Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story

Lil is a older woman who works at a bookstore, lives simply and frugally (out of extreme necessity), and has a great love for one of the books in the bookstore: a valuable copy of Cinderella. Is this the sum of Lil or is she also who she claims to be, the exiled fairy godmother from the Cinderella story? As Lil goes about her day, with her tell-tale wings bound tightly to her back, she describes her life as a fairy godmother and the mistake that led her to be cast out from her life. She made the mistake of falling in love with the prince herself and went to the ball in place of Cinderella. Convincing herself that she will be re-admitted to the fairy realm if she rights her wrong, she determines to help unite her new friend Veronica and show more her kindly boss George, both unlucky in love and bearing melancholy scars.

Lil's rendition of the real Cinderella story starts off lightly but soon becomes more and more dark in feeling as she prepares to tell of her ultimate betrayal as a fairy godmother. Likewise, the story of her small existence in the human world starts to sound more menacing even as her plans for George and Veronica seem to be coming to fruition. The end to Lil's Cinderella story is unexpected, foreshadowing the end of the book. The ending completely changed my reading of the story. The impressive twist turns the lightness of the early story on its head and pulls the curtain off the life of quiet desperation that Lil has led for so long. This was a completely engrossing book, impossible to put down which I read in less than a day. But I am left ambivalent about it, although certainly still pondering it even weeks later so it clearly captured me in unusual ways. A real departure from my usual type of book, the glimpses of the magical world enchanted me but the loneliness of the human world counterbalanced the fantasy. So many questions remain in the end that I was left with a sense of unease, feeling decidely disturbed. Regardless of my own reaction, I don't think there's any doubt that this is a highly unusual and readable book, carefully crafted and taut with emotion. show less

Not the light read I was expecting, this book walks a tightrope between fact and fantasy and it's difficult to determine what is which. Is Lil Cinderella's fairy godmother, banished from faerie for falling in love with Prince Charming or is she is senile old woman, confusing her sister's tragic death with a beloved story? There is no definitive answer so it is for the reader to decide - a unique and imaginitive story that will likely polarise the readership. Put your preconceptions aside and choose your own ending.

Lil is an old woman living in New York. Her day job is in a second hand book store owned by newly divorced George. They specialise in finding old and first editions of books and Lil has always ben drawn to fairy tales, in particular Cinderella. You see Lil is a fairy godmother, none other than Cinderella's fairy godmother. She was flattered at being chosen to help Cinderella reach her destiny, she is to marry the Prince and become Queen. The problem is that Lil goes to take a look at the Prince herself and falls in love with him. She takes Cinderella's place at the ball and is then banished by the Elders to live in the human world.

Lil thinks that after three hundred years she has finally found a way to go home. She sees her sister in show more the corner of her eyes often in the light as it dances and longs for the fairy realm below the water. One morning Veronica enters the book shop with a book of the Cottingly fairies and Lil sees her sister and friends in the pictures. This is surely a sign that her time with the humans is almost over. Veronica is young and vibrant and would be just the thing for George who has withdrawn into himself. If Lil can make a match between them, surely she can repair the damage with Cinderella and atone for her past mistake.

Of course the story is not quite so simple. It looks into human pain and suffering that occurs from loss. We start to question Lil's story and wonder what the reality of her past is. It's a beautifully told story that really captured my imagination and attention. Of course I am slightly biased as I love alternative versions of fairy tales, but this really stood out as being in the same league as Briar Rose by Jane Yolen which I thought was amazing.

I can't remember who recommended this to me, but you have my hearty thanks. I loved this book so much. The characters were so alive somehow and the tale was told with care and attention to detail. I loved that Veronica kept her journal online and Lil was able to learn a great deal about her life. She is someone I would really like to befriend, she seemed like a lot of fun. My only tiny niggle was that we didn't get to spend more time getting to know George as well. Another 50 pages would have been even better. show less

What if the version of Cinderella that has been passed down through the years wasn't quite right? Perhaps the fairy godmother didn't resemble a plump bag of potatoes and was constantly tested by her strong feelings for all things human.

Lil is an old woman now, ekeing out a small life for herself in Manhattan, working at a bookstore, and always thinking of the past--her sister and best friends. At night, she goes home alone to her apartment, sinks into a hot bath and lets her wings unfurl. Lil, you see, is that fairy who was destined to get Cinderella and the prince together, but something went terribly wrong.

Now, with her apartment being sold and turned into offices, Lil begins to have a sense of urgency about her purpose among all show more these humans. Enter the luminous Veronica, the girl Lil believes will fulfill her destiny. The ball is a charity gala, the prince is Lil's boss, George, and Veronica will do nicely as the Cinderella stand-in.

