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medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was excited to read this book- I hadn’t read any of Maguire’s other works and so I didn’t really know what I was in for, but I thought the cover was interesting and was prepared to engage with it with an open mind.
Unfortunately I found this book to be really quite mean spirited, not to mention pretentious for what it is: a retelling of a fairytale. All the characters seem to be miserable and unlikeable instead of illustrating a complexity that I think Maguire was aiming for. Most of the characters are children or young adults, but they never really talk or feel their age. Even the protagonist of the story Iris, who we get the most insight into and who has the most emotional depth, is bitter to the point of frustration; an impression exacerbated by how much older she acts than is. There are some instances in which the way Maguire writes young women that are so very… not good… that I grimaced reading them.
Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister endeavors to comment on art and beauty, but most of the time doesn’t really feel like it has anything substantive to say about either one. I tend to enjoy flowery/romantic language and surreal metaphor, but more often than not I found this prose to be verbose to the point of insipidity. The number of times characters talk about “beauty! Beauty! Beauty!” becomes tedious, and never once did I feel as though I encountered a truly unique thought. I really think I would’ve enjoyed this story more had it not taken itself so overly seriously- it could’ve been fun, and instead it felt more like a slog.
Unfortunately I found this book to be really quite mean spirited, not to mention pretentious for what it is: a retelling of a fairytale. All the characters seem to be miserable and unlikeable instead of illustrating a complexity that I think Maguire was aiming for. Most of the characters are children or young adults, but they never really talk or feel their age. Even the protagonist of the story Iris, who we get the most insight into and who has the most emotional depth, is bitter to the point of frustration; an impression exacerbated by how much older she acts than is. There are some instances in which the way Maguire writes young women that are so very… not good… that I grimaced reading them.
Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister endeavors to comment on art and beauty, but most of the time doesn’t really feel like it has anything substantive to say about either one. I tend to enjoy flowery/romantic language and surreal metaphor, but more often than not I found this prose to be verbose to the point of insipidity. The number of times characters talk about “beauty! Beauty! Beauty!” becomes tedious, and never once did I feel as though I encountered a truly unique thought. I really think I would’ve enjoyed this story more had it not taken itself so overly seriously- it could’ve been fun, and instead it felt more like a slog.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Death of parent
Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Rating is for the audiobook version, not the print version; I had read the print version about ten years ago and rated it three stars, but it was very difficult for me to pay attention to the story as it played.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Classism
Moderate: Confinement, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Classism, Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Alcoholism, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love a main character who tries to do good and is also annoying and petty
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Emotional abuse
Moderate: Kidnapping, Death of parent
Minor: Homophobia
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love me a good retelling. This one…not so much as love but maybe...appreciation?
It was refreshing to see the story through the POV of Iris, one of the stepsisters. Specially because we meet her way before she becomes such but this book felt more like an exploration of sisterhood and what defines it rather than a retelling. I did have fun catching the small details that tie it to the mainstream version. However, a lot of the narration is spent on repeating information that has already been exposed to us and yet (somehow) the climax of the story is narrated instead of shown which was very disappointing imo.
Everyone told me I should have started my Gregory Maguire phase with Wicked, but I wanted to try this one because I’ve always loved Cinderella. I should have probably listened!
It was refreshing to see the story through the POV of Iris, one of the stepsisters. Specially because we meet her way before she becomes such but this book felt more like an exploration of sisterhood and what defines it rather than a retelling. I did have fun catching the small details that tie it to the mainstream version. However, a lot of the narration is spent on repeating information that has already been exposed to us and yet (somehow) the climax of the story is narrated instead of shown which was very disappointing imo.
Everyone told me I should have started my Gregory Maguire phase with Wicked, but I wanted to try this one because I’ve always loved Cinderella. I should have probably listened!
Lessons learned,
1 - Illustrated books are underrated.
2 - “You can endure any short of prison if you can apprehend a window in the dark.” My depressed ass almost had to stop reading. Omg.
3 - This book = Reminder that I am very very grateful to not have been born in the 17th Century. Thank you very much. “…for the woman who doesn’t open her mouth to speak can’t be discovered to be a shrew, a harridan, a gossip or a grump.”
4 - “Self-mockery is an uglier thing that any human face…” aka stop hating yourself girl. It's not worth it!
5 - “I hope you don’t marry the wrong man” says Caspar, a soft boy that flirts and paints and loves us for who we are. Yes please. Best character. Jack Dawson much?
notes
- If you give me romance…I need at least a kiss. I did not spend several days reading witty flirty dialog to end up this disappointed gReG! Get it together!
- Why is miss Cinder the one on the cover of the book? Iris is being disrespected even in real life…smh.
- I have a feeling Maggie is killing everyone and no one is putting it together. Just my opinion.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Murder