Gregory Maguire

Confessions of an ugly stepsister

Bryanna Leigh

I liked this book just as much as I hated it. The back story behind Cinderella was an interesting read. The plot of it was fun and exciting (in the sense that it was something I wouldn't have thought of). However, the writing brought it down a lot. At least, it did for me. Characters seemed rather flat and bland. At times they were kind of predictable, but that might have been due to the story it was taken from. Some plot lines were just completely abandoned and never resolved or added onto. I would have loved more of what was going on in the back story of Clara than what was mentioned. 

This book was an easy read, which was nice. That wasn't expected when I picked it up. However, I'm not too sure if I'd read another Maguire story. His writing just didn't do it for me. 

(Shortened version due to the fact I lost the original.)

Jeni Enjaian

A review from my old blog...

I am so glad that I didn't give up on Gregory Maguire after the extremely disappointing turn with Wicked. I approached Wicked with high albeit guarded expectations about the story only to be extremely disappointed.

Because Gregory Maguire's other books were already on my list I determined to read them anyway. With very low expectations I came to Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister. Wow. What a wonderfully written book, terribly sad and so unlike the classic fairy tale.

Maguire doesn't delve into the world of the supernatural in this book although the supernatural makes a pronounced appearance in the book. Maguire plays on the superstitions ever present among the people of Europe during the days of the Plague. The characters are so real, so un-mythical.

I absolutely loved the book although I wish that the few disgusting words had been left out. Unfortunatley the mind locks onto those words.

In the lives of children, pumpkins can turn into coaches, mice and rats into human beings. . . . When we grow up we learn that it's far more common for human beings to turn into rats. We all have heard the story of Cinderella, the beautiful child cast out to slave among the ashes. But what of her stepsisters, the homely pair exiled into ignominy by the fame of their lovely sibling? What fate befell those untouched by beauty . . . and what curses accompanied Cinderella's exquisite looks? Set against the rich backdrop of seventeenth-century Holland, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister is a novel of beauty and betrayal, illusion and understanding, reminding us that deception can be unearthed—and love unveiled—in the most unexpected of places.

A Novel

Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister

Cherie Dykstra

I read this book over a year ago and I loved it! I really enjoyed the "behind story" of Cinderella.

Laura Allen

Loved this book. A very fascinating fairy tale.

Martha F.

Jerilynn Hallett 

Gillian Rose

Is this new land a place where magics really happen? From Gregory Maguire, the acclaimed author of Wicked, comes his much-anticipated second novel, a brilliant and provocative retelling of the timeless Cinderella tale. In the lives of children, pumpkins can turn into coaches, mice and rats into human beings.... When we grow up, we learn that it's far more common for human beings to turn into rats.... We all have heard the story of Cinderella, the beautiful child cast out to slave among the ashes. But what of her stepsisters, the homely pair exiled into ignominy by the fame of their lovely sibling? What fate befell those untouched by beauty . . . and what curses accompanied Cinderella's exquisite looks? Extreme beauty is an affliction Set against the rich backdrop of seventeenth-century Holland, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister tells the story of Iris, an unlikely heroine who finds herself swept from the lowly streets of Haarlem to a strange world of wealth, artifice, and ambition. Iris's path quickly becomes intertwined with that of Clara, the mysterious and unnaturally beautiful girl destined to become her sister. Clara was the prettiest child, but was her life the prettiest tale? While Clara retreats to the cinders of the family hearth, burning all memories of her past, Iris seeks out the shadowy secrets of her new household--and the treacherous truth of her former life. God and Satan snarling at each other like dogs.... Imps and fairy godmotbers trying to undo each other's work. How we try to pin the world between opposite extremes! Far more than a mere fairy-tale, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister is a novel of beauty and betrayal, illusion and understanding, reminding us that deception can be unearthed--and love unveiled--in the most unexpected of places.

Confessions of an ugly stepsister

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