Stepsister

Title: Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly   

Image:

Genre:  Fantasy

Justification:

          Jennifer Donnelly is an award-winning author. She has previously been a Printz Honor writer. In 2019 her released a new fantasy novel. This fractured fairy tale extends the story of Cinderella and changes the view point to the evil stepsister. This book is designed specifically for young adults even though older readers can enjoy it as well. Goodreads has already had 6,607 ratings and given the book 4.09 stars (goodreads, 2019). While this book has just been released in May it had not received any awards currently it has protentional to become an award winner.

Evaluation of the book:

The mood of Stepsister was dark. The book opens with the fates writing the maps. The descriptions alone were creepy” The crone’s eyes, like those of her sisters, were a forbidding gray, as cold and pitiless as the sea.” (Donnelly, 2019, p. 1)  Before the book begins an introduction takes place. It is written on black paper with tiny white font.

“This is a dark tale. A grim tale. It’s a tale from another time, a time when wolves waited for girls in the forest, beasts paced the halls of cursed castles, and witches lurked in gingerbread houses with sugar-kissed roofs.

          That time is long gone.

          But the wolves are still here and twice as clever. The beasts remain. And death still hides in a dusting of white.

It’s grim for any girl who loses her way.

Grimmer still for a girl who loses herself.

Know that it’s dangerous to stray from the path.

But it’s far more dangerous not to”  (Donnelly, 2019)

          This passage from the book sets the scene and creates foreshadowing. The first line about a dark tale and a grim tale accurately describe the book. As Chance battles the Crone, they watch Isabelle’s lifeline shift and change. Chance tries to give her courage while the Crone tries to destroy her. Even the fairy godmother is gruesome as she kills her prey. As Isabelle makes progress another depression action happens. She finds the love of her life to learn he has enlisted. She finds her horse and discovers he is set to die. She begins to build confidence and become stronger as her home is burnt down. She seeks to be a better person to have orphans taunt and throw things at her. She works to save her mom while being told she is not good enough and that madness has engulfed her. This dark tale has a deep message.

The quick pacing of this book made it an easy read. Donnelly does not linger. She moves the reader through the story quickly. She does not let the reader have time to process and mourn. When the book begins the girls are mutilating themselves for the mother’s benefit.  They quickly learn to live their mutilation and shame. Isabelle gets back and up and learns to ride a horse again. She becomes stronger. They lose their house and move on to work at the neighbor’s farm. She thinks she will lose her horse but instead saves three other horses. This fast pace moves the story along. Even Chance moves a rapid pace. He rushes the thespians to put on their performance. He quickly gets more maps and tries to give others a Chance. He makes new inks to help hide the world and give hope.

The characters are well developed. The fates are strong characters. “Do you think a coin can pay for what you’ve set looks?” she raged. “A warlord rampages across France. Death reaps a harvest of bones. A kingdom totters. All because of you!” (Donnelly, 2019, p. 5). Chance works hard to fix the error in his ways. Ella is found to not always be good. Isabelle learns it is not always important to be pretty but to play your strengths. Tavi learns to be happy with her books and intelligence. She can do experiments and ultimately ends up saving France. All the characters grow and change. Even the fates are shocked to see how the characters grow and survive. Each character and action is given thought. The Grand Duke does not want Ella to be queen. This is seen at the beginning and reinforced at the end. Isabelle shifts from wanting to be pretty to understanding her true gift of strength.

Response:

           (g) The beginning of the story was gruesome. Donnelly did not shy away from the original fairy tale. “The little toe was the hardest” (Donnelly, 2019, p. 11) this simple sentence tells so much. Isabelle against her better judgement cuts off her own toes to fit in the glass slipper. As the blood fills the slipper and the white dove tells the prince of how she cut off her toes it becomes difficult to read. However, as the book continues the gore diminishes and a sense of whimsy, urgency, and fear take over. After finishing the book, the art of the book is revealed.

(f) While reading the book it at first seemed like most fractured fairy tales. Yet, on the last chapter everything changes. The entire book is filled with foreshadowing, hidden messages, and clues. I would love to go back and reread the text again to see all the little masterful clues given in the text. This book got more entreating as it was read. The characters became more developed. The reader was rooting for Isabelle to realize that there are more important things then being pretty. The author also let the pieces all intersect and intertwine to form the story.

(d) The book does an amazing job of telling the reader to be yourself. Tavi is excited to finally get to do science and math. She can use her brain. She realized that the best thing for her was to be ostracized. It allowed her to be herself. She is the reason that Ella got to escape, the reason Isabelle going gets to the fairy queen. Isabelle changes from wanting to be pretty to wanting to defeat Volkmar. The book also shows that we all have jealousy and insecurities. These insecurities and jealousy can consume us if we let it. These are strong messages that are applicable to everyone. It is important to follow our own calling and understand that we all have strengths. We are also defined by more than our fate. We have the power of choice and change our own destiny.

Conclusion:

          While this book has a gruesome beginning, it was a wonderful read. It had a strong message about taking control of your own life and finding your own heart and truth. Isabelle learns about herself and how to become her true self in the book. This is important for young women to read and understand how to be their true self. The book uses a somber mood, a quick pace, and well-defined characters to spread her message. This book will be the perfect book for anyone struggling with their identity and societal norms. 

Citation:

Works Cited

Donnelly, J. (2019). Stepsister. New York: Scholastic.

goodreads. (2019, December ). Stepsister. Retrieved from goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41473840-stepsister

The University of Texas at El Paso. (n.d.). How to Write a Reaction Paper or Reader Response. Retrieved from Reader Response: http://utminers.utep.edu/omwilliamson/engl0310link/readerresponse.htm