First published 2019
Isabelle stands before the prince with Cinderella's glass slipper on her foot. Blood seeps through the shoe where she has sliced off her toes. The prince discovers her trick and sends her away in disgrace. Isabelle is the ugly stepsister who never had a chance. She lives in a world that prizes beauty above all else. Her mother demands perfection. Society expects girls to be sweet and compliant. Isabelle has spent years cutting away parts of herself to meet these impossible standards. Each compromise has made her meaner and more hollow inside. She has become the jealous stepsister everyone expects her to be. But when fate offers Isabelle a second chance, she must decide whether to keep playing by the old rules. She discovers that ugly stepsisters possess a strength that pretty princesses never develop. Breaking a determined girl takes more than heartache and rejection.
Genres: gender-studies, feminist-theory, fantasy, fairy-tale-retellings
Vibes: dark, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
352 pages · Hardcover · Scholastic Press
Content warnings: abuse, sexism