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asimilarkite's review against another edition
3.0
Formal review written for WASHYARG (Washington Young Adult Review Group):
Seemingly inspired in equal parts by Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and traditional fairy tales, Stray is the story of 16-year-old Aislynn, a princess living in an extremely misogynistic society. Women are born with magic, but are taught to repress it from the time it appears (usually around puberty). Girls must be married by the time they turn 17 so their husband can watch over them and make sure they do not stray from the Path. Aislynn is a princess, attending balls and entertaining suitors, but when she has an episode of uncontrolled magic during her Introduction Ball, she is Redirected to a new Path – that of a fairy godmother. Fairy godmothers have one role in life – watch over their assigned princess, serve her, and report all instances of her straying from the Path. During her journey down her new Path, Aislynn begins to realize that perhaps she wants more to life than happily ever after. Sussman deftly builds her world, weaving loads of exposition gracefully into the fast-paced narrative. There is the requisite love story, but it is refreshingly not the main focus of the, and Aislynn’s transformation from naive princess to empowered woman is wonderful to watch unfold. Lovers of both dystopian fiction and fairy tale retellings will devour this story.
Seemingly inspired in equal parts by Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and traditional fairy tales, Stray is the story of 16-year-old Aislynn, a princess living in an extremely misogynistic society. Women are born with magic, but are taught to repress it from the time it appears (usually around puberty). Girls must be married by the time they turn 17 so their husband can watch over them and make sure they do not stray from the Path. Aislynn is a princess, attending balls and entertaining suitors, but when she has an episode of uncontrolled magic during her Introduction Ball, she is Redirected to a new Path – that of a fairy godmother. Fairy godmothers have one role in life – watch over their assigned princess, serve her, and report all instances of her straying from the Path. During her journey down her new Path, Aislynn begins to realize that perhaps she wants more to life than happily ever after. Sussman deftly builds her world, weaving loads of exposition gracefully into the fast-paced narrative. There is the requisite love story, but it is refreshingly not the main focus of the, and Aislynn’s transformation from naive princess to empowered woman is wonderful to watch unfold. Lovers of both dystopian fiction and fairy tale retellings will devour this story.
bluebeereads's review against another edition
DNF at 32%
I love me some fairy tales. But this one... What happened? It could've been so awesome but I'm so confused and I don't understand what's going on at all. Why is the MC punished so bad, she didn't do anything or did I just miss something here? Confusing, frustrating,... I may try again later but for now, this is a DNF.
heather4994's review against another edition
4.0
This is an unique take on the fairy godmother point of view in fairy tales. At The Institute, young royals and noblewoman are being trained to not use their magic. It's bad, considered a trait that makes a young woman, no matter how noble of birth, not the marrying kind. The fairy godmothers that attend them at the institute are not the warm loving characters who grant wishes from the Cinderella type tales we know. These women are failed noble girls themselves who have had to give up their hearts and serve other young girls who are in the same place they once were. And these fairy godmothers are not on the side of the young girls trying to keep from using their magic.
There are several things that really work for this story. First, the obvious comment on forcing young girls to withhold their "magic" because it's bad and their husband's are allowed to return them after marriage if they find they use their "magic". The use of woman against woman as the fairy godmothers are to keep a book of infractions and are encouraged to report to the headmistress and the husband as they go with the girl if she is married off at 16. Then there is the main character's confusion about what she wants and how her parents react to her choices.
I think the story has a lot going for it and I'm waiting for the next book. There is mention of the Wicked Queen and dark magic and strays, those that are neither matched for marriage nor who choose to be fairy godmothers but instead choose to work for this dark queen. I don't know who she is and I can't quite match her to a fairy tale but I'm interested in where the story is headed.
Although the main character, Aislynn is the narrator, the side characters have full stories behind them and lend a lot of depth to the story. Aislynn questions a lot of things but has the good manners not to voice her questions. It's been trained out of her and when she finally gets it back, it's a little too late. You might find it frustrating in the beginning that she has all these questions and then doesn't stand up for herself but remember she's been brainwashed for most of her life. Just keep that in mind and then look how far she's come by the end of the book!
This is a great twisted fairy tale with more to come. Recommended for 10 and up.
There are several things that really work for this story. First, the obvious comment on forcing young girls to withhold their "magic" because it's bad and their husband's are allowed to return them after marriage if they find they use their "magic". The use of woman against woman as the fairy godmothers are to keep a book of infractions and are encouraged to report to the headmistress and the husband as they go with the girl if she is married off at 16. Then there is the main character's confusion about what she wants and how her parents react to her choices.
