Book Review: The Ugly Stepsister by Aya Ling

TITLE: The Ugly Stepsister (Unfinished Fairy Tales Book 1) 

Author: Aya Ling

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.

Publication Date: June 10, 2015

Length: 453 Pages



This book review was written by guest blogger Cindy Phelps Thomas.


About The Author
Aya Ling is from Taiwan, where she struggles daily to contain her obsession with mouthwatering and unhealthy foods. Often she will devour a good book instead. Her favorite books include martial arts romances, fairy tale retellings, high fantasy, cozy mysteries, and manga.

A Cinderella Story
Kat is a shy, clumsy, nervous-around-cute-boys type of girl. She lives with her mom and her sister Paige.  On a day as normal as any, she roams up to the attic to sort through an old box of books for her mom. Inside the box is a book of Cinderella, which falls apart as she picks it up. Kat trips and falls down the stairs as she takes the book to show her mother.

The next thing Kat knows, she has been transformed to another place in time and has become Katriona Bradshaw, daughter of the late Earl Bradshaw. A goblin named Krev appears and informs her that the book was cursed by his King. The only way she will be able to return to her family is to complete the fairy tale from the page she tore to the “Happily Ever After”. 

The problem is she tore the FIRST page! Kat has no idea how or where to start. She only knows that she lives with her mother and beautiful sister, who both seem to dislike her and her ordinary looks, but shouldn’t there be a third sister? Where is Cinderella? And for that matter, who and where is the Fairy Godmother? And how on earth is she going to convince a prince to hold a ball to find a wife, when he is publicly known to dislike social events?

Kat has a lot to do, but she knows that if she ever wants to see her mom and all of the modern day luxuries she has come to love, she has to find a way!

My Thoughts
This book was a great retelling of an old fairy tale! I love the different twist that the author gave it by telling it from the viewpoint of the ugly stepsister. Her writing and descriptions took me back in time. Her characters are well developed, and the descriptions are wonderful. I highly recommend this book for anyone from tweens through adult.  

My Rating: 5 Stars Out Of 5

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Book Review: Chopsticks (Friends For A Season)

Two 13-year-old girls compete in a song-writing contest. They both desperately need the $400.00 prize money to help others at Christmas.
Will their friendship survive?
Will this competition draw them closer together or tear them apart?
Will their Christian faith help them overcome the challenges that they face at home and at school?
Chopsticks, by Sandra Byrd, is a book for tweens/teens that includes fun, friends, family and faith.
About The Author
After earning her first rejection at the age of thirteen, bestselling author Sandra Byrd has now published more than three dozen books. A former textbook acquisitions editor, Sandra has also published many nonfiction articles and books. Sandra is also passionate about helping new writers develop their talent and their work toward traditional or self-publication. As such, she has mentored and coached hundreds of new writers and continues to coach dozens to success each year.

Two Young Musicians Become Friends
One girl sells the other a guitar and they seal their new friendship with a pair of chopsticks from a Chinese restaurant. The girls love music but their lives are very different.
Paige Winsome has always been in the shadow of her athletic brother and her academic sister. She feels like she has to fight for attention in her affluent family and that her musical talents are overlooked.
Kate Kennedy is an only child.  Her father is a pastor but has to work a second job to make ends meet. Kate uses her musical abilities in the youth group at church but she feels bad about always having to accept hand-outs from members of the church.
The girls both enter a singer/songwriter competition. The first place prize is $400.00 and an opportunity to sing at the annual Thanksgiving Day football game. Paige wants to use the prize money to donate to an animal rescue group. Kate wants to use the money to buy Christmas presents for needy American Indian children.
The girls are both talented and have what it takes to win the contest. The surprise ending of this story shows how faith and friendship can overcome all obstacles.


My Thoughts
This book is realistic Christian fiction for tweens/teens at it's best. The girls in the story face real-life challenges, pressures and heartaches. The one thing that gives them hope for a better future is their Christian faith.
The girls learn to put their own self-interests aside and concentrate on helping others. This book highlights strong family values without being overly saccharine or gooey. Highly recommended for tweens/teens ages 10 - 14!

The Friends For A Season Series
Chopsticks is Book #2 in the "Friends For A Season" series. It was first published as a paperback book in 2005 and was released in digital format in October, 2011.

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