Stray: a Fairytale Every Girl Needs to Read

Stray by Elissa Sussman tells the story of sixteen-year-old Princess Aislynn. Aislynn attends Nerine Academy to learn how to be a good wife so she can marry a prince and live happily ever after, following the Path laid out before her. However, Aislynn cannot control the magic inside of her–magic that only women can wield, but that good girls are supposed to suppress. When Aislynn screws up, she’s labeled a Stray and Redirected, forced to leave her family, lose her Loving Heart, and become a fairy godmother for another princess.

What I Loved

The world building being so entwined with the main character’s struggle (which is every girls’ struggle)

I loved the world building and the main character’s struggle to rise above the constraints of her society. In Stray, the society mirrors, through fantastical aspects, the often-times reality of our world, and Aislynn, being in the thick of it, does not originally see how the world is shaped against her. Having an outsider’s perspective–i.e. not a woman in Stray’s society–it is easy to see how nearly every aspect of the system from the twisted religion-esque Path to the Academies where fairy godmothers are expected to report on the failings of their charges, has been structured to render women powerless when, in reality, they have the most power (being the only gender able to wield magic).

There are a number of paths we are expected to follow as young women. Those paths are not as restricted as they once were, but in this modern age, it can be almost more difficult and confusing because of the lines we are expected to cross and the ones we are expected to follow. We’re expected to follow the path, but also set our own path, but that path can’t be too far away from the ‘expected’ path.

For example, we can have a good job that we’re proud off, that helps break the glass ceiling. In fact we should, because isn’t that what our predecessors fought for and anything less is spitting in their faces. No one wants to be the woman who shows up to a high school reunion as just a mom. That’s not good enough anymore. But really, neither is just being a career woman, because even if we have a great job, we should also get married and have a family and a clean house. We should love ourselves for who we are, but also try to be thinner and fitter. We shouldn’t care what other people think, but we definitely shouldn’t tell anyone that we ate a whole bag of Cheetos in one sitting. And what are we thinking going out in public like that? We can take a gap year before college, but after that any attempt to stop working and play or travel is just irresponsible. Don’t we care about saving for the future? No one wants a ‘wild girl’ once college is over…

Maybe we’re not as free as we thought. Maybe we’re just as trapped as Aislynn.

And maybe all the comments and judgement and condescension disguised as praise that we hear (You’re so brave to still be single. I’m too concerned with saving my money to do that! You’re so lucky you can eat that and not get fat.) is just like shackles. Maybe all that numbs our hearts just as Aislynn’s Loving Heart is removed to make her into a fairy godmother.

The metaphor of the fairy godmothers that hit close to home

I liked the metaphor of the fairy godmothers. Sussman took the stereotypical fairy godmother–someone who helps their charge with magic–and combined it with the shackles of her oppressive world. In Stray, Aislynn is Redirected and forced to become a fairy godmother. Essentially, she becomes the maid of a princess and is supposed to help that girl suppress her magic and become a good wife. As a fairy godmother, Aislynn has to have her Loving Heart removed so that she does not feel strong emotions that would distract her from keeping her charge on the Path. Aislynn is also supposed to report her charge’s suspicious activity, namely any accidental magic use. Thus, women who have not been able to escape the oppression of this society are used as tools to continue that oppression.

The trope twist that surprised me

A character called the Wicked Queen is introduced as a villain from the first chapter of the novel. The Wicked Queen is feared by the other kingdoms and all the girls at the Academy because she is a woman who wields magic and power. She broke from the system, and now she runs her own kingdom by herself. Naturally, when I first learned of this woman and read on as the girls at the Academy showed contempt and fear of a woman who Strayed, I expected to find that she was in truth a good person who was only vilified for conforming. As the novel unfolds, it is not so black and white.

What I Disliked

I did not like the final rising action. While the unfolding of events is true to the story and all of the scenes that take place are fine, leading to an effective resolution of the plot and character arcs, everything moves too quickly. The characters move around geographically a lot in the final few chapters and the story feels rushed. Additionally, one characters is introduced that does not seem to contribute to the story in any way. That’s all I’ll say on that, though, to avoid spoilers.

However, the fantastic world building and my emotional investment in Aislynn’s internal journey and external obstacles, as we wonder when she will finally get her legs beneath her, are well worth the rushed ending.

Final Thoughts

While I often enjoy fairytale retellings, this one was far more compelling to me than most. Stray‘s intricate world building and delicate way (at least until the last few chapters) of weaving together the story’s threads personally made the novel’s themes of women, emotion, and power far more poignant. Full of subtle and not-so-subtle allusions to modern patterns, Sussman effectively uses fantasy to explore our real world. Rather than begin with a character who already despised the system, she guides us with a character who starts on the inside and slowly realizes the trap she’s been forced into since birth. I enjoyed experiencing Aislynn’s fight to pull herself from the beliefs so ingrained within her and begin to embrace, rather than fear, her magic and herself.