Customer Reviews

Silver Woven In My Hair

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This book, though rather juvenile in appearance, is pure magic. Shirley Rousseau Murphy is adept at creating sympathetic characters with a few, well-placed descriptions. Thursey is a spirited and intelligent Cinderella who enjoys defying her greedy stepmother and hideous stepsisters who use her as a slave for their inn. Loving stories and fairy tales of all sorts, her own begins when she meets a kind goat boy named Gilly returning with the queen and prince after the war. But is he really who he seems? And though he partly plays the role of the beneficial fairy, it's ultimately up to Thursey to make her own magic come true.

Simply and beautifully told, Silver Woven in My Hair was one of my first fairy tale retellings (along with Beauty by Robin McKinley) and remains one of my favorites. A pleasant companion to the equally excellent Ella Enchanted, this book is definitely worth the effort it will take to find.

Shirley Rousseau Murphy gives the tale of Cinderella a breath of fresh air in this memorable and deceptively simplistic looking book. The protagonist, Thursey, endures a hard-hearted stepmother and two stepsisters who expect her to heed their every beck and call. She takes refuge in a small cupboard in the wall, her bed, where she keeps her storybook, that fills when she encounters people (she is most often visited by a friendly monk named Anwin) who arrive at her family's inn ready to share a new tale. Befriending a kindly goatherd named Gillie, sans pumpkins and fairy godmother, and with an approaching ball, Thursey's adventure, magical even without magic, is absolutely beautiful and enchanting. This is a short read, but I enjoyed every moment and every word.

I will also have to veer off in another direction for a moment. I read something about Robin McKinley, in which she said that she could remember moments in her life by the books that she was reading at the time. The case is the same for myself. On a trip to Florida, I picked up my first book by Robin McKinley, The Blue Sword, which I loved. For some reason, this reading experience helped me remember the trip more easily than others. The only reason I brought that up is because the case is the same with Silver Woven in My Hair. I remember picking the book up off of the library sheelf, thinking that the cover was quite ugly (it was a different edition than Amazon's paperback version). I even remember the other book that I checked out at the same time and read during the same week (as well as the week itself). Basically, this sort of thing usually happens with me when I read certain books. In the case of Silver Woven in My Hair, I loved the book. It was one of those (and I'm gonna have to pull a Cinderella on you) love-at-first-read moments, which is very, very rare with me.

Shirley Rousseau Murphy's refreshing retelling of Cinderella has remained a long-time favorite. I have treasured this sweet story since the day I first read it. I have since tried to find other books by the author, as this was not the only book she wrote, and they are incredibly hard to find in stores (online is another story). If you can find this book, know that it comes highly recommended.

This book is such a cute, charming re-telling of the story of Cinderella. It has a lot of the elements of the Cinderella story you'll find in other re-tellings, but this has a unique spin on the story. I loved this book, and I am so glad that I decided to buy a used copy of it even though it was a little more than I usually pay for my used books. It was worth every penny.
If you love the story of Cinderella or love fairy tale re-tellings, this is a must have book for your collection!

That may be an odd thing to say, but it's actually true. When I was in 4th grade (needless to say, many years ago) I read this book and fell in love with it and with reading. I remember being riveted by the characters. It taught me about empathy, somehow. I've never looked back. Books are what get me through long plane rides (and short ones for that matter!), childhood family fights, long days on the beach in SoCal, and any number of moments throughout my life. Books- fiction mainly- are a constant in my life. And I owe it to this book!

This is definitely a book that I would recommend to anyone who likes the classic story of Cinderella. Though it may not be the exact story you may know, it is a very finely crafted version of the timeless fairytale. Shirley Rousseau Murphy captures the true spirit of the classic tale of a poor girl who dreams of a life other than her own where she is forced by her wicked step-mother and step-sister to clean, cook, and serve them after her father dissappears. Even if you aren't a fan of Cinderella, if you do like magic, adventure, surprises, and descriptions so real you feel like you're in the story, then this could be the book you've been looking for.