Book Review: All the Ever Afters by Danielle Teller

Book Review: All the Ever Afters: The Untold Story of Cinderella's Stepmother by Danielle Teller

About the Author: 

Danielle Teller is an author who published All the Ever Afters as her first novel in May, 2018 while pursuing her childhood dream of being a writer. She has been a medical trainee and faculty and has also been a part of a medical research at University of Pittsburgh and Harvard University. She has also published her second book- Sacred Cows: The TruthAbout Marriage and Divorce in 2018 itself. You can check out her website here.

About the Book: 

All The Ever Afters by Danielle Teller has been published by HarperCollins Publishers and is an unusual point of view of the famous fairy tale Cinderella and has been told in the words of Cinderella’s cruel stepmother Agnes. We all have read the famous fairy tale as a child or have definitely watched the various cartoon movies and series made on the famous story. This book though, tells the same story from the point of view of the villain of the fairy tale. It has been narrated in first person by Agnes as her story from the beginning since she was a child. It describes her struggle since the age of nine to finally becoming the lady of the Aviceford Manor and also the stepmother to Cinderella. The story also throws light upon the assumed cruel and evil stepsisters of Cinderella- Matilda and Charlotte. The book describes the same events of the famous fairy tale such as the royal ball and the incident about the glass shoe but is described from the point of view of the stepmother who in this this version of the story has been depicted as a positive character. The story has been described as a justification by Agnes as to why she was presumed to be a cruel stepmother by the world and why her own daughters were considered to be cruel stepsisters to Cinderella. She throws light upon her sufferings throughout her life. The book has been divided in two parts. Some chapters tell the story of Agnes from the beginning of her life while there are some chapters in the middle which throw light upon the current situation where Cinderella has been crowned as the princess. The story ends on a happy note where Agnes and her daughters finally come into good terms with Cinderella and live happily forever.

Review: 

I received this book inside The Big Book Box in July, 2018 as the theme of the month being ‘Happily Ever After’. I had this book on my TBR list from a long time and I finally got the time to read it. I was highly excited to start reading this book since I’ve been a child who loved watching and reading the story of Cinderella. I’ve watched all movies and series versions ever made on the story of the famous fairy tale. This book in particular told the story from a totally different point of view and this is what attracted me the most. First of all, I would like to throw some light on how wonderfully the book has been written. The language used and the choice of words is commendable which I think makes it a perfect read for people who are looking for some great language to read. When I come to the story, I think that the imagination of the author is amazing and the whole back story of Agnes has been designed very well while connecting it to the necessary plot lines. Though being a great piece of language and imagination, the only thing that disappointed me about the book was that is was really depressing. I feel that the story was being dragged forward a little too much which even made me lose interest in it a few times. The narration is very melancholic which made me cringe a few times since I’m not someone who enjoys reading depressing stuff. This is one of the reasons why it took me a little longer than usual to finish this book. I feel that it is one of the best pieces of language I’ve read in the longest time but I would have been definitely more interested while reading the book if it would have been a little less depressing. I think the author has done great while forming the plot and linking all the necessary characters with Agnes’s life and I feel that this opposite version of Cinderella’s story was really different and intriguing for someone who has followed the fairy tale from his or her childhood.

To Read or Not to Read: 

If you are someone like me, who has enjoyed watching and reading Cinderella as a child, you’ll definitely be amazed by this retelling of the fairy tale from the point of view of the cruel stepmother Agnes. If you are someone who enjoys reading good language and can handle a depressing book then you may definitely give it a try. But, if you are someone like me who has a very low tolerance level for depressing stuff, I would not recommend you to read this book.

You can buy the book from amazon by clicking the link here.

“I no longer believe that people are born without virtue. It gets beaten out. Misfortune threshes our souls as a flail threshes wheat, and the lightest parts of ourselves are scattered to the wind.” 

Rating: 3/5

Thank you for reading. :)