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Have you ever watched “Cinderella” or read the story about her? Ever heard of her so-called wicked stepsisters? "The Wicked Ones," by Robin Benway, explores the backstory of the Tremaine sisters and their motivation for being so mean? There always is another side to people, and sometimes bits and pieces get mixed up over time. It's up to readers to decide what they think of the sisters after reading this book.
For starters, even though they’re only a year apart, the Tremaine sisters are very different. Anastasia has curly red hair and Drizella has straight black hair. Anastasia is a little more on the soft side then Drizella, even though Drizella would never admit it, Anastasia is the prettier of the two. Drizella can never seem to get her smile quite right either.
But two things the sisters have in common is that they never really know what to do or say to Ella, their stepsister. They also would love their home environment to be less cold.
You see, the Tremaine household doesn’t really consist of love and care, especially when it comes to Lady Tremaine, their mother. She is stone cold and has expectations for them to do things they don’t always agree with.
Drizella and Anastasia hate it, but there is nothing they can do about so many issues. Nothing they can do about their father being there one day, but gone the next. Nothing they can do about their cold mother. Nothing they can do to get better at their dreaded lessons—the lessons for the prince’s debut party. The debut party that their mother is obsessed about, wanting one of them to impress the prince so he will marry one or the other.
Day in and day out, nothing changes—same old, same old. Their mother continues to be harsh, cold, and bitter and they have no one else to look to--no one but the other. The sisters continue going to their lessons even though Drizella cannot sing, and Anastasia cannot play the flute. But those lessons just happen to be what changes everything.
Read “The Wicked Ones” and follow Drizella and Anastasia, through ups and downs, twists and turns as they figure out a little more about themselves and venture farther than they have before. If you're a Disney fan, or if you just want to curl up with a good book, this might be one you want to take a look at.
