2021 EDIT: Even more awesome on the second read. Such an underrated, action feminist fantasy series.
Final Score: 4/5
Original Review:
"Do we look like we need to be rescued?"
Exciting, non-stop action and adventure - with three princesses from three different fairy tales. These are not the demure and ineffective females we associate with Disney or even Grimm. These ladies are strong, well-developed, well-rounded and three-dimensional: who need no prince to come and save them. In fact, in this tale, they are the ones who go on a hero's journey to save the prince!
For someone who is tired of seeing degrading and unself-aware rubbish like 'Charlie's Angels' and 'Sex and the City' being labelled as feminist, to see the real deal at last is a joy to say the least. I had my doubts, but I wasn't disappointed. That the two franchises I just mentioned are much more well known and popular in the mainstream media than this book saddens me.
'The Stepsister Scheme' is another modern fairy tale deconstruction novel for me to add to my reading pile. Jim C. Hines clearly knew what we was doing when he wrote this. The creative twists almost make me jealous (oh why didn't I think of this idea first!) There are no real happily ever afters in this story - no story truly ends, and it is not full of pretty rainbows, sparkly castles, ballroom dances, whirlwind romances and babies ever after. Throughout the book, as we come to know the princesses' pasts and why they are not with their "princes" but are instead working for a queen's Secret Service, it becomes clear that what we'd thought from our childhood perceptions of fairy tales will probably be killed. And our innocence will be scarred for life. But in a good way :D
It's also gratifying that a male author wrote this. The claims that men can't write women as human beings? That it isn't simple? That women are an alien species who cannot be properly portrayed in fiction because they are such a minority and are strange? Bollocks. Men have written great female characters in the past who are equal to any well-written male character. Books like 'The Stepsister Scheme' give hope to such a claim, especially when popular female authors in recent years are not that well known for their good female characters either - such as in the YA market *sigh*.
Anyway:
'The Stepsister Scheme' is more than an action fantasy novel. There is dark magic, hatred and cruelty. But with good messages and subtle social commentary about femininity and equality.
We read the whole story from the third-person narrative of Danielle (Cinderella), a flawed but determined heroine who grows stronger throughout her journey to rescue her husband, Prince Armand, from her vengeful stepsisters Charlotte and Stacia. They suddenly have magical abilities, and Danielle will have to use her non-princess "peasant" skills and brains to get one step ahead of her stepsisters. Plus she's pregnant, but that doesn't hinder her or render her useless. She is a warm and likeable protagonist to root for. Heck, even forest animals help her out to the death, due to a special gift she has and which is an amusing reference to the 1950 Disney film.
Talia (Sleeping Beauty) I think is my favourite character. The exact opposite of how she is always portrayed in her fairy tale, she is an awesome, dark-skinned fighter and possesses what I can only describe as ninja skills - courtesy of the gifts of grace given to her by the fairies at her birth. She is complex and tragic. Harsh and sarcastic. Understandably she hates how fairies work to manipulate humans, and how they "bless" them with skills not acquired naturally. Magical creatures can cause more harm than good. Anyway their "curses" - intentional or otherwise - are always much more interesting to read about (as is the case in 'Ella Enchanted').
Snow White is a diva. A flirt. Beautiful and knows it. A sorceress who uses mirrors to work her magic for good. She is confident and comfortable with her sexuality. She is also very intelligent and loves books, so she has a brain as well as a sexy body (three-dimensional action girl - yes please!) Snow's struggle comes from her own mother wanting to kill her because she's pretty. Yes, mothers play an important part in 'The Stepsister Scheme'; positive and negative. This is unlike so many other fairy tales that won't let a female lead have any female influence or friends in her life; unless it's a wicked stepmother (Danielle's stepmother is dead before the start of the book).
So there are three heroines in this book with their own separate personalities and who do not prioritize men first. And they become the best of buddies in the end - non-toxic female friendships all the way!
Their "boss" is Queen Beatrice ("Queen Bea"), Danielle's mother-in-law, who sends them on the mission to find her son Armand and stop whatever Danielle's stepsisters are planning. All the while she is burdened with the responsibilities of ruling a kingdom: something Danielle, a royal-by-marriage, will have to do some day alongside Armand.
The characters and fairy tale twists I loved. Now for the negatives:
I felt that Armand was more of a plot device than a character. We don't see him at the beginning of the story, not even together with Danielle - who doesn't reveal much about him as a person or as a life partner. I'm not saying I want a romance, especially one that takes over the plot and action. But I would have liked to have read more about what Armand was like before he was kidnapped, and Danielle feeling more about her missing husband. I'm not sure if this is meant to show that their relationship was rushed and perhaps shallow, and that Danielle in her adventure comes to realise how much she cares for Armand, since near the end she clearly loves him...
The stepsisters and Snow's mother are ridiculously over-the-top evil. For a novel that reconstructs shallow fairy tales, I expected better motivations from the villains, other than "she's prettier than me" and "she doesn't deserve HIM" and "I love HIM". Maybe that is intentional - they are shallow women obsessed with conventional beauty and men and so they are the bad guys. They are horrible, albeit entertaining people, and nothing else. I also didn't like that the deemed "ugly" stepsister has the most terrible things happen to her.
Feminine themes of motherhood and marriage, and LGBT, race, rape, jealousy, hatred and love are explored in 'The Stepsister Scheme' - all the while never straying from the adventure that packs a punch and is riveting in its suspense. I'm glad I decided to give it a chance.
Sequel here I come!
Final Score: 4/5
No comments:
Post a Comment