Okay, so two of the stepsisters make Cinderella look like a true fairytale. Evil stepsisters. Daisy’s sisters make them pale by comparison. I can’t even imagine where Susan Mallery’s mind was when she created these three steps. Two sisters, Cassidy and Sage, have the same mother Joanne. Cassidy and Daisy have the same father. By all examples, Sage should have been the one on the outside. But not in Susan Mallery’s imagination. Daisy is the one on the outside of this lovely, pardon the intentional pun, family. Sage had been pampered. Cassidy was the baby. And that left Daisy. Well, you get the picture, but ah ha, this is another masterpiece by Susan Mallery so you have no idea of the history of the stepsisters. Welcome to THE STEPSISTERS. 

Use care reading THE STEPSISTERS in public. Impossible to count how often you stare at the page gasping at how hurtful the relationship had been. Daisy is a nurse, married with two children, and an absentee husband. Jordan took himself off to a hotel and alerted Daisy of his plan by text. Sage is back from Europe renting a room from her mother. Cassidy is recovering from an accident ending up at Daisy’s home, the one place she detests. 

The conditions are ripe for angst and confrontation. Again welcome to THE STEPSISTERS. 

Susan Mallery is a genius keeping her characters real. If they are stiff and uppity on page one they will still exhibit some of those traits by the last page. Joanne is absolutely no one's idea of a mother, good or bad. There isn’t a smidge of maternal instinct in this woman. She competes with her daughters for every bit of attention. Her indifference makes you cringe, actually, indifference would be more kind. Sage and Cassidy are used to their mother, this comeuppance attitude prevailed during their childhood leaving them both with some deep-seated issues. 

Here’s the thing, the surprises keep on coming. How many times did I find myself, sometimes aloud, saying oh my god you’re kidding. Just when you think Joanne may have turned a page, perhaps finding her own place removed from her daughters' lives. A place where she can be, dare I say be happy, content, she up and does another very underhanded thing. 

Feelings are constantly changing in THE STEPSISTERS. Evolving, maturing, growing. We learn to really love the steps and their newfound relationship. We equally learn to hate some of the people who had filled an important place in their lives. Lots of laughs, mixed with disappointment and anger. THE STEPSISTERS is a fabulously enlightening tale of what could certainly be considered a dysfunctional family. Susan Mallery takes such good care of her characters. THE STEPSISTERS is a prime example of that care.