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davastewart 's review for:
Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story
by Carolyn Turgeon
This book is probably closer to 2.5-2.75 stars. I'm giving it 3 because so much of it is good. When I first read the description, I was like, "How can you retell Cinderella differently?" Then all, "oh! What a good idea, from the Fairy Godmother's perspective!" And I was impressed with the storytelling because the fairy godmother wasn't good in this book -- she was a flawed character and that seemed like a really cool approach.
But, a whole bunch of stuff marred that good feeling:
1. At about 60% through, I was utterly sick of the descriptions of flying into and out of the lake. Okay, we get it. It was beautiful, she misses it, move on. The story really started dragging here. Also, there was way too much description of the palace. One or two would have been plenty sufficient.
2. At about 75% through, when she is at the salon, you find out that she went to the ball with the prince instead of sending Cinderella. That means the whole next section is not a surprise at all because you know what is going to happen and you are just waiting to find out exactly why it happens.
3. A couple of other reviewers have said the characters are "well-developed". They are not. The only character you really get to know at all is Lil. This is a first person narrated story, so that's somewhat to be expected BUT I think a little more about the landlord who died at a much earlier point in the story would have been helpful, maybe a few memories of how she met George, or conversations with George would have been helpful. As it is, it's like she and George are just getting to know each other after working together quite closely for several years.
4. The ending. It seems people either love or hate the ending of the story. While I appreciate the "twist" I also think that it is very clumsily done and that it is crammed in the last couple of pages. SURPRISE! I don't mind that the ending is so dark; Cinderella is, at its heart, a very dark story.
The thing that really bothers me is that it wouldn't have taken much for this to be better. A few dark threads woven throughout the story. A couple of scenes where her confusion is related to the actual world, rather than the fairy world. Some memory of the dead landlord. A little less focus on the feathers, since they weren't real.
Bah. I don't recommend this one really to anyone, and I'm changing the rating to two stars. Dang. It really annoyed me.
But, a whole bunch of stuff marred that good feeling:
1. At about 60% through, I was utterly sick of the descriptions of flying into and out of the lake. Okay, we get it. It was beautiful, she misses it, move on. The story really started dragging here. Also, there was way too much description of the palace. One or two would have been plenty sufficient.
2. At about 75% through, when she is at the salon, you find out that she went to the ball with the prince instead of sending Cinderella. That means the whole next section is not a surprise at all because you know what is going to happen and you are just waiting to find out exactly why it happens.
3. A couple of other reviewers have said the characters are "well-developed". They are not. The only character you really get to know at all is Lil. This is a first person narrated story, so that's somewhat to be expected BUT I think a little more about the landlord who died at a much earlier point in the story would have been helpful, maybe a few memories of how she met George, or conversations with George would have been helpful. As it is, it's like she and George are just getting to know each other after working together quite closely for several years.
4. The ending. It seems people either love or hate the ending of the story. While I appreciate the "twist" I also think that it is very clumsily done and that it is crammed in the last couple of pages. SURPRISE! I don't mind that the ending is so dark; Cinderella is, at its heart, a very dark story.
The thing that really bothers me is that it wouldn't have taken much for this to be better. A few dark threads woven throughout the story. A couple of scenes where her confusion is related to the actual world, rather than the fairy world. Some memory of the dead landlord. A little less focus on the feathers, since they weren't real.
Bah. I don't recommend this one really to anyone, and I'm changing the rating to two stars. Dang. It really annoyed me.