Bookseller Reviews
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Breathtaking!
I picked this book to read as I love stories based on fairy tales and I was not disappointed. At first, this is a 'what happened next' story, following th... READ MORE
100% Fabulous
This was an amazing read. After reading the blurb I spent a week bouncing with excitement waiting for it to come in the post! And let me tell you I was not... READ MORE
Synopsis
Longlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2020
In an ancient city by the sea, three sisters - a maiden, a mother, and a crone - are drawing maps by candlelight. Sombre, with piercing grey eyes, they are the three Fates, and every map is a human life...
Stepsister takes up where Cinderella's tale ends. We meet Isabelle, the younger of Cinderella's two stepsisters. Ella is considered beautiful; stepsister Isabelle is not. Isabelle is fearless, brave, and strong-willed. She fences better than any boy, and takes her stallion over jumps that grown men fear to attempt. It doesn't matter, though; these qualities are not valued in a girl.
Others have determined what is beautiful, and Isabelle does not fit their definition. Isabelle must face down the demons that drove her cruel treatment of Ella, challenge her own fate and maybe even redefine the very notion of beauty...
Cinderella is about a girl who was bullied; Stepsister is about the bully. We all root for the victims, we want to see them triumph. But what about the bullies? Is there hope for them? Can a mean girl change? Can she find her own happily ever after?
Publisher information
- Publisher: Hot Key Books
- ISBN: 9781471407970
- Number of pages: 480
- Dimensions: 199 x 131 x 29 mm
- Weight: 362g
- Languages: English
Customer Reviews
View allA lovely Cinderella retelling
Jennifer Donnelly's retelling of Cinderella has been a joy to read. The chapters are fairly short and keep you moving along, although I did find it a littl... READ MORE
A disappointing story
After receiving this book I was really looking forward to reading it. I hadn't read a retelling before but I thought this sounded like an interesting take ... READ MORE
A modern day fairytale that everyone needs to read
I loved the thought and the first impression of this book so much that I had to go out and buy it as soon as it was available! I thought it was very clever... READ MORE
Loved it!
I was so glad to have received this book as it became one of most anticipated deliveries this month! I always love a good retelling of the princess stories... READ MORE
Cinderella ?
I have watched Cinderella and I am not sure if there is a book or not but as you know this book is called 'stepsister'. I have not read this book but from ... READ MORE
Psyched to read
Let’s start with the cover: Absolutely gorgeous!!! It pulled me in with a combination of the shattered glass slipper and the quote.
Moving on to the blur... READ MORE
Great Retelling
As a child, I always loved fairy tales, especially Cinderella's. Reading a book about her step-sister was a must read for me.
Reading this book gave me a... READ MORE
wonderful
I love reading a retelling, and this did not disappoint. Being told from the point of the stepsister, you gained an understanding of her character and what... READ MORE
cinderella?
I have watched Cinderella and I am not sure if there is a book or not but as you know this book is called 'stepsister'. I have not read this book but from ... READ MORE
Beautiful and Compelling
'This is a dark tale. A grim tale. It’s a tale from another time, a time when wolves waited for girls in the forest, beasts paced the halls of cursed castl... READ MORE
A well-written retelling with a feminist twist
Thank you to Readers First and Hot Key Books for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
“The feeling that you want to own... READ MORE
Not Your Average Cinderella
The Cover picture shows you something familiar & known with Cinderella's slipper, but that tagline lets you know this is not your average fairytale.
From ... READ MORE
Greatly gruesome
We all know and adore the classic tale of Cinderella but what about the ugly sisters story? Well this is where their story begins with a retelling of the f... READ MORE
A fantastic read
I had great expectations of Stepsister and it didn't let me down at all. From the very beginning, it had me hooked. I liked the idea of the tale being told... READ MORE
Wonderfully magic
I enjoyed this book immensely, as I felt I would when I first saw the cover (although we are told not to judge a book by its cover) and the plot synopsis. ... READ MORE
A Beautifully Reimagined Fairytale
“Stop burdening the gods. Stop cursing the devil. They will make no path for you. They gave you their dark gifts: reason and will. Now you must make your o... READ MORE
Fantastic!
The description of this book reads “A powerful, feminist retelling of Cinderella” - What a statement, you can see why I was sold on this book straight away... READ MORE
People Can Change
If you are a lover of the TV program Once Upon a Time, then this book is for you!
This is a story about Cinderella's Ugly Step Sisters and what happened ... READ MORE
A Beautiful Retelling With The Perfect Fairy Tale Feeling
‘Mamam wielded shame like an assassin wields a dagger, driving it straight into her victim’s heart. She would win; she always won. Isabelle knew that. How ... READ MORE
LOVED
Everything about this book is beautiful. The cover, the writing, the characters.
Retelling the classic fairy tale Cinderella from the perspective of Isabe... READ MORE
A magical look beyond the Cinderella story
I’ll start with a confession: while I absolutely ADORE fairytales, until now I had never ever read a retelling.
I’ve eyed them from afar, purchased them ... READ MORE
A refreshing retelling of a classic
As a child I always wanted to be Cinderella but now I want to be her ugly stepsister!
Jennifer Donnelly has crafted a beautiful story about heartbreak, se... READ MORE
A refreshing retelling of a classic
As a child I always wanted to be Cinderella but now I want to be her ugly stepsister!
