so distinct from Isabelle, but still just as round. Though we weren’t in her head, we could still see the hurt deep within her, the bitterness, the genius, and the caring she held deep down for her sister. She was a curious mind, a brilliant mind, and I loved seeing her. Our fairy godmother was quite unique, mysterious with a hint of dark. I liked her. I liked her charge to Isabelle, which sent her off on her quest so to speak. I loved the task set before Isabelle. It was one of my favorite parts of the book, lines in the plot. Oh! And Nero! Guys, I loved Nero! He was such fun and I really enjoyed his part in the book.
Also, the absolutely brilliant personification of Fate, Chance, Death, etc. was one of the coolest parts of the book. These characters were a ton of fun to read. They made the book strange and quirky, but reminiscent of classic fairy tales. The whole book had such a unique style that felt like something straight out of the original tales. The prose, the pointed themes and morals, the oddities, the hint of dark and dangerous. I loved the strange element.
As much as I thoroughly enjoyed the sporadic scenes of Fate and Chance weaving their way into the plot, I can’t say I agreed with all of the themes. The ideas that forgiveness is worth pursuing, that brokenness is worth healing, and that dreams are worth chasing are beautiful and worth reading. The book has many themes (and excellent metaphors for them, by the way) that are true and noble and upright. And I do believe that we have a say in our destiny. We have the ability to rise above “victim” and to become victors instead. We choose who we become and how we shape our characters. We aren’t automatically destined to doom with nothing to do about it. And, I do believe there is a war for our souls, though not between Fate and Chance. And I don’t believe in luck, or chance. We’ve been given free will, yes, but God does have a plan. We just have to choose whether or not we want to be a part of that plan. Also, I’m just not all into that girl power, extreme feminist, guys are horrid thing. The book wasn’t ragging on guys, but it did push some of the feminist themes and there wasn’t a good guy in the book, aside from Felix and that wasn’t really fleshed out at all. But themes about what beauty is and kindness and how every heart is unique and worthy. Those I enjoyed.
The story masterfully wove together these unique, broken characters, this after-ever-after plot, and the particular themes. The book is truly very well-written, and that alone makes it worth the read. It’s a pointed story, and one I think people will either really enjoy or twist their lips at from the sour taste.
Content: There were some swear words smattered throughout, but most of them minor and infrequently enough. There are elements of violence. The story is much like original tales. The sisters physically cut off pieces of their feet to try to fit into the slipper. The slipper filled with blood, and the sisters had to live with that choice throughout the rest of the book. Furthermore, the stage is set in the middle of a war and an invasion, though little battle gore is centerstage. There is little romance, though some sensual implications from a few not-so-noble characters. All in all, I’d probably say 16 and up?