--- product_id: 24866842 title: "Stray (Stray, 1)" brand: "elissa sussman" price: "€ 26.44" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 8 category: "Books" url: https://www.desertcart.at/products/24866842-stray-stray-1 store_origin: AT region: Austria --- # Stray (Stray, 1) **Brand:** elissa sussman **Price:** € 26.44 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Stray (Stray, 1) by elissa sussman - **How much does it cost?** € 26.44 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.at](https://www.desertcart.at/products/24866842-stray-stray-1) ## Best For - elissa sussman enthusiasts ## Why This Product - Trusted elissa sussman brand quality - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description From School Library Journal Gr 7 Up—Sixteen-year-old princess-in-training Aislynn attends classes to hone vital skills like sewing and flirting—but her most important endeavor at the academy is to learn how to contain her "curse," magical abilities that must be squashed in order to be deemed "safe" and marry a rich male heir. Aislynn is not doing a great job in keeping her powers under wraps and gets reassigned to fairy godmother classes. A demotion of this magnitude is a fate almost as horrible as any young royal could imagine—but the worst of all would be to "stray" from the right path and leave society. She studies how to use her magic in a controlled way and care for her charge. Sweet young Linnea has lost her parents and is associated with a bad family (her maternal aunt is an infamous stray known as the Wicked Queen). Aislynn finds the young princess to be fully under the thumb of her advisor, Madame Moira. Meanwhile, Aislynn makes some new friends in carriage driver Ford, kitchen maid Brigid, and charming gardener Thackery. She learns of an underground ring of servants who help endangered "orphans" (those believed to have been kidnapped by the Wicked Queen) escape to safety. The heroine soon discovers that the world she believed in is built upon lies and manipulations designed to keep those in power at the top. This fun tale will appeal to reluctant female readers. Sussman explores some unique themes, including a LGBTQ relationship, and even a yummy recipe in this fantasy with supernatural and romantic elements.—Tara Kehoe, New Jersey State Library Talking Book and Braille Center, Trenton Read more Review “Sussman delightfully mixes dystopian tension with retold fairy tales, and the result is something wholly original.” (Booklist)“The creative use of the role of fairy godmother is fascinating.” (Kirkus Reviews)“The ending is exhilarating and nicely sets up for a sequel.” (San Francisco Book Review)“This fun tale will appeal to reluctant female readers.” (School Library Journal)“A particularly intriguing portrait…of a girl entrenched in a culture that shames women and their magical abilities.” (Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books) Read more From the Back Cover Princess Aislynn has long dreamed about attending her Introduction Ball, about dancing with the handsome suitors her adviser has chosen for her, about meeting her true love and starting her happily ever after.When the night of the ball finally arrives and Nerine Academy is awash with roses and royalty, Aislynn wants nothing more than to dance the night away, dutifully following the Path that has been laid out for her. She does not intend to stray.But try as she might, Aislynn has never quite managed to control the magic that burns within her—magic brought on by wicked, terrible desires that threaten the Path she has vowed to take.After all, it is wrong to want what you do not need. Isn't it? Read more About the Author Elissa Sussman received her BA from Sarah Lawrence College and in a previous life managed animators and organized spreadsheets at some of the best animation studios in the world, including Nickelodeon, Disney, DreamWorks, and Sony Imageworks. You can find her name in the credits of The Croods, Hotel Transylvania, The Princess and the Frog, and Tangled. She lives in Los Angeles with her boyfriend and their rescue dog, Basil. Stray is her first novel. Read more ## Images ![Stray (Stray, 1) - Image 1](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51hCw62g2AL.jpg) ![Stray (Stray, 1) - Image 2](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/31npkNdrB6L.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A must read for the young feminist *by R***R on August 12, 2015* As a passionate reader of fairytale retellings and remixes my interest was quite piqued by STRAY but when I saw the comparison to The Handmaid's Tale I knew it was a must-read for me. To give some background I attempted to read THT when I was 15 but my very religious and strict parents caught me and took it away. I eventually read it as an adult and the irony was not lost on me. STRAY has many similarities in how its society is built. Girls and women need their father and later their husband to contain them, to keep them pure and from using their magic.It was so compelling that even though I started reading it as a borrowed audiobook from the library I went and ordered a hardcover copy for myself before I was even done. It's just so compelling and the feminist in me was sated by every tiny rebellion. If you want a book for a young woman who needs to see that she has more value than her physical beauty, that she shouldn't feel beholden to society's ideas of what being beautiful or female are I cannot recommend this book enough. And if you're a young woman who desires these things for yourself I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did. Sure, it's a bit romantic and it has a mystery and it's a bit of a fairytale but by nature fairytales were intended to teach lessons.There are a lot of books I consider must reads but this is definitely one of the first I wished I could send back through time into my own teenage hands. Teen me would have very much appreciated this book as much as adult me did. ### ⭐⭐⭐ Decent Fantasy Start *by M***N on November 11, 2015* Aislynn cannot control her curse, and therefore she is forced to abandon the life she always thought she would leave in order to stay on the path.I found the book to be unfinished at times. There were some cool concepts/ideas, but at the same time those ideas that shape the world only feel partially explored. This also leads to the characters feel very surface-level. We get some peeks in, but not enough to make them feely fully developed. Still, there was enough promise in the first one and the ending was interesting enough that I would read the 2nd book. Stray might have been more about setting the scene then having the book stand on its own. Hopefully the 2nd delivers on the promise of better things to come. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Fairytale with a dystopian twist *by H***Y on December 10, 2015* All I can really say is "Wow"I didn't expect to be sucked into a story I bought in the discount section of the kindle store. Aislynn is the kind of protagonist you can't help but root for as she fights to overcome each obstacle presented to her. The story is full of twists and turns that you can't see coming, characters you can't help but love, and a romance that'll leave you swooning.Definitely recommend for anyone who enjoyed Ella Enchanted by Margaret Peterson Haddix. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.at/products/24866842-stray-stray-1](https://www.desertcart.at/products/24866842-stray-stray-1) --- *Product available on Desertcart Austria* *Store origin: AT* *Last updated: 2026-05-06*