I think the story has a lot going for it and I'm waiting for the next book. There is mention of the Wicked Queen and dark magic and strays, those that are neither matched for marriage nor who choose to be fairy godmothers but instead choose to work for this dark queen. I don't know who she is and I can't quite match her to a fairy tale but I'm interested in where the story is headed.
Although the main character, Aislynn is the narrator, the side characters have full stories behind them and lend a lot of depth to the story. Aislynn questions a lot of things but has the good manners not to voice her questions. It's been trained out of her and when she finally gets it back, it's a little too late. You might find it frustrating in the beginning that she has all these questions and then doesn't stand up for herself but remember she's been brainwashed for most of her life. Just keep that in mind and then look how far she's come by the end of the book!
This is a great twisted fairy tale with more to come. Recommended for 10 and up.
kimching232's review against another edition
2.0
When I got a copy of Stray from Harper Collins for review, I was immediately excited because it sounded like a fairytale story, what with being from a royal family and the fairy godmothers and all. But boy was I wrong! Clearly, Stray is different and definitely much darker in a sense.
When I started reading the book, it seemed so interesting and full of potential, yet as I read on, I slowly became more and more disappointed. There was not enough world building. Clearly, for the main character everything was an every day occurrence, but it seemed like the author forgot that the readers know nothing about that world. I was confused numerous times, and I had a hard time figuring out what was happening. It's like the plot was not clearly thought of and the ideas were scattered.
Mainly, those were the only problems I had. Despite those though, I couldn't help but want to find out more because I was interested in the story. I just hope that the next book would be better, because the story is truly unique and I do believe that it has potential.
When I started reading the book, it seemed so interesting and full of potential, yet as I read on, I slowly became more and more disappointed. There was not enough world building. Clearly, for the main character everything was an every day occurrence, but it seemed like the author forgot that the readers know nothing about that world. I was confused numerous times, and I had a hard time figuring out what was happening. It's like the plot was not clearly thought of and the ideas were scattered.
Mainly, those were the only problems I had. Despite those though, I couldn't help but want to find out more because I was interested in the story. I just hope that the next book would be better, because the story is truly unique and I do believe that it has potential.
emmirosereads's review against another edition
2.0
I was so excited for this because because I feel like it had so many elements that I love in a book and I love fairytales. It unfortunately fell a little flat for me. Which made me sad because I feel like this had so much potential. It wasn't the worst book I've ever read but I've definitely read a lot better so giving it three stars.
I did really enjoy the world building and setting! I thought it was really interesting and really what made me continue on. I also thought the writing itself was nice.
I was hoping the plot would get more interesting but it was really just boring for 90% of the book and a little messy and confusing. It also felt really info dumpy for a lot of the book. The characters weren't anything special either and mostly felt flat and 2-D.
I don't know if I'll be continuing with the sequel but I guess I'll see.
I did really enjoy the world building and setting! I thought it was really interesting and really what made me continue on. I also thought the writing itself was nice.
I was hoping the plot would get more interesting but it was really just boring for 90% of the book and a little messy and confusing. It also felt really info dumpy for a lot of the book. The characters weren't anything special either and mostly felt flat and 2-D.
I don't know if I'll be continuing with the sequel but I guess I'll see.
jenn_darling's review against another edition
3.0
3.5?
It was a good story but it wasn't exactly what I wanted to happen but it was still good and exactly the story it needed to be.
First in an unfinished series so that's a bit of a bummer. I think I would read on.
(The middle bit was my least favorite because I kept wanting X to happen and it kept not happening until It Did.)
It was a good story but it wasn't exactly what I wanted to happen but it was still good and exactly the story it needed to be.
First in an unfinished series so that's a bit of a bummer. I think I would read on.
(The middle bit was my least favorite because I kept wanting X to happen and it kept not happening until It Did.)
hannahreadsadec5's review against another edition
3.0
I have not read Heist Society, and never heard of Ocean's Eleven, so I picked this book up on a whim, and boy am I glad I did so. Trust Me, I'm Lying caught my attention from page one, and did not let me go until long after I finished the book.
You've probably never heard of Julep Dupree, simply because that's the way she likes it. As a grifter who wants to maintain a perfect criminal record, Julep makes sure she will not be caught for anything she does. She is on her way to ensuring a spot at Yale, but when she comes home to a trashed apartment and a missing father, she realizes that she'll have to use every trick she knows to get her dad back before they get her.
