Hafsah (on hiatus)'s Reviews > Stepsister

"Once upon always and never again. In an ancient city..."
...called Bristol, a girl named Hafsah read a book that changed her life.
A book that shattered her long-standing views on the characters of a beloved fairy tale.
A book that showed her an extra dimension, the full picture, the true story.

This book was called,
Stepsister.

I really liked this (more than I expected to actually) and it's because the story felt nostalgically familiar and yet so new and exciting. I LOVED the added concept of maps that track your life; they show your past present and future and when death is near. Each person has a map, and their depicted paths can be erased/altered/redrawn by Fate and Chance- two characters constantly at odds with eachother and whose personality reflects their name. I absolutely loved Chance! In fact all the characters were BRILLIANT, except, I think, the antagonist. He seemed mediocre and was too easily defeated.

This book was similar to Cinderella in the sense that there was still magic, romance, a fairy godmother and all the other characters I thought I knew so well.... And although the writing was a little simplistic, the plot somewhat predictable and the romance childish, these points mirrored the defining aspects of fairy tales. So actually, I found them effective, overall. There were also so many good quotes and lines to live by (because is a fairy tale even a fairy tale of it doesn't have underlying morals to the story?!). Speaking of lessons, I liked Donnelly's take on beauty: beauty can be a burden and constraining, and you can look 'ugly', yet be beautiful. She offered a fresh perspective and conveyed important messages beautifully though metaphors and poetry.

But power is a treacherous thing,
It's bite is sweet, it's kiss can sting,
And, unless I'm much mistaken,
It's never given, always taken.

Each queen was once a girl like you.
Told who to be and what to do.
Not pretty, not pleasing, far too rough.
Lacking, less than, not enough.

Till wounded subjects, anguished dead,
Mattered more than things that others said.
Then, like a flag, her will unfurled.
Go now, girl. Remake the world.

The story itself, is more a continuation than a retelling. We start off from when the 'ugly' stepsisters try on the glass slipper, and we continue with Isabelle as the protagonist. Her life is in danger, her map stolen, she's constantly oppressed by society and war is nigh. Her only hope is to find the find the missing pieces of her heart, whatever they may be, and in doing so, discover who she truly is.

As much as I hated the stepsisters as a child, that's how much I love them now! And that's because we learn of the source of their jealousy- the trials and struggles they faced year upon year although they may have been jealous. The things that shaped them. Through the story though, we see them begin to shape themselves acoording to how they'd like, not as society wills. Hence why their character arcs are fantastic!

Isabelle is strong and skilled. A swordswoman and equastrian. Talented, brutal and brave. But ugly. And jelaous. Like her sister Octavia who is a science genius (she's a nerd, like me hehe, which is probably why I love her so much). Both of them are essentially feminists and are so much more interesting than Ella. Which is why I prefer them to her too. (Walt Disney is turning in his grave). Also, I loved that Jennifer Donnelly ruined Ella's reputation of being perfectly good, kind and beautiful. We're reminded that she's still human, so capable of feeling jealousy and acting on it, thanks to a twist which SHOOK me!

All in all, although this did perhaps feel a bit like a childish read, I thoroughly enjoyed it and would highly recommend this if you love fairy tales!