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kristyreadsalot_'s review against another edition
4.0
3.75 stars
This was pretty good! It wasn't fantastic, but it definitely wasn't as bad as some of the reviews I've seen have said. Overall I enjoyed it.
This was pretty good! It wasn't fantastic, but it definitely wasn't as bad as some of the reviews I've seen have said. Overall I enjoyed it.
tiamushka's review against another edition
4.0
This was a surprisingly addictive read. I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did. I picked the book because I loved the cover, (I am a sucker for a good cover) but was quickly drawn into the world and the characters. It took Aislynn awhile to "Stray" but I kept rooting for her to embrace her own path. I found the romance sweet and not too much, just the perfect amount. It was a great fairy tale read.
courtacademia's review against another edition
3.0
So I'm generally not very fond of first books in a series because they are seemingly slow and very introductory. This picked up towards the end but you're left in immense suspense and I will be looking forward to the next novel. I think it'll be worth following up on.
asimilarkite's review against another edition
3.0
Formal review written for WASHYARG (Washington Young Adult Review Group):
Seemingly inspired in equal parts by Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and traditional fairy tales, Stray is the story of 16-year-old Aislynn, a princess living in an extremely misogynistic society. Women are born with magic, but are taught to repress it from the time it appears (usually around puberty). Girls must be married by the time they turn 17 so their husband can watch over them and make sure they do not stray from the Path. Aislynn is a princess, attending balls and entertaining suitors, but when she has an episode of uncontrolled magic during her Introduction Ball, she is Redirected to a new Path – that of a fairy godmother. Fairy godmothers have one role in life – watch over their assigned princess, serve her, and report all instances of her straying from the Path. During her journey down her new Path, Aislynn begins to realize that perhaps she wants more to life than happily ever after. Sussman deftly builds her world, weaving loads of exposition gracefully into the fast-paced narrative. There is the requisite love story, but it is refreshingly not the main focus of the, and Aislynn’s transformation from naive princess to empowered woman is wonderful to watch unfold. Lovers of both dystopian fiction and fairy tale retellings will devour this story.
Seemingly inspired in equal parts by Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and traditional fairy tales, Stray is the story of 16-year-old Aislynn, a princess living in an extremely misogynistic society. Women are born with magic, but are taught to repress it from the time it appears (usually around puberty). Girls must be married by the time they turn 17 so their husband can watch over them and make sure they do not stray from the Path. Aislynn is a princess, attending balls and entertaining suitors, but when she has an episode of uncontrolled magic during her Introduction Ball, she is Redirected to a new Path – that of a fairy godmother. Fairy godmothers have one role in life – watch over their assigned princess, serve her, and report all instances of her straying from the Path. During her journey down her new Path, Aislynn begins to realize that perhaps she wants more to life than happily ever after. Sussman deftly builds her world, weaving loads of exposition gracefully into the fast-paced narrative. There is the requisite love story, but it is refreshingly not the main focus of the, and Aislynn’s transformation from naive princess to empowered woman is wonderful to watch unfold. Lovers of both dystopian fiction and fairy tale retellings will devour this story.
heather4994's review against another edition
4.0
This is an unique take on the fairy godmother point of view in fairy tales. At The Institute, young royals and noblewoman are being trained to not use their magic. It's bad, considered a trait that makes a young woman, no matter how noble of birth, not the marrying kind. The fairy godmothers that attend them at the institute are not the warm loving characters who grant wishes from the Cinderella type tales we know. These women are failed noble girls themselves who have had to give up their hearts and serve other young girls who are in the same place they once were. And these fairy godmothers are not on the side of the young girls trying to keep from using their magic.
There are several things that really work for this story. First, the obvious comment on forcing young girls to withhold their "magic" because it's bad and their husband's are allowed to return them after marriage if they find they use their "magic". The use of woman against woman as the fairy godmothers are to keep a book of infractions and are encouraged to report to the headmistress and the husband as they go with the girl if she is married off at 16. Then there is the main character's confusion about what she wants and how her parents react to her choices.
I think the story has a lot going for it and I'm waiting for the next book. There is mention of the Wicked Queen and dark magic and strays, those that are neither matched for marriage nor who choose to be fairy godmothers but instead choose to work for this dark queen. I don't know who she is and I can't quite match her to a fairy tale but I'm interested in where the story is headed.
