Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister is Maguire's take on the Cinderella story. Iris is the sister who is called ugly, or plain if the person saying it is feeling generous. Although she is ugly, she is the sister with the brains. Ruth is large, ungainly, very slow witted and a mute. They travel to Holland with their mother after their father is killed in England. Margarethe, the wicked stepmother is more business-minded than evil. Although her determination to gain money at all costs could constitute her as wicked. Cinderella, primarily called Clara, is a beautiful girl who suffers from agoraphobia (fear of leaving the house). She is much happier staying in the kitchen cleaning the hearth than going out and socializing.
The story and its characters are certainly interesting, and it is a good story, but it doesn't go along with how I interpreted the Cinderella story. The characters are too much out of character and there are too many notions of why they're the way they are.
I read Maguire's Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West a couple of years ago and I absolutely loved it. I loved the alternative personality of the wicked witch, but it didn't work for me in Confessions.
My Rating: 2.5/5
Customer Review: 4/5
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Regan Books; 1st Pbk. Ed edition (October 1, 2000)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0060987529
ISBN-13: 978-0060987527
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