Lil is an old woman who spends her days shelving rare books in a tiny Manhattan bookstore and lonely nights at home in her apartment. But Lil has a...
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Feb 12, 2009
Trin
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Mar 31, 2009
Cory
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Beautifully written retelling of Cinderella which includes the fairy godmother's life in modern New York City. The author writes in a way that makes it very easy to feel and see and understand the characters and situations. The ending is a bit weird and confusing, as it calls into question the reliability of the narrator--which isn't to say that I didn't like the ending, as I thought it was quite brilliant.
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Apr 01, 2009
Kalyn
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Jul 07, 2011
Charleen
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Well, I kinda feel cheated by this book.
The story is supposed to be about what really happened the night the fairy Godmother was supposed to get Cinderella ready for the ball. Lillian works at a book store that sells used and collective books. She allegedly has a secret. She is Cinderella's fairy Godmother, a fairy that was banished from the fairy world for falling in love with the prince and going to the ball in Cinderella's place. One day she meets a woman named Veronica and she bec More...
The story is supposed to be about what really happened the night the fairy Godmother was supposed to get Cinderella ready for the ball. Lillian works at a book store that sells used and collective books. She allegedly has a secret. She is Cinderella's fairy Godmother, a fairy that was banished from the fairy world for falling in love with the prince and going to the ball in Cinderella's place. One day she meets a woman named Veronica and she bec More...
Jun 09, 2011
Lillian's job was to get Cinderella to the ball but things took an unexpected turn, bad decisions were made and Lillian was banished by the fairies to live in the human world.
In modern day New York, Lil is trapped in the body of an old woman, working in a book store. She longs for her youth and beauty and the chance to see her fairy sister and friends once more.
When a young woman, Veronica, comes into the store, Lil sets out to redeem herself by setting her up with the bo More...
In modern day New York, Lil is trapped in the body of an old woman, working in a book store. She longs for her youth and beauty and the chance to see her fairy sister and friends once more.
When a young woman, Veronica, comes into the store, Lil sets out to redeem herself by setting her up with the bo More...
Dec 21, 2010
Traci
rated it: 
What if Cinderella never made it to the ball? What if her fairy godmother had gone in her place? Would the world still be the same? Or would everything change? This is the premise of "Godmother", an interesting if somewhat ultimately disappointing book by Carolyn Turgeon.
Lillian ("Lil"), an older woman in her 60s, is employed at Daedulus Books. She loves going to work early and putting the store right, dusting shelves, processing books and checking up on her emp More...
Lillian ("Lil"), an older woman in her 60s, is employed at Daedulus Books. She loves going to work early and putting the store right, dusting shelves, processing books and checking up on her emp More...
Jun 28, 2010
Misty
rated it:
"Godmother" is about a lonely old woman, Lil, who works in a dusty Manhattan book store. But there's more to her than what you can see. Namely, wings. Giant, white, gorgeous, feathery wings that she keeps bound on her back and hidden under her clothing during the day. She possesses this magnificent pair of wings because she's actually a fairy godmother; in fact, she's the fairy godmother, responsible for sending Cinderella to the ball and her fate. However, that's not exactly what happ
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Jun 09, 2010
Amy
rated it: 
I'll admit, I was turned off when I first saw the cover. It was just so tacky. The words were even in glitter and there was this fairy dancing in the corner.
But then I opened the book and I read the words.
I honestly don't know how many times I have cried for this book, but every time I think about the beginning, the ending, all the stuff that happened in between, the waterworks just come and come and come...
This is truly a beautiful book with an amazing story. The protagonist More...
But then I opened the book and I read the words.
I honestly don't know how many times I have cried for this book, but every time I think about the beginning, the ending, all the stuff that happened in between, the waterworks just come and come and come...
This is truly a beautiful book with an amazing story. The protagonist More...
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May 15, 2010
Bethany
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This book was absolutely beautifully written...until maybe the last 10 pages. Despite its cheerful and happy looking cover, the story is dark and somewhat tragic.
Lil is an old woman living in New York City...and she has been living in New York City for a few hundred years. Because of her failure to help Cinderella to go to the ball and as punishment for falling in love with the prince herself, she has been banished from her world of fairies and now has to live her life as a mortal--wit More...
Lil is an old woman living in New York City...and she has been living in New York City for a few hundred years. Because of her failure to help Cinderella to go to the ball and as punishment for falling in love with the prince herself, she has been banished from her world of fairies and now has to live her life as a mortal--wit More...
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May 11, 2010
Sharon
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I bought this book on a whim as a recommendation for me from Amazon.com. I picked it up at my local Borders and I finished it within a day. The author is very descriptive and this tends to be a novel where there is a small amount of action and it pulls on your emotions rather than excitement. The novel goes between Lil, the fairy Godmother, living in New York City and what her life is like there and her flashbacks of what happened in her old life to get her to where she is now. The descriptions
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Dec 06, 2009
Mishel
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Lilian is an old woman now. Having lived for decades on Earth, her age is definitely showing. Once a beautiful fairy, Lil was banished from her fairy world and she's now living in heart of Manhattan. Lil was no ordinary fairy, she was destined to be Cinderella's fairy godmother and get her to the ball - and to her handsome prince! Fated at birth, Cinderella and the prince were made for each other. But when Lil allowed herself to feel human emotions, she slowly found herself in a mess she couldn'
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Aug 05, 2009
Jessica
rated it:
Review published here: http://www.hipsterbookclub.com/reviews/c...
