The Stepsister's Tale

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