Bibliography: Turgeon, Carolyn. (2009). Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story.  New York: Three Rivers Press.  ISBN: 978-0307407993

Plot Summary:  You just think you know the real Cinderella story.  What if the fairy chosen to be Cinderella’s godmother was not old but young?  What if she had sneaked into the palace and fallen for the prince herself?  What if Cinderella didn’t want to go to the ball?

Critical Analysis:  Dual narratives, both by Lil, the titular godmother, show different pictures, different worlds, different people.  In the present, Lil is a broken old woman forced to hide her fairy wings from the public.  She works in a rare book store by day and spends her nights trying to fill her emptiness with diner food and television shows.  Contrasted with her past self, a young bright fairy with beautiful fairy sisters and friends, excited to be chosen for the honor of being Cinderella’s godmother but young enough, reckless enough to show herself to the prince and fall for him.

Turgeon’s writing is lyrical, lilting, she makes Lil’s longings real.  This is not a happy story, even when Lil decides the only way back is to right the wrong she put into motion so long before and plays fairy godmother to her boss and a beautiful young woman who comes into the bookstore one morning.  This story manages to combine sadness and futility with abundant hope and a painful twisty ambiguous ending that will stay with the reader long after the final page.

Readalikes: Not so much a readalike, but more like a read with, Princess of Glass by Jessica Day George reimagines the Cinderella story as a romance with a much more sinister fairy godmother.

Ash by Malinda Lo is another retelling, this one with a fairy godfather and a broken hearted Cinderella who will do anything to escape her stepmother and return to the woods she considers home.

Review Excerpts: “[R]eaders expecting magical carriages and glass slippers will be surprised by the novel’s morose tone, and though the surprise conclusion doesn’t quite work, Turgeon’s takes on nostalgia and regret are surprisingly clear-eyed given her narrator’s unbalance.”–Publisher’s Weekly

“[A] decidedly different take on Cinderella….Lil is complex and appealing, and vivid imagery and lyrical writing give shape to a charmer with a very satisfying, enigmatic ending.”–Booklist

“[T]houghtfully peels away the layers of fairy-tale convention and delves deeper into the notion of true love-its cost, its power, its rarity, and its beauty. Romantics and fans of fairy stories of all kinds will be enthralled by this latest take on the Cinderella story.”–Library Journal

Reviewed from public library copy.  Amazon Affiliate: If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.