Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella take on the patriarchy, midlife, and the eternal question of "What happened after she married her prince?" in the shrewd feminist fairy tale deconstruction After Happily Ever After: An Epic Novel of Midlife Rebellion by Jennifer Safrey.
The death of the king of Foreverness shakes up the lives of his middle-aged daughters-in-law, Princesses Neve, Bry, and Della, whose "only daily task [is] to be the living embodiment of the dreams of every woman who lived in the kingdom." Neve, whose murder by poisoned apple has left her eternally on guard, becomes queen consort of Foreverness but can't ignore her birthright as heir to her own kingdom. Bry, who slept for 100 years due to a fairy's curse, forms connections outside the palace walls and learns to her horror that happily ever after is out of reach for women of the common class. Della, who worked as a scullery maid until her fairy godmother intervened, quietly starts a business training household servants. The princesses' journeys of growth cause conflict with their husbands, the established order, and the law, but each woman must fight for her people and herself.
Safrey (Tooth and Nail) has crafted the story of empowerment and agency desperately needed by anyone who has ever watched a classic Disney princess movie and thought that the ending rang hollow. This fast-paced fairy tale for the older and wiser is a perfect read for those who like to see women seizing their own happily ever afters. --Jaclyn Fulwood, blogger at Infinite Reads