Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story Paperback – March 3, 2009

When I started reading this it seemed like it would be a quick read along the lines of a beach book. I did read it quickly, but I wasn't prepared for the story and main character to stick with me so long afterward. I really sympathized with Lil, the Godmother character. She made a big mistake, a betrayal, and has had to deal with the guilt ever since. I'm sure I'm not the only reader to have some idea what that's like.It's marvelous how well the author weaves together Lil's two realities and connects the story from her past to her future. Carolyn Turgeon also presents a vivid picture of New York City.It's easy to see this being made into a movie. Wonder if that's been considered.

I finished this book last night and I am still stymied on how to review it. The author retells classic fairy tales with back stories with twists that include great character development. I have enjoyed her work and expected this story to follow that path.The fairy realm and it's dealing with humans is the centerpiece here. Cinderella's fairy godmother,instead of being the matchmaker, attempted to take the prince for herself. Her effort earned her banishment to the human world that she so envied forever.What follows is her struggle to earn back her place in the fairy world. Or is it? Is she really what the story implies? The story is dark and incredibly sad. And as it ends this reader was left with more questions than answers. I believe the author did this deliberately, wanting the reader to draw their own conclusion. I didn't like the conclusion I came to.

Imagine if Cinderella's Fairy Godmother had shown up on Cinderella's doorstep on the big night with mixed emotions about her intentions. Imagine a Fairy Godmother who is radiantly young and beautiful in her assumed-human form, one who has already met the Prince and has entered into a mutual attraction with him which could be love. Imagine that it's the Fairy Godmother who dons the glass slippers and walks down that long staircase into the ballroom, who enchants the Prince and shares the magical night with him. Then imagine that instead of gaining her happy ending, that Fairy Godmother is then banished forever to the world of humans to pine for her Prince and regret her actions. Now imagine her old and withered, having lived for centuries, wanting only to be a fairy again -- and ending up working in a used book store in New York City.That's the wonderful scenario which is imagined by Carolyn Turgeon in her darkly wistful story of Lillian, the banished fairy, who has to keep her wings bound tightly to her back by day, and who bathes them in salt water and herbs each night, carefully cleaning the feathers from the tub afterwards.For the most part, Turgeon's tale of romance and loss, of duty denied, of longing and aging is richly told. She gives Lillian a wonderful inner life, and surrounds her with characters who emphasize her feelings of isolation, and her longing for redemption and forgiveness. She also writes with great sympathy and delicacy about the reality of being elderly in a world which seems to care only about youth.Granted, the characters once established don't do very much. The pacing is uneven, and even drags in places. Also, I was very surprised by the ultimate direction which the author took the story. She should have given a lot more foreshadowing of her intentions. The tone of the book is quite sad, for the most part. This is definitely not a fairy tale in the usual sense of that term. So I think that sub-titling the book "The Secret Cinderella Story" is rather misleading.Although I felt a disservice was done both to the reader and the main character by the book's conclusion, and I did have some problems with the writer's meandering style, I still recommend this book. I think that many readers will feel enriched by their experience of Lillian's tale. Just don't go into it looking for a re-telling in the manner of Gregory Maguire's books, such as  Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (Harper Fiction) .I will look for more books by this author in the future. This is a young author, and I think she will only improve with age.

All I have to say is every woman needs a fairy Godmother and we have it now that Carolyn Turgeon has released her latest book. "Godmother" is a dream of a read and Carolyn has the perfect timing to write a book that we, no longer princesses, now crowned Queens, can treasure forever. We can now live happily ever after knowing that Carolyn will be back our way. She's coming to Texas in May for our monthly book club meeting.For those of you in book clubs out there, discover the magic of Carolyn Turgeon. She is writer to watch. I fell in love with her first book "Rain Village" and love her even more for "Godmother". Then to meet her in person, takes away all the hurt of authors who are rude, arrogant, and quite frankly mean to their readership. Carolyn is magical in person too and you can quote me on this,"Carolyn is a book clubs fairy Godmother because she makes you truly believe."Tiara wearing and Book sharing,Kathy L. PatrickFounder of the Pulpwood Queens and Timber Guys Book Clubs, now 200+ worldwide

I recently read Godmother: the Secret Cinderella Story, and I loved it! Several of my friends read it, too, as we are in a book club, and what was surprising to me was that not every one got the ending the same way. The story is fresh and interesting, even though we probably all know Cinderella's original story by heart. This author has brought a totally new perspective to this piece of literature, and it is well worth one's time to read it. This is definitely one I am keeping on my bookshelf for a later re-read, and that's odd because I never read any book twice.

