*Signed Bookplates!*

Newbery Honoree Kathryn Lasky delivers a riveting upper middle grade fairy tale from the perspective of the fairy godmother in Cinderella. Set in a stunning glass house surrounded by crystalized flower gardens and alluring forests, Bess is a young woman growing into her powers and learning to overcome evil. An enchanting story of magic, family conflict, identity, and rebellion, in a gorgeous and dark world made of glass. 

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Bess Wickham whose glass slipper would, one day, change the fate of a girl…

In the deep valley of the countryside, Bess Wickham lives with her family of extraordinary glassblowers in a captivating house completely made of glass. Her family’s crystal is known far and wide, but the family members are reclusive, so as to not divulge the secrets of their art.

Being the youngest daughter of three, Bess will not be initiated into the family business until she turns 16, but her special talent has been essential ever since she was a child: she can speak to the forest creatures around her. Therefore, it has been she who brings the animals to the glass workshop, where her family uses them as models to sculpt crystalline statues.

However, Bess suspects that her family’s practices have become nefarious, and as her suspicions grow, so does the disconnect with her family and the power that has coursed through her bloodline for generations. In the end, Bess must find the strength to push against family ties, make things right, and, of course, save Estrella (the Cinderella of our story). But can she?