I received this book as part of Book Club Girls Free Book Friday.

I love a great retelling of a commonly known fairy tale. As in real life, there is always another side to the story. For me, this started slow but picked up near the end.

A different take of the Cinderella tale, from the perspective of one of the ugly sisters. I had a difficult time enjoying this. The pace was quite slow until the end.

It took me a while to get in to this book/get used to the writing style but I ended up really liking it!

As a member of the Book Club Girls Facebook group, I received a free electronic copy of Gregory Maguire's <I>Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister</I> and enjoyed it very much. This fictional exposé suggests that much of Cinderella’s story goes unsaid in the children’s version and attempts to rectify the situation.

While a retelling of a fairytale might seem mundane, especially after a Disney interpretation, this account is not. It is a narrative study of beauty in contrasts that expresses as much, if not more than any animated colors and memorable music can convey. It appears that <I>Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West</I> is not Maguire’s sole claim to fame!

I sent a request for this book through net galley but did not receive the link to this book so have not read it.

Just finished reading an advanced copy of Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire and I must say Cinderella is wearing a whole new gown! This vision is much more layered and interesting; it could be turned into a veritable morality screenplay! Needs a good proofing. 4.5

I first heard of this book years ago, and while I liked the idea of the topsy-turvy fairy tale, I never took the time to explore it. Well, I finally had a chance, and I finished it in one night! So uniquely written, never once cliche or predictable despite the familiar basis. I devoured Maguire's grasp of the English language, painting scenes and emotions as his characters painted portraits. I grew to hate the "wicked stepmother" all over again with a new fury. I rooted for and shook my head at the stepsisters constantly. I judged the people of the town and the people from their past and hoped the characters wouldn't judge themselves so harshly. Whatever you've heard about this book, you'll still be surprised!

This is an interesting take on the Cinderella story. It is toldfrom the viewpoint of the stepsisters, Iris and Ruth Although the stepsisters are ugly They are not evil and genuinely seem to care about their stepsister, Clara (the Cinderella of the story). Clara although very beautiful is not a sweet, lovable charcter in this version She is difficult and selfish. Margarethe, the stepmother, isportrayed as someone who wil go to any lengths to take care of her daughters and more importantly herself. The additional cast of characters add depth to the plot line. Though the story is interesting it is a slow read.

I had very mixed emotions about this book. I really liked the narrative coming from the "ugly stepsister" rather than vaunted Cinderella, and I loved that Cinderella in this story is very complex character, with lots of less-than-desirable traits, and with the conflicts that come from incredible beauty and how the world treats you. I also liked the setting, in the Netherlands during the time of the famous tulip mania. However, the plot seemed very rushed, with all of the action involving Prince Charming and the ball coming at the very end of the book, as though the author was having a grand time and then suddenly realized he had to wrap it up quickly. The other aspect I didn't like was the plot ending seemed rather contrived--one character who was all goodness and kindness throughout the book essentially caused problems at the end, and the other character, who was flat and undeveloped throughout the book suddenly became this incredibly cunning villain. It didn't fit with the rest of the story.

I enjoyed this book, reading another version of a fairy tale I grew up with. I also was very surprised at the end when I came across a twist I never saw coming. along with a crazy twist I never saw coming. I will look into reading more by this author!! Thank you to the Girlfriend book club for sending out copies of this book!
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All of Maguire’s books take some time to get into. It’s not an easy thing to rewrite fairy tales which are engrained into you cultural being from childhood. I can only describe it was uncomfortable. Still, he does a wonderful job of playing in the gray; not the one-dimensional good vs. evil characters. This book was no exception and worthy of the read. Perhaps now more than ever we need to be reminded about complexity of the human condition.

Confessions of An Ugly Stepsister is a version of Cinderella, told from a totally different point of view. Maguire's writing style makes this book a bit difficult to get into, but it is a good read. If you loved his earlier book, Wicked, then this is a book for you.

I enjoyed reading Confessions of An Ugly Stepsister. At first, it was a slow read and some of the language such as idiot and other demeaning words describing the older sister was a put-off for me, but I kept reading. So glad that I did as it was entertaining.

I'll start off my thoughts about Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by saying that Gregory Maguire's books aren't for everyone. If you pick up one of his books and expect a wonderful, happily-ever-after fairy tale you are bound to be disappointed because Maguire's approach is to look at a well-known story from an alternative, more realistic angle where the heroes and heroines of a fairy tale aren't as untarnished. In this story, one of "Cinderella's" stepsisters is recounting her early life fleeing England to Holland. Her mother is ambitious and ruthless in her aims to keep herself and her daughters alive. Does that make her evil? Does she become evil because of these traits? Ruth, the older sister is mute and not overly intelligent, and Iris, the younger sister is plain in appearance. In finding a home they live with a painter and his attendant Caspar before latching on with the van de Meers and their daughter Clara (aka the Cinder Girl) who isn't the long-suffering sweetheart she is in the fairy tale. I loved the wholesome, optimistic Caspar who is a light in a dreary world. And despite it being a dreary world it was a fascinating one that feels more like what would have been real before it was built into a fairy tale. I also really enjoyed Iris being a normal girl with ambitions, doubts and a crush of her own. While I felt like there were inconsistencies in character development both in how they developed and how fast it happened, I still enjoyed a retelling of a familiar story where you can sympathize with a character normally scorned or overlooked.

An upending of the Cinderella story! Gregory Maguire tells the tale from the perspective of Cinderella's younger stepsister. I love a good reboot of a classic and this is definitely a great example of how it should be done.

I was given this book by a Facebook Book Club. I am not sure I enjoyed it very much. I can say the writing was very good and if this is your type of book, you will enjoy it

If I don’t initially like a book for whatever reason, I try to give it the benefit of the doubt until I reach approximately the 25% mark. However, the writing style of this book, which apparently tells the Cinderella story from the perspective of the stepsisters, was so off-putting that I gave up before the third chapter. Specifically the writing style was so awkward, clunky and strange that it made the story difficult to follow and reading a struggle. Perhaps others may be able to overlook the writing style, but to me beautiful, accessible prose is almost as important as the story itself.

I was excited about the concept of this book; however, it fell short for me. I can handle a lot of detail but this had a lot of unnecessary details. The characters were not likable for me.