{"id":35969,"date":"2019-04-13T22:15:22","date_gmt":"2019-04-14T02:15:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=35969"},"modified":"2019-04-13T22:15:22","modified_gmt":"2019-04-14T02:15:22","slug":"review-of-stepsister-by-jennifer-donnelly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=35969","title":{"rendered":"Review of Stepsister, by Jennifer Donnelly"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Stepsister<\/em><\/p>\n

by Jennifer Donnelly<\/p>\n

Scholastic Press, May 14, 2019. 342 pages.
\nStarred Review
\nReview written February 13, 2019, from an advance reader copy I got at ALA Midwinter Meeting.<\/p>\n

Stepsister<\/em> was my airplane reading on my way back from ALA Midwinter Meeting and made the long flight a delight. It tells about Isabelle, one of Cinderella\u2019s ugly stepsisters.<\/p>\n

The story begins when Isabelle is ready to cut off her toes so they will fit into the glass slipper the prince has brought, after her sister Octavia was discovered to have cut off her heel.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should\u2019ve heated the blade for Tavi,\u201d Maman fretted now. \u201cWhy didn\u2019t I think of it? Heat sears the vessels. It stops the bleeding. Ah, well. It will go better for you, Isabelle.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s not easy, but Isabelle cuts off this part of herself, as she has cut off metaphorical parts of herself all during her life at Maman\u2019s bidding.<\/p>\n

And yet, when Maman demanded that she get up, Isabelle did. She opened her eyes, took a deep breath to steady herself, and stood.<\/p>\n

Isabelle could do this impossible thing because she had a gift \u2013 a gift far more valuable than a pretty face or dainty feet.<\/p>\n

Isabelle had a strong will.<\/p>\n

She did not know that this was a good thing for a girl to have, because everyone had always told her it was a terrible thing. Everyone said a girl with a strong will would come to a bad end. Everyone said a girl\u2019s will must be bent to the wishes of those who know what\u2019s best for her.<\/p>\n

Isabelle was young, only sixteen; she had not yet learned that Everyone is a fool.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Anyone who knows the fairy tale \u201cCinderella\u201d knows that this didn\u2019t go well for Isabelle. However, that\u2019s only the beginning of this book.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a Prologue that came before this, and we learn that the three Fates have a wager going wiith Chance, who appears as a bold and handsome young man.<\/p>\n

He was dressed in a sky-blue frockcoat, leather britches, and tall boots. A gold ring dangled from one ear; a cutlass hung from his hip. His face was as beautiful as daybreak, his smile as bewitching as midnight. His eyes promised the world, and everything in it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Isabelle is the very mortal whose life map (showing her fate) Chance has stolen. The Fates are not happy about it.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll this trouble for a mere girl?\u201d asked the crone, regarding Chance closely. \u201cShe\u2019s nothing, a nobody. She possesses neither beauty nor wit. She\u2019s selfish. Mean. Why her?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause I can\u2019t resist a challenge,\u201d Chance replied. He rerolled the map with one hand, steadying it against his chest, then tucked it back inside his coat. \u201cAnd what girl wouldn\u2019t choose what I offer?\u201d He gestured at himself, as if even he couldn\u2019t believe how irresistible he was. \u201cI\u2019ll give her the chance to change the path she is on. The chance to make her own<\/em> path.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFool,\u201d said the crone. \u201cYou understand nothing of mortals. We Fates map out their lives because they wish it. Mortals do not like uncertainty. They do not like change. Change is frightening. Change is painful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cChange is a kiss in the dark. A rose in the snow. A wild road on a windy night,\u201d Chance countered.<\/p>\n

\u201cMonsters live in the dark. Roses die in the snow. Girls get lost on wild roads,\u201d the crone shot back.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So there\u2019s something at stake as Isabelle\u2019s life plays out. The stepsisters’ story becomes known to the people around them, giving them contempt from the other villagers. Then war comes close to the region. Isabelle hears from a fairy queen a way to change her fate, but will she dare seize that? And meanwhile, neither Chance nor the crone of the Fates is shy about inserting themselves into Isabelle\u2019s story to make sure they win the wager.<\/p>\n

Yes, some may say you need to cut off pieces of yourself to make your way in the world. But this book suggests that it\u2019s possible to recover those pieces again and take your fate in your own hands. A wonderful story about what happens after the fairy tale.<\/p>\n

jenniferdonnelly.com<\/a>
\nscholastic.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Teens\/stepsister.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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