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A review by asimilarkite
Stray by Elissa Sussman
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.