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jowithtwoiis's review against another edition
4.0
I listened to the audio of this book and I'll be honest: Jane Copland's outstanding narration is probably what sold this book for me. It's a retelling of the Cinderella fairy tale from the step mother's point of view and details her rise from the unwanted extra daughter of country peasants to the lady of a manor and stepmother to the princess of the land. The book is strongly grounded in reality; people who are looking for a more fantasy oriented story may want to steer clear if reading vs listening, as it feels much more like historical fiction. I'll be recommending the audiobook for any patrons looking for a fantastic listening experience.
smart_girls_love_trashy_books's review against another edition
4.0
-POTENTIAL SPOILERS-
I'm back at it again with the Cinderella retellings/reimaginings. Unlike the last few I read, however, mainly last year, I was actually very pleasantly surprised by this one. Most of the time, the retellings bored me or felt like they were missing something, so I ended up feeling uninterested or bored by a lot of them. I didn't initially have high hopes for this one, despite the plot interesting me. I was happy that it ended up surprising me, I ended up really liking this one.
Firstly, I like how it's a strict historical fiction, set in a specific time and place, this being 1300's England, around the time of the Hundred Years War. I'm a sucker for fairytale retellings that are actually more based in history instead of focusing on the fantastical elements, but it's hard to find any that aren't Christian, and those often tend to be dull. I liked the change of setting to England because it was unique, as well as the more Medieval time period. I've read that fairytale scholars notice that Cinderella is often seen as a more 'modern' story with the talk of carriages and balls, so you often see retellings of it set in the 1600's and later, in contrast to Snow White, which is seen as a more primitive story with the focus on witchcraft and cottages in the woods. My point is that it's interesting to see a retelling like this shake things up and put Cinderella in a more faraway time period and yet still have everything work out.
I liked the stepmother's character. Here, she wasn't evil, just someone who was dealt a bunch of bad hands in life and had to make do with everything she had. I also liked how her children, AKA the stepsisters, aren't actually ugly in a traditional sense. One is just mixed, and the other is marked by an illness. In the original versions, such as Grimm and Perrault, the stepsisters were described as just as beautiful as Cinderella, only with ugly hearts, so I thought that was an interesting change, since it shows that the sisters here aren't really ugly to themselves but moreso to society and it's a more realistic take on that.
I also think it was interesting how Cinderella's mother was clearly mentally ill, and seemed to pass it onto her daughter, who seems to be autistic/neurotic? The story obviously wasn't clear because they wouldn't have known back then, but she gives me those signs. I did dislike how the story sorta painted her into being a brat that couldn't be understood or reasoned with, it reminded me of Gregory Macguire's story and how it did something similar because I feel writers only do that to show why the villain was so good and correct while making the heroine of the original tale a bad person. While Cinderella does end up becoming a good person by the end, or should I say, she was good but also bad, she's complex, those parts were annoying for me to read.
Overall, a really good and unique take on the idea of not just retelling Cinderella but reframing it from the stepmother's perspective. However, much like the other ones I've read lately, it was just missing a certain something that would've made me like it even more.
I'm back at it again with the Cinderella retellings/reimaginings. Unlike the last few I read, however, mainly last year, I was actually very pleasantly surprised by this one. Most of the time, the retellings bored me or felt like they were missing something, so I ended up feeling uninterested or bored by a lot of them. I didn't initially have high hopes for this one, despite the plot interesting me. I was happy that it ended up surprising me, I ended up really liking this one.
Firstly, I like how it's a strict historical fiction, set in a specific time and place, this being 1300's England, around the time of the Hundred Years War. I'm a sucker for fairytale retellings that are actually more based in history instead of focusing on the fantastical elements, but it's hard to find any that aren't Christian, and those often tend to be dull. I liked the change of setting to England because it was unique, as well as the more Medieval time period. I've read that fairytale scholars notice that Cinderella is often seen as a more 'modern' story with the talk of carriages and balls, so you often see retellings of it set in the 1600's and later, in contrast to Snow White, which is seen as a more primitive story with the focus on witchcraft and cottages in the woods. My point is that it's interesting to see a retelling like this shake things up and put Cinderella in a more faraway time period and yet still have everything work out.
I liked the stepmother's character. Here, she wasn't evil, just someone who was dealt a bunch of bad hands in life and had to make do with everything she had. I also liked how her children, AKA the stepsisters, aren't actually ugly in a traditional sense. One is just mixed, and the other is marked by an illness. In the original versions, such as Grimm and Perrault, the stepsisters were described as just as beautiful as Cinderella, only with ugly hearts, so I thought that was an interesting change, since it shows that the sisters here aren't really ugly to themselves but moreso to society and it's a more realistic take on that.
I also think it was interesting how Cinderella's mother was clearly mentally ill, and seemed to pass it onto her daughter, who seems to be autistic/neurotic? The story obviously wasn't clear because they wouldn't have known back then, but she gives me those signs. I did dislike how the story sorta painted her into being a brat that couldn't be understood or reasoned with, it reminded me of Gregory Macguire's story and how it did something similar because I feel writers only do that to show why the villain was so good and correct while making the heroine of the original tale a bad person. While Cinderella does end up becoming a good person by the end, or should I say, she was good but also bad, she's complex, those parts were annoying for me to read.