This book is mostly well written and I stayed up all night reading it. But the "surprise" ending left me feeling betrayed and duped; I fell for a book-long set up just to be dropped from a great height. I actually think the topics of madness, hallucinations, and disconnect from reality could be handled in a way that don't make the reader feel like the wool has been pulled over their eyes for 98% of the book. It seems a little bit like cheating in a way. Or if that is the way the author wanted to handle the story, she needed to add another chapter, or epilogue, or *something*. It unravels and ends too fast.

Be prepared to be surprised. While this story uses the idea of Cinderella, it has very little to do with the actual fairy tale. Extremely descriptive scenery and left me wondering which part of the godmother was the REAL being.

arrived as advertised and is fine

OK, so i am really on the edge about what i should think of this book!on the surface we see a light and fluffy Cinderella story. But the deeper levels of the story later become apparent.so, the good points-the writing style is, for the most part, beautiful and fluid. the description of Lil's past fairy life is full of life and joy! the new 'Cinderella' of our time is extremely likeable and eccentric. these points helped to make the book a fun read!however, on the flip side of this were the many details that were, bluntly, just annoying! Lil's constant self-loathing and repetition of her former beauty may have made me feel sorry for her, sympathetic, but Lil remained unlikeable to me. secondly, though 'Cinderella' is full of character, it seems that the author may have forgotten about our 'prince'! we are told he is, of course, handsome and that he loves books. but there is little more to go by!finally the biggest annoyance was the ending! you have probably guessed that there is a twist in the end, which i am fine with! but not when the alternative was so unexplained! almost the whole book was leading up to and explaining the expected ending, yet the twist was barely explained! around the last 10 pages seemed like they were written by another person!i enjoyed most of this book but personally, the ending wasn't enough! 3stars for what was a mostly beautiful read.

It was the ending of this book that turned the book around and made it a reasonable good read, ie I found the end of the book satisfying.Pleased I didn't read all the reviews before reading as there is at least one with a massive spoiler which would have destroyed the story for me.Well written and the descriptions of actual New York were well balanced against the fairies and their environment. The book is about emotions & feelings rather than action, maybe that is why It came across as a bit repetitive to me.

This was my first experience with the author, and it will absolutely be my last. I can't say much more lest I give the story away, but if you have any preconceived ideas about this story being comforting, heartwarming, funny, loving, interesting, or even fair, please don't read this. I've seen madly positive reviews about this book - and I wonder if I've read the same story. I saw nothing but sadness, brokenness, angst, and depression, And the ending - well, I feel cheated and duped. All I can say is I"m glad I bought it used.

I bought this on the strength of the other reviews, so was aware that the end wasn't universally applauded, and that there were those who didn't rate this, but I gave it a go...I'm afraid I'm with the nay'sayers - I felt cheated, waiting for something that didn't happen - not a Happy Ever After ending, but something magical, rather than mundane. What we get is uncertainty over whether the whole story is actually based around the delusions of a grieving all too mortal woman, and nothing to do with fairies at all.If she was so old, had it really not occurred to her to do something kind before, in fact, had she really not done something kind already - if not, then maybe she deserved her inner misery. The kind deed itself was a tad mundane; if that's all it took, she could have been off home a long time ago!Of course an author can leave readers unsure as to what has actually happened, but this book is too overt in its presentation of Lil's fey nature; the author gives us nowhere to look back to and have an "Oh!" moment when we realise we've made assumptions we shouldn't (the movie The Sixth Sense is the classic here),So, a good idea that, for me, doesn't work.