Although the main character, Aislynn is the narrator, the side characters have full stories behind them and lend a lot of depth to the story. Aislynn questions a lot of things but has the good manners not to voice her questions. It's been trained out of her and when she finally gets it back, it's a little too late. You might find it frustrating in the beginning that she has all these questions and then doesn't stand up for herself but remember she's been brainwashed for most of her life. Just keep that in mind and then look how far she's come by the end of the book!
This is a great twisted fairy tale with more to come. Recommended for 10 and up.
There are several things that really work for this story. First, the obvious comment on forcing young girls to withhold their "magic" because it's bad and their husband's are allowed to return them after marriage if they find they use their "magic". The use of woman against woman as the fairy godmothers are to keep a book of infractions and are encouraged to report to the headmistress and the husband as they go with the girl if she is married off at 16. Then there is the main character's confusion about what she wants and how her parents react to her choices.
I think the story has a lot going for it and I'm waiting for the next book. There is mention of the Wicked Queen and dark magic and strays, those that are neither matched for marriage nor who choose to be fairy godmothers but instead choose to work for this dark queen. I don't know who she is and I can't quite match her to a fairy tale but I'm interested in where the story is headed.
Although the main character, Aislynn is the narrator, the side characters have full stories behind them and lend a lot of depth to the story. Aislynn questions a lot of things but has the good manners not to voice her questions. It's been trained out of her and when she finally gets it back, it's a little too late. You might find it frustrating in the beginning that she has all these questions and then doesn't stand up for herself but remember she's been brainwashed for most of her life. Just keep that in mind and then look how far she's come by the end of the book!
This is a great twisted fairy tale with more to come. Recommended for 10 and up.
kimching232's review against another edition
2.0
When I got a copy of Stray from Harper Collins for review, I was immediately excited because it sounded like a fairytale story, what with being from a royal family and the fairy godmothers and all. But boy was I wrong! Clearly, Stray is different and definitely much darker in a sense.
When I started reading the book, it seemed so interesting and full of potential, yet as I read on, I slowly became more and more disappointed. There was not enough world building. Clearly, for the main character everything was an every day occurrence, but it seemed like the author forgot that the readers know nothing about that world. I was confused numerous times, and I had a hard time figuring out what was happening. It's like the plot was not clearly thought of and the ideas were scattered.
Mainly, those were the only problems I had. Despite those though, I couldn't help but want to find out more because I was interested in the story. I just hope that the next book would be better, because the story is truly unique and I do believe that it has potential.
When I started reading the book, it seemed so interesting and full of potential, yet as I read on, I slowly became more and more disappointed. There was not enough world building. Clearly, for the main character everything was an every day occurrence, but it seemed like the author forgot that the readers know nothing about that world. I was confused numerous times, and I had a hard time figuring out what was happening. It's like the plot was not clearly thought of and the ideas were scattered.
Mainly, those were the only problems I had. Despite those though, I couldn't help but want to find out more because I was interested in the story. I just hope that the next book would be better, because the story is truly unique and I do believe that it has potential.
emmirosereads's review against another edition
2.0
I was so excited for this because because I feel like it had so many elements that I love in a book and I love fairytales. It unfortunately fell a little flat for me. Which made me sad because I feel like this had so much potential. It wasn't the worst book I've ever read but I've definitely read a lot better so giving it three stars.
I did really enjoy the world building and setting! I thought it was really interesting and really what made me continue on. I also thought the writing itself was nice.
I was hoping the plot would get more interesting but it was really just boring for 90% of the book and a little messy and confusing. It also felt really info dumpy for a lot of the book. The characters weren't anything special either and mostly felt flat and 2-D.
I don't know if I'll be continuing with the sequel but I guess I'll see.
I did really enjoy the world building and setting! I thought it was really interesting and really what made me continue on. I also thought the writing itself was nice.
I was hoping the plot would get more interesting but it was really just boring for 90% of the book and a little messy and confusing. It also felt really info dumpy for a lot of the book. The characters weren't anything special either and mostly felt flat and 2-D.
I don't know if I'll be continuing with the sequel but I guess I'll see.
jenn_darling's review against another edition
3.0
3.5?
It was a good story but it wasn't exactly what I wanted to happen but it was still good and exactly the story it needed to be.
First in an unfinished series so that's a bit of a bummer. I think I would read on.
(The middle bit was my least favorite because I kept wanting X to happen and it kept not happening until It Did.)
It was a good story but it wasn't exactly what I wanted to happen but it was still good and exactly the story it needed to be.
First in an unfinished series so that's a bit of a bummer. I think I would read on.
(The middle bit was my least favorite because I kept wanting X to happen and it kept not happening until It Did.)