erinarkin20's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
Stray by Elissa Sussman was a quick and interesting read. It was different than anything I’ve read lately and I enjoyed that about this book. There were times where I felt the story moved a bit slowly but overall I thought it was done well.
Aislynn is a princess in a world where women are definitely not in charge of what they do and where they go. Being at the mercy of their parents and ultimately their advisors, girls are considered wicked and must do everything they can to protect themselves from the dangers of that wickedness. On top of that, as a royal, Aislynn is watched very closely for any signs of magical episodes which if they do happen, mean she is failing to comply with The Path.
Aislynn struggles with her magic and because of an episode, the night of her Introduction Ball ends up with the wrong outcome. Instead of a proposal of marriage, Aislynn finds herself being redirected as a Fairy Godmother. This means she will say goodbye to all family and friends and be sent away to take care of another girl going through the same things she had recently been going through.
I absolutely felt badly for Aislynn. She had no control over her future and no choice in what she would be doing. When she is sent away to begin her new life as a Fairy Godmother, she immediately meets Thacker, Brigid, and Ford. All of whom make an impact on her. As Aislynn learns more about herself and her new role, she also begins to see that something not quite right is going on. Girls are disappearing across the land and while people are assuming they are going “stray” (running away) she begins to believe otherwise.
As the story moves forward, we learn more about who Thacker, Brigid, and Ford are and they are the ones who end up helping Aislynn when she most needs it. Brigid was a wonderful friend for Aislynn and she helped her when she needed it most. Thacker was an interesting character and although their friendship started out rocky, they both quickly learned to trust each other. Eventually the story comes to a head and we find out the major players in what is going on with the missing people but we don’t find out everything. I would have liked to better understand, outside of the power, what was really motivating these characters.
Overall I found this to be an enjoyable read. It moved quickly and I was always interested to see what was going to happen next for them. I am interested to see where Sussman takes the story in the next book and will definitely check it out when it is released.
Thank you to Edelweiss and Greenwillow Books for the review copy.
Stray by Elissa Sussman was a quick and interesting read. It was different than anything I’ve read lately and I enjoyed that about this book. There were times where I felt the story moved a bit slowly but overall I thought it was done well.
Aislynn is a princess in a world where women are definitely not in charge of what they do and where they go. Being at the mercy of their parents and ultimately their advisors, girls are considered wicked and must do everything they can to protect themselves from the dangers of that wickedness. On top of that, as a royal, Aislynn is watched very closely for any signs of magical episodes which if they do happen, mean she is failing to comply with The Path.
Aislynn struggles with her magic and because of an episode, the night of her Introduction Ball ends up with the wrong outcome. Instead of a proposal of marriage, Aislynn finds herself being redirected as a Fairy Godmother. This means she will say goodbye to all family and friends and be sent away to take care of another girl going through the same things she had recently been going through.
I absolutely felt badly for Aislynn. She had no control over her future and no choice in what she would be doing. When she is sent away to begin her new life as a Fairy Godmother, she immediately meets Thacker, Brigid, and Ford. All of whom make an impact on her. As Aislynn learns more about herself and her new role, she also begins to see that something not quite right is going on. Girls are disappearing across the land and while people are assuming they are going “stray” (running away) she begins to believe otherwise.
As the story moves forward, we learn more about who Thacker, Brigid, and Ford are and they are the ones who end up helping Aislynn when she most needs it. Brigid was a wonderful friend for Aislynn and she helped her when she needed it most. Thacker was an interesting character and although their friendship started out rocky, they both quickly learned to trust each other. Eventually the story comes to a head and we find out the major players in what is going on with the missing people but we don’t find out everything. I would have liked to better understand, outside of the power, what was really motivating these characters.
Overall I found this to be an enjoyable read. It moved quickly and I was always interested to see what was going to happen next for them. I am interested to see where Sussman takes the story in the next book and will definitely check it out when it is released.
