Fractured Fairy Tale

Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly

What if the end of the story is only the beginning? 

What happens after Cinderella slips her dainty foot into the glass slipper and is whisked away by the prince?
What will become of the step mother and her two daughters?

Donnelly begins this fractured fairy tale with the scene in which each stepsister cuts off a part of her foot in an attempt to fit into the crystal shoe. Each fails and is left with a maimed foot, a heart full of resentment, and no prospects. What will become of them?

This retelling contemplates the future. Who or what influences one’s fortune? Is it the Fates, three women who spend their days determining the destiny for every person? Writing with magical inks, they create individual life maps, which they believe are unalterable. Chance questions this supposition and wagers that it is Chance not Fate which will decide the course of a stepsister’s life. Which will prevail: Fate or Chance?

There is Magic in this sad, hard world. A magic stronger than fate, stronger than chance. And it is seen in the unlikeliest of places.

Stepsister Isabelle is bitter and bereft of hope. She is ugly. No one wants her. Villagers taunt her mercilessly. Not only have her toes been brutally chopped off but parts of her heart, namely her compassion and courage, have been excised. She has reached rock bottom.

One night in the Wildwood, Isabelle meets the fairy queen who agrees to grant her one wish on the condition that she will find the missing pieces of her heart. 

Isabelle resolves to find these shards of her heart. She sets out on a seemingly impossible quest. Unbeknownst to her, one of the Fates personally intervenes to guarantee her dismal future. She arranges for the destruction of the stepsister's family home, forcing mother and daughters into a life of menial servitude, cutting cabbages by day and sleeping in a barn at night. ​There are other forces at work. A power-hungry warlord is methodically destroying villages throughout the country, attempting to overthrow the king. Isabelle believes that her dearest childhood friend has abandoned her. Success doesn't seem likely.

Fortunately, Isabelle has a few things going for her. The fairy queen offers her three simple objects, each bearing an enchantment. Chance travels to a nearby village with a magician, a monkey wearing a pearl necklace, and a troupe of performers. They present a magnificently inspiring performance for an audience of one. All have a vital role in shaping this stepsister’s choices. However, Isabelle's most important asset is herself. She is a women of strong conviction, a compassionate sister and daughter, a friend who is willing to forgive. Her extraordinary bravery, intelligence, humility, and selfless love are what ultimately determine her future. She reclaims the splintered pieces of her heart and in the process, discovers her true self.

Every war is different, yet each battle is the same. The enemy is only a distraction.
​The thing you are fighting against, always, is yourself.

Readers will recognize several familiar motifs  from the traditional Grimm lore. Isabelle befriends a tiny mouse. A shape-shifting fairy queen turns a pumpkin into a coach  and later creates an army from  a collection of toy wooden soldiers.

Stepsister​ shatters the traditional Cinderella tale. This is magic of a different kind. A girl who was deemed ugly, self-centered, and mean-spirited transforms herself into a woman of intellect, courage, and strength. A true beauty.

She was sorry for so many things...She was sorry for all the grim-tale girls locked in lonely towers. Trapped in sugar houses. Lost in the dark woods, with huntsman coming to cut out their hearts.

Donnelly has fashioned a tale that is brimming with a compelling multilayered characters, a story line that is traditional in its roots and contemporary in its theme. A classic that blends the magic of fantasy with the power of self-determination. That's the best kind of happily ever after.

Uncorrected copy provided by publisher.

​Pub date:  May 14, 2019 Publisher:Scholastic Press  ISBN: 978-1338268461