Teen Tuesday and Audiobook Review: Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly

Image: Scholastic

Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly. Unabridged e-audiobook, ~13 hours. Read by Jayne Entwistle. Scholastic Audio, May, 2019. 9781338357677. (Review of e-audiobook borrowed from public library.)

Happy Tuesday TMS Readers! Don't let the rain get you down! Go out and sing in it, then dry off and curl up with a good book! Teen Tuesday features Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly. Author Donnelly begins at the end of the Cinderella tale and weaves a wholly original tale of identity and redemption. 

If the Disney version of Cinderella is the only one you are familiar with, then you're in for a bit of a shock. You see, Cinderella's stepmother had one stepdaughter cut off her heel in order to fit into the glass slipper that was left behind at the ball. When that didn't work, thanks to some tattletale birds living in the linden tree, she had the other stepsister, Isabelle, cut off her toes in order to fit the slipper. 

Isabelle doesn't want to. All her life, she has been told she doesn't fit in - she's too bold, she's too headstrong, her interests in horseback riding and fencing aren't feminine and she certainly has no interest in marrying the prince! Her heart belongs to someone else; someone who left her brokenhearted. 

We know that the stepsisters' ruse did not fool the prince and the archduke. What we don't know is what happened to the stepsisters after Cinderella's "happily ever after." Donnelly's fierce, feminist, wholly engrossing and original fairy tale is not for the faint of heart. It is, however, a must-read if you are a fan of fairy tale retellings, magic and fantasy and intricately plotted adventure. Isn't that cover gloriously gory?

Jayne Entwistle turns in an absolutely fabulous performance. Her vocal changes are subtle and consistent. The pace is careful, almost leisurely giving the listener time to savor the delicious writing and wry commentary. This is one I may reread with my eyes and underline (yes, underline) all the examples of terrific writing and plotting.