Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story

by: Carolyn Turgeon

Published by: Three Rivers Press

Reviewed by Andrea Sisco

Who hasn’t grown up on the fairy tale, Cinderella? It’s a book, a Disney cartoon and there have been numerous films adapted, revised and revisited about Cinderella. Carolyn Turgeon’s Godmother is a unique retelling of Cinderella from the perspective of THE fairy godmother. It is creative and refreshing.

Lil is old. She spends her empty days working in a Manhattan bookstore that doesn’t make money, but it doesn’t matter because the proprietor’s family subsidizes the shop. Lil spends her nights in a lonely apartment where she goes after eating her evening meal in a local restaurant.

But Lil has a secret and a reason for being who and where she is. She was the fairy godmother who was given, over all others, the responsibility of getting Cinderella to the ball so she could meet Prince Charming. But events took unseen turns and Lil made a mistake so mammoth that she was banished to the world of humans. She would not be able to enter the magical and beautiful world of water where her fairy sisters reside.

A chance meeting with Veronica offers Lil a chance at redemption. All Lil must do is find that special someone for Veronica. If she does that one thing, she may be allowed to return to the fairy water world she has missed and longed for.

I loved Godmother even though it is sometimes a slow read and not a lot happens–because much of the action is in Lil’s head. But in our human world where things are racing at the speed of light, it really is wonderful to slow down and savor a good story. And that is what Godmother is; a really good story where Lil isn’t really a part of either the human or fairy world. She is the observer.

Armchair Interviews says: This fantasy, Godmother, is a treasure. The ending is deliberately vague, but somehow satisfying.