All the Ever Afters: The Untold Story of Cinderella’s Stepmother ~ Danielle Teller
★★★★★
I received this ARC from William Morrow on LibraryThing in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of this book in any way.
"Being strong does not disqualify you from being beautiful."
Wow this book is amazing!
The Writing
For a debut, this is absolutely astounding! This is one of the most well written books I have ever read! As an example, here's a bunch of quotes I particularly loved:
"Compelling fiction often obscures the humble truth."
I wonder sometimes if the thoughts that flock my nightmares are abandoned memories coming home to roost.
I no longer believe that people are born without virtue. It gets beaten out. Misfortune threshes our souls as a flail threshes wheat, and the lightest parts of ourselves are scattered to the wind.
I was a mouse trapped in a corner, looking for a crack to flee through but dispairing of finding one.
"Imagine what ideas are locked up in the hearts and minds of women who simply lack the tools to express them."
I was a candle that had never known a flame, and now that the flame was lit, I softened and glowed in a way I had not known was possible.
Our fascination with feminine beauty is elemental. It is said that men wish to possess the princess and women wish to be the princess, but I believe that is only part of the truth. We are drawn to extraordinary beauty mindlessly and purposelessly; we flutter on dusty moth wings toward the effulgence with no understanding of why we do it. Perhaps when we see a woman with the aspect of an angel, our souls are tricked into following her, mistaking her for a guide to paradise.
The opposite, of course, is also true.
The stories we tell ourselves have great power.
Because misfortune does not wait idly by until we are prepared for it.
"Rich only matters if he marries you," I said grimly. "Handsome matters not at all."
"You speak of love? Love is a sickness that causes men and women to do stupid things, the sorts of things that leave them sad and broken when the fever passes."
Whew, that's a long list. Well, that's because THIS BOOK IS AMAZING and everyone needs to read it. All the characters were so real and multi-dimensional. The world (though a bit difficult to place the time period at first) was really great, and I loved how religion was mixed in without being preachy.
My only gripe was the fact that it's a Cinderella retelling, and only because I feel like that dragged down the potential of the story. It became predictable (because who doesn't know Cinderella's story?) and I found myself tiring of those parts of the story. The prologue, for instance, was not really necessary and only served to give reason for the journal entries scattered about. Which opening line would you rather have? This:
Suppers at the royal court have become entirely too oppressive.
Or this:
I hardly remember my own mother.
I think you'll all agree with me that the latter is far superior and engaging.
I absolutely loved the theme of motherhood in this. It was so well done and, though I am not a mother, I'm an aunt and my love and adoration for my nephew pales in comparison to Agnes' love for her daughters. And the themes of beauty and love were equally well done.
The Characters
Agnes: She was such an interesting and relatable protagonist. She's so complex and flawed, and she grows so much while staying fundamentally the same.
Fernan: I really found him to be a complex person, especially as Agnes realizes and learns more about him. I was so conflicted as to whether I loved him or hated him, but I never felt indifferent towards him.
Charlotte and Matilda: As someone who has a ton of sisters, they totally got the sister-dynamic down. They also really reminded me (even in appearance, strangely enough--Danielle Teller, have you been watching me??) of my oldest sisters, so reading about them was a huge, super sweet, cavity enducing treat.
Ella: She was really interesting too, and really humanized.
Emont: Man, I feel somewhat similar him as I do Fernan, but honestly, I pity him more anything. He's a pretty pitiful person.
Lady Alba: She gave me some serious Jane Eyre vibes. This whole book gave me Jane Eyre vibes, man.
Conclusion
I love this book so much. It might have even topped 1984 for my favorite book this month and possibly all time. It is amazingly well written, and I went through the whole gamut of emotions reading this. I shed some tears, I laughed and chuckled and giggled like a fool. I love this book and everyone really needs to read it.
Danielle Teller, I applaud you on your fabulous debut. You done good.
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