Carolyn Turgeon's Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story is a quirky and offbeat retelling of the classic fairy tale, brought up to date for an adult audience. While preserving the basic, familiar features of the original story, Turgeon introduces readers to an often overlooked and underappreciated part of the story: the fairy godmother. Her interpretation is less Walt Disney than Brothers Grimm, hitting on themes of red More...
Carolyn Turgeon's Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story is a quirky and offbeat retelling of the classic fairy tale, brought up to date for an adult audience. While preserving the basic, familiar features of the original story, Turgeon introduces readers to an often overlooked and underappreciated part of the story: the fairy godmother. Her interpretation is less Walt Disney than Brothers Grimm, hitting on themes of red More...
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May 22, 2009
Julia
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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 u More...
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 u More...
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Apr 10, 2009
Jennifer
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Reviewed by Marta Morrison for TeensReadToo.com
"What occurs in the world of faerie will manifest in the world of man."
This thought was the main theme of GODMOTHER.
This was a dark retelling of the story of Cinderella. When I saw the cover, I thought,"a fun, light read." I was very wrong. This is a story about Lil, an old woman broken in spirit who lives a very meager life in New York. She works in a bookstore, and her life consists of workin More...
"What occurs in the world of faerie will manifest in the world of man."
This thought was the main theme of GODMOTHER.
This was a dark retelling of the story of Cinderella. When I saw the cover, I thought,"a fun, light read." I was very wrong. This is a story about Lil, an old woman broken in spirit who lives a very meager life in New York. She works in a bookstore, and her life consists of workin More...
Apr 20, 2011
Jane
rated it:
I almost feel this book could have been written for me. As a little girl I wanted to be a fairy, not Cinderella who met the handsome Prince. That was probably because I didn't want to be scrubbing kitchen floors - a task I'm not keen on now! No, I definitely wanted to be the wand - holder with the ability to grant wishes. My next admission is my love of books, so working in a bookshop, is my idea of heaven.
I loved this story, so beautifully told. I felt really sorry for Lillian trapped More...
I loved this story, so beautifully told. I felt really sorry for Lillian trapped More...
Jul 18, 2011
Ariel
rated it:
I picked this up to join in the Once Upon a Time reading challenge held every spring over at Stainless Steel Droppings. I just did not like it. It was so slow, boring, and repetitive. It is a short book and I struggled every day just to get through it. The story goes back and forth in time between modern day New York and 300 years ago in some unnamed kingdom inhabited by fairies. Lil is a fairy who was been sent to live in modern day New York after she screwed up helping Cinderella meet her prin
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Mar 03, 2010
Laurel-Rain
rated it:
What would happen if the Fairy Godmother, who was supposed to get Cinderella to the Ball, totally messed up, for selfish reasons, and everything afterward changed the course of history forever?
In this tale, we meet Lil, an elderly woman who works in a bookstore in New York City. She is isolated and lonely, but she dreams about another time, another place, and about love. And every night when she goes home, she unwraps her bandages and unfurls her wings. And wishes that things could b More...
In this tale, we meet Lil, an elderly woman who works in a bookstore in New York City. She is isolated and lonely, but she dreams about another time, another place, and about love. And every night when she goes home, she unwraps her bandages and unfurls her wings. And wishes that things could b More...
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Oct 16, 2010
Paula
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'Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story' is the story of Lillian, the original fairy godmother, the godmother who was to make sure that Cinderella went to the ball, meet the Prince, lose her glass slipper at midnight which is found by the Prince and then when the glass slipper fitted, they would live happily ever after.
Not in this reality, in this reality, Cinderella never made it to the Ball and Lillian had already fell in love with the Prince and he with her which led to Lillian bei More...
Not in this reality, in this reality, Cinderella never made it to the Ball and Lillian had already fell in love with the Prince and he with her which led to Lillian bei More...
Jun 08, 2011
Sarah
rated it:
The last book I read was Mermaid by Carolyn Turgeon, and I really enjoyed it. Which is why I immediately started this book, by the same author. I can't say that I enjoyed this one as much though.
OK, so this is about an old lady named Lil. Lil works daily at a used bookstore shelving and cleaning, and spends her nights lonely in her apartment, remembering her old life. Lil has a secret - she used to be Cinderella's fairy godmother. But on the night that she was supposed to bring Cinde More...
OK, so this is about an old lady named Lil. Lil works daily at a used bookstore shelving and cleaning, and spends her nights lonely in her apartment, remembering her old life. Lil has a secret - she used to be Cinderella's fairy godmother. But on the night that she was supposed to bring Cinde More...
Aug 23, 2010
Barbara
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Mar 09, 2010
Charlotte
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The Godmother tells us Cinderella's story from the viewpoint of her Fairy Godmother, Lil. The story is not as you would think, in fact it somewhat tragic. As Lil finds herself banished from the world she loves and is forced to live out her banishment in Manhattan. After many years, Lil convinces herself that she will be welcomed home if she can redeem herself by helping Veronica find her "Prince".
