Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire

1 review

eviecheesepuff's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I love me a good retelling. This oneā€¦not so much as love but maybe...appreciation?
It was refreshing to see the story through the POV of Iris, one of the stepsisters. Specially because we meet her way before she becomes such but this book felt more like an exploration of sisterhood and what defines it rather than a retelling. I did have fun catching the small details that tie it to the mainstream version. However, a lot of the narration is spent on repeating information that has already been exposed to us and yet (somehow) the climax of the story is narrated instead of shown which was very disappointing imo.Ā 
Everyone told me I should have started my Gregory Maguire phase with Wicked, but I wanted to try this one because Iā€™ve always loved Cinderella. I should have probably listened!Ā 

Lessons learned,Ā 

1 - Illustrated books are underrated.Ā 
2 - ā€œYou can endure any short of prison if you can apprehend a window in the dark.ā€ My depressed ass almost had to stop reading. Omg.Ā 
3 - This book = Reminder that I am very very grateful to not have been born in the 17th Century. Thank you very much.Ā  ā€œā€¦for the woman who doesnā€™t open her mouth to speak canā€™t be discovered to be a shrew, a harridan, a gossip or a grump.ā€Ā 
4 - ā€œSelf-mockery is an uglier thing that any human faceā€¦ā€ aka stop hating yourself girl. It's not worth it!Ā 
5 - ā€œI hope you donā€™t marry the wrong manā€ says Caspar, a soft boy that flirts and paints and loves us for who we are.Ā  Yes please. Best character. Jack Dawson much?Ā 

notes

- If you give me romanceā€¦I need at least a kiss. I did not spend several days reading witty flirty dialog to end up this disappointed gReG! Get it together!
- Why is miss Cinder the one on the cover of the book? Iris is being disrespected even in real lifeā€¦smh.Ā 
- I have a feeling Maggie is killing everyone and no one is putting it together. Just my opinion.Ā 

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