Stepsister
Written by Jennifer Donnelly
Narrated by Jayne Entwistle
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
Don't just fracture the fairy tale. Shatter it.
Isabelle should be blissfully happy - she's about to win the handsome prince. Except Isabelle isn't the beautiful girl who lost the glass slipper and captured the prince's heart. She's the ugly stepsister who cut off her toes to fit into Cinderella's shoe...which is now filling with blood.
Isabelle tried to fit in. She cut away pieces of herself in order to become pretty. Sweet. More like Cinderella. But that only made her mean, jealous, and hollow. Now she has a chance to alter her destiny and prove what ugly stepsisters have always known: it takes more than heartache to break a girl.
Evoking the darker, original version of the Cinderella story, Stepsister shows us that ugly is in the eye of the beholder, and uses Jennifer Donnelly's trademark wit and wisdom to send an overlooked character on a journey toward empowerment, redemption...and a new definition of beauty.
Jennifer Donnelly
Jennifer Donnelly writes books for children and adults, including the novel The Tea Rose. She lives in Brooklyn and upstate New York, with her husband and two greyhounds. She has a passion for tea and roses.
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Reviews for Stepsister
230 ratings19 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/510 stars out of 5!!! How is this book not more popular? The narration was also done very well. I will also be buying the book to "re-read"
2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Loved it! The voice actress was incredible! She did so many voices and accents. And, the story was wonderful, inspiring, and fun.
2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great book!! Not your grandmother’s (or mother’s) Cinderella story ! This is the other side of the story, the one about the “Ugly Stepsisters”, and the rest of (Cinder) Ella’s story as well, about what happens after the “happily ever after”. Fantabulous narrator!! I love, love love this narrator! If you like alternative fairytales with very strong female role models, I would definitely recommend this one! ☺️
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Loved it!!! The twist was amazing! I wish that this was how the original story was written. It’s a must read!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Its so beautiful, I loved it and am going to try and get everyone I love to listen to it as well..
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Entertaining. Felt like it took forever to finish, though I thoroughly enjoyed. Favorite characters Nelson, Tanaquil and the Marquis de la Chance.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fantastic!! Wonderfully written for a new age where Morals and self esteem are needed most
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Not just a great fairytale adaptation, but a relatable account of what it is to be a tough female in a world that expects you to be "pretty", and learning how to live out your heart's true desires, despite what you're "supposed to" be.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book was a lovely reminder that every side has many sides, a weakness can be a strength if looked at from the right perspective and es h person has their own unique gifts. I loved it!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5It was such a powerful spin to the original Cinderella. I could see that everyone faced challenges into becoming the best people possible. Isabella's journey was identifiable.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5My sister give me this book as a gift. I didn't read it until now but this was such an amazing story. I love it so much. I love the characters specially Isabella. This was an amazing retelling to be honest I thought I wasn't gonna like it at all but man I was very wrong. If you like retellings I would recommend this book.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This was an amazing book! I loved the story of redemption. I loved this continuing of a fairytale. Wonderfully written story!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Audiobook was fantastic I highly recommend listening over reading
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Please listen to this book! It’s AMAZING! You won’t regret listening, I promise.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5If you love the genre of the original Grimm fairytales, but you don't want the moral of the story to be straight out of the repressive era when the classics were written, but ALSO don't want a modern retelling that leaves the original context behind, this is for you.
This story is so layered and balanced; every character matters. Every story beat matters. Every material object that means something to a character means something to the story, too. Nothing is wasted and nothing is superfluous.
I would say this novel is beautiful, but I think that would be a disservice. It is specifically NOT beautiful. It's the UGLY stepsister. It's an ugly family dynamic. Ugly things happen. This is the story that says "ugly, but what else?"
I'm a voracious reader in general, and particularly into fairlytales, and Stepsister is going down as one of my all-time favorites. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This was better than I imagined it would be. It was very well written and always kept my attention.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Loved this book! Not a retelling of Cinderella. It stands alone. When are they going to make this into a movie?!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5i love isbella's braveness and huge heart to her boy she's not like her sister she like a knight
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I was very pleasantly surprised. I wasn't sure what to expect from this, but it got to the point that I really wanted to know what would happen to Isabell. Her plight was plaguing me to the point that I was into this story at 4:30 am. It did drag a bit, but I am glad it worked out in the end for all.