Stepsister

'In an ancient city by the sea; three sisters - a maiden; a mother; and a crone - are drawing maps by candlelight. Sombre; with piercing grey eyes; they are the three Fates; and every map is a human life . . .' Stepsister takes up where Cinderella's tale ends. We meet Isabelle; the younger of Cinderella's two stepsisters. Ella is considered beautiful; stepsister Isabelle is not. Isabelle is fearless; brave; and strong-willed. She fences better than any boy; and takes her stallion over jumps that grown men fear to attempt. It doesn't matter; though; these qualities are not valued in a girl. Others have determined what is beautiful; and Isabelle does not fit their definition. Isabelle must face down the demons that drove her cruel treatment of Ella; challenge her own fate and maybe even redefine the very notion of beauty . . . Cinderella is about a girl who was bullied; Stepsister is about the bully. We all root for the victims; we want to see them triumph. But what about the bullies? Is there hope for them? Can a mean girl change? Can she find her own happily ever after?