Literally Leander discussion

Our featured book for the month of May 2020 is Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly.

This dark retelling of the classic Cinderella tale--from the ugly stepsister's point of view--comes from the author of popular novels like Deep Blue and A Northern Light.

Are you looking forward to this novel? Have you read anything from this author before? How do you feel about retellings in general? Let us know your thoughts on this book!

I'm excited for this book! I like retellings in general, but can be a little iffy when the main character is supposed to be a villain (those always end sad; especially since you know that they're going to be evil to begin with.)

I've read a few of Donnelly's historical fictions in the past. A Northern Light wasn't a favorite of mine, but I adored These Shallow Graves! I know the author's jumped around a little with genres (historical fiction, fantasy, etc.) so I'm interested to see how she tells this tale.

New to Literally Leander. When will we discuss the May & June books? Thanks!

This will be my first Jennifer Donnelly novel. I used to be iffy about retellings until some friends and I started a book club where we exclusively read retellings. This has increased my enjoyment of retellings. I love to see how the author can take a classic story, such as the Cinderella tale, and add their own twist to make it fun. However, I am hesitant to read this book because it is dark and bloody. It definitely sounds more Brothers Grimm than Disney.

Jennifer wrote: "New to Literally Leander. When will we discuss the May & June books? Thanks!"

Hi Jennifer! We post the discussion prompts within the first few days of each month. Check back in early June to get started with that discussion!