I will admit that the ending surprised me a bit. The author allows the reader More...
I will admit that the ending surprised me a bit. The author allows the reader More...
Sep 02, 2009
Merand
rated it:
I'm on the shelf as to whether I want to put three stars or four. I give it four stars for originality and lyricism but three stars for the ending...It wasn't bad, simply confusing. I like books that have definitive endings. Endings that make me wonder was that real or was this real, what just happened, are frustrating. I think that they can be fun and it is a mark of a good storyteller as well, but when I've been sucked into a story, I want to have a good idea of where everyone's going.
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Feb 08, 2011
Fluffychick
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Lillian lives in a seedy flat in New York and works in a bookstore. She recalls her previous life as a fairy and how being chosen to be Cinderella's Fairy Godmother was her undoing. Lil is banished from the magical land and forced to live as a human where she grows old and has to hide her beautiful white feathered wings. Flashbacks of her previous life show how the rather vain and selfish Lillian seeks to get her own wish rather than ensuring Cinderella and the Prince fulfil their destinies.
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Dec 28, 2009
L
rated it:
Quite a retelling of the Cinderella story!
The book is about Cinderella, right? So you must expect some magic & a romantic approach (not just in the sense of romantic love, though that is part of it, but also more broadly). There are evil step-sisters, but they aren't really the focus in this version. There is a prince. He gets a bit more play than the steps. There are fairies. Turgeon moves things from the palace to New York, present day (more or less). There are also some surprises; More...
The book is about Cinderella, right? So you must expect some magic & a romantic approach (not just in the sense of romantic love, though that is part of it, but also more broadly). There are evil step-sisters, but they aren't really the focus in this version. There is a prince. He gets a bit more play than the steps. There are fairies. Turgeon moves things from the palace to New York, present day (more or less). There are also some surprises; More...
Apr 27, 2010
Nancy
rated it:
I expected when I picked up this novel to enjoy a light hearted quick read. There is a story within a story here. After you finish the book you will gasp at the sub context of this book. Sure Cinderella is here , and faeries too but the under lined story is Lil and her blocked out memory of a tragedy from long ago.
I did like this book but felt the darkness coming the more I read. Other reviewers stuck with the Godmother theme of Cinderella but it is so much more than that.
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I did like this book but felt the darkness coming the more I read. Other reviewers stuck with the Godmother theme of Cinderella but it is so much more than that.
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Apr 21, 2011
Bonnie at
rated it:
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 f
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Jul 02, 2010
Monique
rated it:
Really want to give this book like a 2.5, I mean I loved the premise: the untold story of the oft forgotten fairy godmother in the classic Cinderella story but did not find this book did enough for me..I really wanted to like Lil and Veronica and even George however I didnt feel them, their stories and the way the story was told. In flashbacks you learn of the fateful night of the Prince's ball when Cinderella was to go and win the prince and live happily ever after however it didnt go this way
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Jun 21, 2011
Crys
rated it:
Lil spends her days working in a used bookstore. She harbors a very important secret: she is really THE fairy godmother who was responsible for getting Cinderella to the ball; however, something goes terribly wrong, and Lil is punished - banished, thrown to Earth to live among the humans.
Lil spends the novel atoning for her mistake, one she is desperate to fix. Can Lil fix the mistake and get the princess-to-be to the ball before it is too late.
Turgeon takes on a classic More...
Lil spends the novel atoning for her mistake, one she is desperate to fix. Can Lil fix the mistake and get the princess-to-be to the ball before it is too late.
Turgeon takes on a classic More...
Mar 28, 2009
Barbara
rated it:
What if Cinderella's fairy godmother didn't do her job quite right? And her "punishment" meant years of living as a human in New York City? Then she has an opportunity to possibly right the old wrong...
That's the core of this strange but intriguing tale that weaves a familiar fairy tale with a modern story, crosses some unusual boundaries...and delivers an eye-brow raising twist at the end. The story unfolds in a fascinating, first-person narrative of a lost soul (as fairie More...
That's the core of this strange but intriguing tale that weaves a familiar fairy tale with a modern story, crosses some unusual boundaries...and delivers an eye-brow raising twist at the end. The story unfolds in a fascinating, first-person narrative of a lost soul (as fairie More...
Apr 10, 2009
Corinne
rated it:
I almost gave up on this story it started so slowly, and then I got to the end of the first chapter.
Told from the perspective of the fairy godmother, this is a poignant story of love, loss, mistakes and redemption. Parallel love stories told in two different time periods, Lil, Cinderella's Fairy Godmother tells the story of that historic night at the same time she describes her life in current times in New York City. It becomes apparent early in the story that Lil has made some m More...
Told from the perspective of the fairy godmother, this is a poignant story of love, loss, mistakes and redemption. Parallel love stories told in two different time periods, Lil, Cinderella's Fairy Godmother tells the story of that historic night at the same time she describes her life in current times in New York City. It becomes apparent early in the story that Lil has made some m More...
