Copyright Date:
2024
Edition Date:
2024
Release Date:
08/20/24
ISBN:
0-06-329402-8
ISBN 13:
978-0-06-329402-8
Dewey:
Fic
Language:
English
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews
Cinderella and her fairy godmother both get new stories in this twist on the classic fairy tale.Fourteen-year-old Bess Wickham lives in a dazzling glass house, surrounded by a rainbow garden of glass flowers. The youngest of three daughters in a glassmaking family, Bess resents the expectation that she'll join them in creating sterile imitations of the natural world. She's delighted, then, when her father agrees to let her grow a garden. As it flourishes, she invites her animal friends to visit and pose for the figurines that her family hopes to create in their images. But when the creatures she loves start disappearing, Bess uncovers a sinister secret and flees into the forest, where she learns to access the ancient magic of the druids, claiming the Celtic title of bandia, or fairy godmother. Meanwhile, the Wickhams take in orphaned third cousin Estrella and manipulate her into servitude. Readers will shiver as the Wickhams find ever more wicked ways to capture life in glass. Soon, clever Estrella, who has a passion for astronomy, seems doomed. As abruptly as a carriage transforming back into a pumpkin at midnight, however, the story ends, with conflicts being resolved, secret identities revealed, and declarations of love unfolding in short order. The overly neat conclusion to a story that initially introduced appealing complexity to a familiar tale is disappointing. Main characters present white.Inventive, with intriguing heroines and despicable villains, but doesn't quite land the happy ending. (Fantasy. 8-12)
"Here’s a fast-paced, riveting adventure story for young fantasy fans to enjoy, right down to its 'happily ever after' ending" —ALA Booklist
"Kathy Lasky embellishes and burnishes the time-honored tropes of the Cinderella tale with her customary clarity of storytelling and novelty of invention. Glass sparkles." —Gregory Maguire, New York Times bestselling author of Wicked
Newbery Honoree and New York Times bestselling author of the Guardians of Ga’Hoole series Kathryn Lasky delivers an enchanting prequel to the Cinderella story from the perspective of a young fairy godmother.
In a grand glass house, there was a girl named Bess whose power would, one day, change the fate of her family. . . Bess Wickham has always felt like a bit of an outcast among her family of extraordinary glassblowers, but then an immense, magical power that’s lain dormant in her bloodline begins to emerge. So, when she suspects her family’s business has taken a sinister turn, Bess must find the strength to defeat dark magic and save a certain cinder girl. But will she shatter under the weight of such evil or get her happily ever after?
From Newbery Honor–winning author Kathryn Lasky comes a captivating Cinderella companion, with enchanting spells and endearing animal friendships, reminding us that we have the power to forge our own happy endings.
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection!