Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 352

Publisher: Hot Key Books 

Released: 14th of May 2019 

'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?

What I Have to Say 

This books was so beautiful, full of feminism, strength and fairy tale scenery, but it felt a little disconnected to the original Cinderella story. I felt that Isabelle should have felt more guilt over how she and the rest of her family treated Ella. She just didn't really think about it that much. I liked the way they showed how her mother had treated her and turned her into a girl who would bully her sister and cut off her own toes in order to win the prince, but if felt like the change back from that was a little abrupt. 

That said, I loved Isabelle's character so much. I loved how both the stepsisters had their own strengths that aren't seen as "feminine" and "attractive". Isabelle being so brave and so fierce, a natural born fighter. You can see her destiny and her strength from really early in the book. The potential to be beautiful. And Tavi, academic and so, so smart. It was so great to see this story changed to bring these other strengths to the forefront, to show how they can be celebrated. 

I was also glad that the book did all that without completely stepping on the girls who are more sweet and gentle. Ella was still seen as a strong woman and while the stepsisters were obviously jealous of her in the original story, they didn't really hate her and managed to find their place alongside her as strong women. 

Anyone who's a fan of fairytales, anyone who wants to see different types of strong women. This is a must read for feminists. 

My thanks go to Hot Key Books for providing me with this free copy for review.