Overall, a really good and unique take on the idea of not just retelling Cinderella but reframing it from the stepmother's perspective. However, much like the other ones I've read lately, it was just missing a certain something that would've made me like it even more.
diadandy's review against another edition
medium-paced
4.0
Cinderella was a brat and her stepmother was a martyr.
artemiszthegutter's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
qkat's review against another edition
4.0
Such a terrific retelling of Cinderella from the perspective of her step-mother. This book was a lot more enjoyable than I thought it would be.
bgamgee's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
I didn't expected this book to be so good. A woman's journey through life.
jessraven's review against another edition
3.0
Strap in, friends, because this is definitely not "Cinderella" as you know it - and I say that in the best way possible.
While the beginning of the book is slow and a bit difficult to get invested in, things get interesting once Agnes leaves the Abbey and strikes out on her own to make a life for herself, for her daughters and, eventually, for everyone's favourite princess-to-be. All the Ever Afters is a story that deserves to be read to the end, for Teller spends the better half of her novel weaving an intricate, at times heartbreaking tale that makes the reader question whether good and evil in fairy tales is truly so black and white, and where the truth of these stories lay. Who is the villain? Or, to put a finer point on it, is there truly such a thing as a villain at all? And, at the end of the day, what counts as a "happily ever after"? These questions and more are what Teller prompts her reader to consider, and this Cinderella story will likely make you reconsider every fairy tale you've ever read in a brand new light.
While the beginning of the book is slow and a bit difficult to get invested in, things get interesting once Agnes leaves the Abbey and strikes out on her own to make a life for herself, for her daughters and, eventually, for everyone's favourite princess-to-be. All the Ever Afters is a story that deserves to be read to the end, for Teller spends the better half of her novel weaving an intricate, at times heartbreaking tale that makes the reader question whether good and evil in fairy tales is truly so black and white, and where the truth of these stories lay. Who is the villain? Or, to put a finer point on it, is there truly such a thing as a villain at all? And, at the end of the day, what counts as a "happily ever after"? These questions and more are what Teller prompts her reader to consider, and this Cinderella story will likely make you reconsider every fairy tale you've ever read in a brand new light.
leahegood's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Summary
This rambling novel reads like the memoir of Cinderella's stepmother as she looks back on her life and recounts her memories of how things really happened. She shares her own childhood: one of a clever but overlooked and ill-used servant girl. She explains, without self-pity, her journey to an early motherhood through a childish infatuation that teetered between love and abuse (leaning more towards abuse). She remembers raising children, building businesses, and clinging to every scrap of opportunity to care for herself and her beloved daughters. In the end, she muses that--though Ella was never the downtrodden orphan depicted in rumor--there are things she would do differently with the benefit of hindsight.
My Thoughts
This was almost a DNF for me due to the meandering pace of the narrative and the multiple depictions of SA. I was relieved the find that, though I found the book shelved as YA, this is not how the book is classified by the author/publisher.
Overall the concept is interesting. The POV of Cinderella's stepmother has a grounded, authentic flavor that is absent of the magical nostalgia I typicially associate with fairy tales. It's a well-written story that, unfortunately, failed to appeal to me.
Content
Romance: Virtually non-existent. Though Agnes is married twice, both unions are born of desperation, and the consumation of the first is open-door and non-consensual. There are several open door scenes. None are gratituous but all provide more description that I prefer to read.
Language: Minimal to non-existent.
Violence: Agnes is beaten as a young servant girl and endures various forms of SA.
Religion: Agnes and her daughters spend some of their formative years in a religious context. They quote scripture and sometimes fall back on Biblical principles for guidance.
This rambling novel reads like the memoir of Cinderella's stepmother as she looks back on her life and recounts her memories of how things really happened. She shares her own childhood: one of a clever but overlooked and ill-used servant girl. She explains, without self-pity, her journey to an early motherhood through a childish infatuation that teetered between love and abuse (leaning more towards abuse). She remembers raising children, building businesses, and clinging to every scrap of opportunity to care for herself and her beloved daughters. In the end, she muses that--though Ella was never the downtrodden orphan depicted in rumor--there are things she would do differently with the benefit of hindsight.
My Thoughts
This was almost a DNF for me due to the meandering pace of the narrative and the multiple depictions of SA. I was relieved the find that, though I found the book shelved as YA, this is not how the book is classified by the author/publisher.
Overall the concept is interesting. The POV of Cinderella's stepmother has a grounded, authentic flavor that is absent of the magical nostalgia I typicially associate with fairy tales. It's a well-written story that, unfortunately, failed to appeal to me.
Content
Romance: Virtually non-existent. Though Agnes is married twice, both unions are born of desperation, and the consumation of the first is open-door and non-consensual. There are several open door scenes. None are gratituous but all provide more description that I prefer to read.
Language: Minimal to non-existent.
Violence: Agnes is beaten as a young servant girl and endures various forms of SA.
Religion: Agnes and her daughters spend some of their formative years in a religious context. They quote scripture and sometimes fall back on Biblical principles for guidance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Rape, Sexual harassment, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Child death, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Miscarriage, Child abuse, and Body shaming
Minor: Suicide and Death of parent