The Stepsister's Tale

Starred review from May 19, 2014
Having reimagined Greek classics in novels like King of Ithaka and Dark of the Moon, Barrett offers a provocative inversion of the tale of Cinderella. Halsey Hall—the once-magnificent home of Lady Margaret Mountjoy and daughters Jane, 15, and Maude, 13—has been falling apart since the girls’ father squandered the family’s money and drank himself to death. With their mother in denial, Jane and Maude have been handling numerous household responsibilities like chopping firewood and tending to animals, making them tan and strong, but not proper ladies to present to society. When Lady Margaret suddenly remarries and presents her daughters with an entitled and haughty new sister, 13-year-old Isabella, conflict is inevitable. Barrett cleverly upends traditional notions of happily ever after—rather than Cinderella’s usual trajectory of rising from the ashes to marry a prince, for Jane, Maude, and their family, salvation comes through hard work, realizing the futility of clinging to a long-dead illusion of nobility, and embracing a “lowered” station in life that truly allows them to live. Ages 14–up. Agent: Lara Perkins, Andrea Brown Literary Agency.

Starred review from May 15, 2014
Despite the singular title, this clever and sensitive retelling of "Cinderella" takes the viewpoint of the supposedly evil stepsisters and turns the story inside out.Jane and her sister, Maude, live in serious poverty after the death of their handsome but alcoholic father, who wasted the family fortune. They live in their decaying mansion with their mother, who still insists that ladies do not work, although Jane and Maude toil all day, chopping wood, cooking and gathering food from the woods. When their mother returns from town with a new, supposedly rich husband and stepsister, Isabella, conditions worsen, as Ella refuses to lift a finger. When her father also dies bankrupt, the girl sulks by the cold fireplace, playing with the cinders, leading to a new nickname: Cinder-Ella. A royal hunting party brings the prince; beautiful Ella tells the aristocrats of her evil stepmother and sisters. Smitten, the prince holds a ball-but Ella may not find the fairy-tale ending she hopes for....Barrett tells her story straight, painting a picture of the sisters' poverty that rings true. She includes the major elements of the fairy tale but gives them realistic rather than magical origins, naming Ella's pony Mouse, for instance.Highly imaginative as well as insightful, this outstanding revision has the power to entrance and provoke thought. (Romance. 12-18)

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July 1, 2014

Gr 8 Up-Jane and her younger sister, Maude, are far from the fancy noblewomen of their ancestors. They barter food, churn butter, gather eggs, darn socks, and more to keep some semblance of comfort in their crumbling home. When Isabella becomes their stepsister, it is just one more mouth to feed, and an irritating one at that. Isabella is the apple of her father's eye, but her status changes when he dies from a swift-moving illness. Jane has little sympathy; after all, Isabella cannot be counted on to do any chores and only scorns her new stepsisters. An invitation to the royal ball creates new stakes for the family. The Stepsister's Tale is a pleasant Cinderella adaptation. Barrett's writing shines with an ethereal otherworldliness that enhances the fairy tale origins. She twists many traditional facets of the source material, including the prince, the glass slippers, and the love story. Where the narrative falters is in the long and winding road to resolution. Pages of exposition about Jane's family's hardscrabble life makes for slow reading. Additionally, the inclusion of the supernatural fairy element is weak. Character development is strong and avoids stereotypes, but the sluggish pace prevents gripping engagement with the protagonists. Jane walks a fine line as a heroine, blunt and tough on herself and her sister, but coddling her mother's delusions of nobility. She does garner empathy. For libraries that cannot keep fairy-tale retellings on the shelf.-Sarah Wethern, Douglas County Library, Alexandria, MN

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