Book Review: CONFESSIONS OF AN UGLY STEPSISTER

I'm just gonna go ahead and be honest and say it... I didn't really like this book. And I must make my own confession, that's actually a fairly rare thing for me to say. I can get through most any book, especially fiction, and find something enjoyable about it. Yes, I may have found the writing weak and basic, or the descriptions too exhaustive, or the storyline just bleh, etc., but I'm pretty flexible with what I "like". But I didn't like this.

Here's the number one thing I didn't like about Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister. Gregory Maguire took a beloved, magical fairytale and destroyed it. And he did it on purpose! Maguire takes a story filled with magic and mystery and turns it into a rational explanation for the original tale. I think this is sort of his shtick, and I must say, I'm not a fan! Don't we have enough "rational explanation" and "realism" in the world? Why can't the fairytales be left alone? I'm good with "happily ever after" every once in a while.

In fairness, the story was well written and somewhat interesting on its own if it hadn't been destroying something sacred to me. Although I wasn't particularly drawn to Maguire's style of writing, so I actually had a hard time getting through the book. Not only did I not enjoy the storyline, but I also didn't find this one to be a page turner. Not liking a storyline doesn't necessarily mean it won't be a page turner. I found this to be the case with Gone Girl. I hated the story, but I couldn't put the book down. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. So the two can coexist.

Of course it could've just been that I was angry the whole time. You don't really want to return again and again during what's supposed to be a restful, rejuvenating time to something that's going to make you angry and annoyed.

Now, if you're a more rational, realistic type of person, you may love this book and Maguire's others. In fact, I participated in one of those Facebook things where you send one person a book, and if everyone participates as intended, you get 36 books in return... or something like that. And this was one of the two books I received from that little failed experiment. :) So the person who sent it must've really liked it... I don't think she was trying to purposefully torture me. She doesn't even know me!

So I imagine Maguire has a large fan base out there, and I'm just not on the list. #NOTafangirl !!!

I'd be curious to hear another perspective on this one. If you've read it, let me know what YOU thought! Obviously my opinion is very one-sided here (and rather angry). :)

Contains affiliate links.