While this book's writing was a little bland in my opinion, the book itself was intriguing. As a realistic fiction book, it did a great job of making problems and characters feel real, and it was mixed with just enough humor to lighten up sometimes darker themes.
Trust Me, I'm Lying is great for fans of mysteries and deceptive books. Even when I wasn't reading, I was thinking about this book, and I definitely would recommend it.
erinarkin20's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
Stray by Elissa Sussman was a quick and interesting read. It was different than anything I’ve read lately and I enjoyed that about this book. There were times where I felt the story moved a bit slowly but overall I thought it was done well.
Aislynn is a princess in a world where women are definitely not in charge of what they do and where they go. Being at the mercy of their parents and ultimately their advisors, girls are considered wicked and must do everything they can to protect themselves from the dangers of that wickedness. On top of that, as a royal, Aislynn is watched very closely for any signs of magical episodes which if they do happen, mean she is failing to comply with The Path.
Aislynn struggles with her magic and because of an episode, the night of her Introduction Ball ends up with the wrong outcome. Instead of a proposal of marriage, Aislynn finds herself being redirected as a Fairy Godmother. This means she will say goodbye to all family and friends and be sent away to take care of another girl going through the same things she had recently been going through.
I absolutely felt badly for Aislynn. She had no control over her future and no choice in what she would be doing. When she is sent away to begin her new life as a Fairy Godmother, she immediately meets Thacker, Brigid, and Ford. All of whom make an impact on her. As Aislynn learns more about herself and her new role, she also begins to see that something not quite right is going on. Girls are disappearing across the land and while people are assuming they are going “stray” (running away) she begins to believe otherwise.
As the story moves forward, we learn more about who Thacker, Brigid, and Ford are and they are the ones who end up helping Aislynn when she most needs it. Brigid was a wonderful friend for Aislynn and she helped her when she needed it most. Thacker was an interesting character and although their friendship started out rocky, they both quickly learned to trust each other. Eventually the story comes to a head and we find out the major players in what is going on with the missing people but we don’t find out everything. I would have liked to better understand, outside of the power, what was really motivating these characters.
Overall I found this to be an enjoyable read. It moved quickly and I was always interested to see what was going to happen next for them. I am interested to see where Sussman takes the story in the next book and will definitely check it out when it is released.
Thank you to Edelweiss and Greenwillow Books for the review copy.
Stray by Elissa Sussman was a quick and interesting read. It was different than anything I’ve read lately and I enjoyed that about this book. There were times where I felt the story moved a bit slowly but overall I thought it was done well.
Aislynn is a princess in a world where women are definitely not in charge of what they do and where they go. Being at the mercy of their parents and ultimately their advisors, girls are considered wicked and must do everything they can to protect themselves from the dangers of that wickedness. On top of that, as a royal, Aislynn is watched very closely for any signs of magical episodes which if they do happen, mean she is failing to comply with The Path.
Aislynn struggles with her magic and because of an episode, the night of her Introduction Ball ends up with the wrong outcome. Instead of a proposal of marriage, Aislynn finds herself being redirected as a Fairy Godmother. This means she will say goodbye to all family and friends and be sent away to take care of another girl going through the same things she had recently been going through.
I absolutely felt badly for Aislynn. She had no control over her future and no choice in what she would be doing. When she is sent away to begin her new life as a Fairy Godmother, she immediately meets Thacker, Brigid, and Ford. All of whom make an impact on her. As Aislynn learns more about herself and her new role, she also begins to see that something not quite right is going on. Girls are disappearing across the land and while people are assuming they are going “stray” (running away) she begins to believe otherwise.
As the story moves forward, we learn more about who Thacker, Brigid, and Ford are and they are the ones who end up helping Aislynn when she most needs it. Brigid was a wonderful friend for Aislynn and she helped her when she needed it most. Thacker was an interesting character and although their friendship started out rocky, they both quickly learned to trust each other. Eventually the story comes to a head and we find out the major players in what is going on with the missing people but we don’t find out everything. I would have liked to better understand, outside of the power, what was really motivating these characters.
Overall I found this to be an enjoyable read. It moved quickly and I was always interested to see what was going to happen next for them. I am interested to see where Sussman takes the story in the next book and will definitely check it out when it is released.
Thank you to Edelweiss and Greenwillow Books for the review copy.
kimreadsthings's review against another edition
I have thoughts about this and they are not kind. Mini review soon.