Thank you to Edelweiss and Greenwillow Books for the review copy.
kimreadsthings's review against another edition
I have thoughts about this and they are not kind. Mini review soon.
cendi's review against another edition
4.0
Reviewed By: Paperback Princesses
Stray is a straight up fairy tale. It’s a cross between The Handmaiden’s Tale and Wicked, and it felt like Once Upon A Time might have had some influence as well. In this book, Princess Aislynn is a student who is having difficulty controlling her magic, which all women have. The men make the women believe their magic is a curse, and use it against them in their married lives. Since Aislynn cannot gain control of it, she’s stripped of her princess title and sent to another school to become the fairy godmother to the matriarch princess Linnea. She still cannot grasp her magical abilities, and makes mistakes in her fairy godmother classes, but she sees some similarities between herself and Linnea. Aislynn realizes that her own fairy godmother when she was a princess may have been breaking some rules to cover for Aislynn’s magical mishaps, and discovers that magic may not be as bad as it’s made out to be.
Stray felt a bit underdeveloped, relying heavily on the synopsis to grab readers for the whole series. It moved slowly for majority of the book, but had enough to keep me interested. Its a relaxing read. Most of this book felt like setup for the sequels. It did take some turns I didn’t expect, and that was a good thing.
I probably won’t read this one again, but I might read the sequels.
Stray is a straight up fairy tale. It’s a cross between The Handmaiden’s Tale and Wicked, and it felt like Once Upon A Time might have had some influence as well. In this book, Princess Aislynn is a student who is having difficulty controlling her magic, which all women have. The men make the women believe their magic is a curse, and use it against them in their married lives. Since Aislynn cannot gain control of it, she’s stripped of her princess title and sent to another school to become the fairy godmother to the matriarch princess Linnea. She still cannot grasp her magical abilities, and makes mistakes in her fairy godmother classes, but she sees some similarities between herself and Linnea. Aislynn realizes that her own fairy godmother when she was a princess may have been breaking some rules to cover for Aislynn’s magical mishaps, and discovers that magic may not be as bad as it’s made out to be.
Stray felt a bit underdeveloped, relying heavily on the synopsis to grab readers for the whole series. It moved slowly for majority of the book, but had enough to keep me interested. Its a relaxing read. Most of this book felt like setup for the sequels. It did take some turns I didn’t expect, and that was a good thing.
I probably won’t read this one again, but I might read the sequels.
thearosemary's review against another edition
2.0
Stray was a unique kind of fairytale, with fairy godmothers and magic and secrets. The world within this book was interesting, though I felt it wasn't touched upon too much.
That was a recurring thought of mine throughout this book: that several topics remained vague and unspoken. I would have liked to have read more backstory about some of the characters, like Aisslyn, Thackery, and the Evil Queen.
Sussman's writing style is extremely pretty and poetic. I was able to picture the world clearly, and I would have even enjoyed more details about the scenery.
The overall storyline was great, but there are definitely a few holes within the book. Even by the end, I still had many questions, though I suppose those could be explained further in the companion series.
Still, this was a diverse form of a fairytale, and I did enjoy it.
That was a recurring thought of mine throughout this book: that several topics remained vague and unspoken. I would have liked to have read more backstory about some of the characters, like Aisslyn, Thackery, and the Evil Queen.
Sussman's writing style is extremely pretty and poetic. I was able to picture the world clearly, and I would have even enjoyed more details about the scenery.
The overall storyline was great, but there are definitely a few holes within the book. Even by the end, I still had many questions, though I suppose those could be explained further in the companion series.
Still, this was a diverse form of a fairytale, and I did enjoy it.
theodoralang's review against another edition
5.0
super enjoyed this! saw a description that said fairytales plus handmaid's tale and i think thats so true. classic fantasy, and i loved it.
alliebee333's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
evamaria7's review against another edition
1.0
I wanted to like it, but it just left me disappointed and confused. Its a little boring especially the character Aisylnn.
lavendermarch's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars. Good. I liked Aislynn most of the time.
periodicreader's review against another edition
2.0
I was hoping for more adventure and less feelings of helplessness, I think. I'm one of those people who has to finish things (like series of books) but I don't think I'm going to continue on with the series after this one. Meh.