All around her, Lil sees sadness and glimpses of what she believes are the fairies, readying for the time she will finally rejoin them. show less

Bookworms, I was so in love with Carolyn Turgeon’s latest novel, Mermaid (review here), I had to rush out and buy Godmother as well. Like Mermaid, Turgeon’s sophomore title looks at the flip side of fairy tales. Do you ever wonder about the fairy godmother’s life when she’s not making a perfect happily-ever-after for her charges? The first time I ever considered her plight was when I read The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey. There’s so much hard work that goes into the job that all of these fairy tale heroes and heroines take for granted. Godmothers are people, too, though, and flawed ones at that.

In Turgeon’s Godmother, Lil is a fairy godmother tasked with getting Cinderella to the ball...but winds up falling in love show more with the prince herself. In the fairy world, loving a human—especially one destined for another—is forbidden, so Lil is banished to the mortal world. The novel begins in the present day. Lil is an old woman living in NYC. Every day, she works at a used bookshop while George, the store’s owner, goes off looking for rare books. Every night, she returns home, poor, hungry, sore, and worst of all, lonely. Even after all these centuries in the mortal realm, she misses her fairy brethren so much that she constantly has dreams about all the good times they once had together. She also has nightmares of the time everything went horribly wrong. One day, a young woman named Veronica comes into the store to sell some old books, including one about the Cottingley Fairies Hoax. Turgeon introduces a bit of history to readers here, while melding the incident into her own lore. Lil realizes that the “fake fairies” on the cover are of her sister and their friends. That night, she bumps into a man who looks familiar to her and realizes that her family has finally returned for her. If she plays her cards right, she might be able to go home. She decides to set Veronica up with George. If she can be a godmother in the mortal realm and bring these two people their own happily-ever-after, she’ll be redeemed.

Godmother is an intense read, at times very dark and psychological. It’s full of twists and turns readers won’t see coming, especially as the climax appears on the horizon and everything starts coming together. I’ll tell you now...certain revelations left me stunned. I can see book clubs discussing certain aspects of this novel for hours; it’s definitely a title that will appeal to all types of readers. I really loved Turgeon’s characterizations of Lil and Veronica. My heart ached for Lil; I was rooting for her the entire time. In the mortal world, she was in so much pain and suffered so much heartache. Veronica was full of life and one of the quirkiest characters I’ve met in a long time. I hoped something good would finally come her way. The two women had a fascinating relationship with one another, as though they were a real family. show less

What if the story we’ve all come to learn and love about Cinderella were not exactly true? What if our vision of the fairy godmother - all plump and rosy - was not accurate?

The story switches back and forth between present day New York and the days leading up to that fateful night where Lil (the Fairy Godmother) is to have Cinderella appear at the ball and have her prince fall madly in love with her, have plenty of children and live happily ever after. At least, that is what was supposed to happen. Lil had no idea that she would fall in love with the prince herself and usurp Cinderella’s place in the prince’s heart.

Lil is now an elderly woman living in New York, struggling to make ends meet, working at a local bookstore. She has show more been outcasted by her fairy-kin and has struggled to make a living as a human for years. One day at work she meets Victoria (a cool hairdresser with an old soul) and feels a connection with her. And when her boss, George, tells her that he needs a date for a charity ball that he is attending... Lil finds that these similarities could just be the opportunity that she has been waiting for in order to redeem herself.

Although I did not feel much of a connection with Lil, I felt I could relate much more with Victoria. I became intrigued a couple of chapters in and read this very quickly. Ms. Turgeon does a magnificent job describing Lil’s feelings (from falling in love to the depressive state she lives in while residing in NY). I found myself looking forward to the chapters on Cinderella and was surprised by the turns the story took. I really have to say that the ending took me by surprise and, call me cynical, but it somehow worked for me. It was sad, touching, and truly a unique story.

I picked this up thinking that it would be a light, fluffy read about one of my favorite fairytales. Boy was I mistaken. There was surprisingly nothing light in this tale - but don’t let that deter you from reading this darker (somewhat morbid) version of the classic fairytale. show less

This is an enchanting story, a real page-turner, sweet and very sad, incredibly touching and vivid. I didn't want to put it down and the final twist at the end left me stunned. Set in New York, it is a retelling of the Cinderella story, but also a story of love and loss, regrets and redemption. My only complaint would be that the present-day parts were much more detailed and interesting than the fairy part of the story, which was curiously flat and underdeveloped. This is supposed to be a Young Adult book, but I wonder if younger readers will connect with this story. Unlike with most YA books, the main character is not a 16-year old with her, or his, whole life in front of them, here the narrator is an old woman with a lifetime of show more regrets and sorrows. I found it as spellbinding as it was heartbreaking and, while not perfect, truly memorable. show less