Jennifer Donnelly has crafted a beautiful story about heartbreak, s... READ MORE
Dark, fun Fairytale retelling
I have become a big fan of fairytale retellings, especially from the perspectives of the other characters. Especially the 'dark' characters, the ones we pr... READ MORE
My first experience of a fairy tale retelling
Having never read any of Jennifer Donnelly's books or any fairy tale retelling before, I went into this book a little bit unsure of what to expect. However... READ MORE
Dark, eerie retelling of Cinderella
Stepsister is a retelling of Cinderella from the stepsisters perspective. The storyline goes beyond the point where Cinderella usually stops, and we get to... READ MORE
Stepsister
I love this book so much! I love the cover. I love the twist. I love the view from an unexpected character. I thought the cover was beautiful. I loved how ... READ MORE
Brill!
I listened to this as a free library download, mainly as it sounded like something I could have on in the background whilst cooking etc. I was drawn in fro... READ MORE
Captivating
I immediately fell in love with the characters. They were explained beautifully and with such detail. The setting where described so well that I could almo... READ MORE
An unexpected brilliant read
I truly didn't expect to like this book as much as I did. I'm not normally into this almost fantasy genre however this was such a well written and thought ... READ MORE
Cinders for the 21st Century
Forget about Disney, forget about pretty songs and cute animals, Stepsister is the world of Cinderella for the 21st century. It is a tale about beauty, but... READ MORE
A refreshing retelling of a classic
As a child I always wanted to be Cinderella but now I want to be her ugly stepsister!
Jennifer Donnelly has crafted a beautiful story about heartbreak, s... READ MORE
A feminist fairytale retelling of the ugly sisters that Cinders left behind
I do like a good fairytale, and I seem to be enjoying fairytale retellings quite a bit when I come across them. Stepsister is a great example of a retellin... READ MORE
Different take on the fairytale
"Everyone said a girl with a strong will would come to a bad end. Everyone said a girl’s will must be bent to the wishes of those who know what’s best for ... READ MORE
WONDERFUL
A startling, fiercely feminist re-imagining of Cinderella from bestselling, award-winning author Jennifer Donnelly. Isabelle should be blissfully happy – s... READ MORE
I liked it a lot
I love it so much and so far all the other reviews I have written have too. Anyway to get to the matter at hand because the truth is that you guys are here... READ MORE
Fist-pumping, funny & feminist look at life after the glass slipper for Cinderella’s ugly sisters..!
Stepsister is Jennifer Donnelly’s smart, subversive and utterly compelling retelling of Cinderella and hijacks the Brothers Grimm version of the fairytale ... READ MORE
Captivating and Enchanting
From the instant that I began this book, I was enchanted. Jennifer Donnelly's writing style is exquisite and feels very poetic as she effortlessly switches... READ MORE
This is not a pretty fairytale.
This is not a pretty fairytale. The story isn’t pretty. The world isn’t pretty. The characters aren’t pretty. Even the magic isn’t pretty.
It’s not a stor... READ MORE
Fate, Chance and Ugliness
Okay, Jennifer Donnelly is a completely new write to this reader but I am fast becoming a fan of the reworking of classic Fairy Tales so was eager to give ... READ MORE
A personal favourite
Isabelle is Cinderella's ugly stepsister, the one we heard of as a mean one. Jennifer Donnelly created a magical book about the story that defines her char... READ MORE
Fabulous YA fairy-tale world read
I've read a lot of Jennifer Donnelly's books and loved them. This is my second young adult aimed read, after 'These Shallow Graves', which was a fabulous r... READ MORE
Cinderella retold
‘“Change is a kiss in the dark. A rose in the snow. A wild road on a windy night,” Chance countered.
“Monsters live in the dark. Roses die in the snow. Gi... READ MORE
I loved it
This is the first (and only) book of this kind I've ever read. It took me a while to get into, but once I did I loved it!
It tells the story of Cinderell... READ MORE
Wow
Wow, just wow. The plot, the characters, the twists and turns, just everything is wow. It is one of those books were you just can’t put the book down as yo... READ MORE
Brilliant
I absolutely loved this! The opening is great, the blurb is honest and you know straight away that it will be a re-imagining of the Cinderella story, howev... READ MORE
AMAZING
Jennifer Donnelly has crafted a beautifully eerie and twisted fairytale which depicts how societies tendencies to view a girl's worth will make them do alm... READ MORE
Cool
I live a good fairytale retelling, and this is one of them. Really gives the original story justice. Works building and plot development is magnificent. I ... READ MORE
Magical and soothing
Boy, am I glad I read this book.
"Stepsister" would probably fall in the category of retellings, even though it is more of a sequel/spin-off to Cinderella... READ MORE
Love it
At first the book design stood out to me, especially the name as it was so bold and emphasised, but the blurb is what got me hooked to the idea of the book... READ MORE
love
‘Here are the things girls die of: hunger, disease, accidents, childbirth, and violence. It takes more than heartache to kill a girl. Girls are tough as r... READ MORE
I really enjoyed it
I loved this book! This is a Cinderella retelling from the point of view of one of the ugly stepsisters. The protagonist's name is Isabelle. Her biggest dr... READ MORE
I'd definitely recommend this one
I adored that someone has finally fleshed out the characters of the stepsisters; moving past the stereotypical 'evil for evil's sake' characters made this ... READ MORE
A Very Good Retelling
My three-word description of Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly is thrilling, exciting and humorous.
Book Synopsis:
Isabelle should be blissfully happy – she... READ MORE
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