short book review of cinderella

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Table of Contents

About the book, about the authors.

Charles Perrault is the author of the 1697 classic"" Stories or Tales from Times Past,"" which had the added title on the frontispiece, ""Tales of Mother Goose,""

Product Details

• Publisher: NorthSouth Books (April 1, 2002)
• Length: 32 pages
• ISBN13: 9780735814868
• Ages: 4 - 8

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‘Cinderella’ Review: Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Fairy Tale Redux Opens at Last

By David Benedict

David Benedict

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Where do you go after you’ve seen “Wicked”? That worldwide smash has built a vast young audience hungry for stories propelled by power ballads of female empowerment, and it’s clearly that crowd that Andrew Lloyd Webber’s much-delayed new musical version of “ Cinderella ” is eager to please. With actor/singer and internet sensation Carrie Hope Fletcher wholly energizing the new-wine-in-old-bottles story of a self-assured heroine defiantly refusing to fit in with the fairytale world that despises her, he’s halfway there. But the ride he’s written for her with Oscar-winning screenwriter  Emerald Fennell (“Promising Young Woman”) is seriously bumpy.

Our heroine, the black-lipsticked and goth-laced “Bad Cinderella” (as she’s called in the punchy, calling-card number that leads the overture and is reprised on umpteen occasions) lives in Belleville, which, according to lyricist David Zippel, is “a town so picturesque/ every other seems grotesque.” The rest of the population consists of under-dressed men who are buff and manly, and over-dressed women who are blonde and perfect. Not for nothing is the arch, opening scene-setter entitled “Buns’n’Roses.”

But things swiftly go awry when it’s revealed that Cinderella has defaced the new statue, which causes Belleville to lose its crown as “Most Attractive Town.” The waspish Queen – played by Rebecca Trehearn, whose deliciously withering grandeur would give Marie Antoinette pause — is not, to put it mildly, pleased. In part, that’s because the statue is of her dead son Prince Charming. To fill the coffers, she whips up  a royal wedding complete with a ball, at which a wife will be chosen for her hapless and, in her eyes, hopeless second son, Prince Sebastian (young Ivano Turco in his West End debut.)

Unhappy about this, Sebastian confides in his best friend — who is, natch, Cinderella. And for most of the otherwise predictable first act, everything sticks fairly closely to the standard one-girl-against-the-world plot, peppered by Fennell with faintly dated nods to what used to be called “girl power.” The difference is that Cinderella realizes that she’s is in love with Sebastian. She must get to the ball to marry him before anyone else can.

At which point, after a mix of everything from comic one-liner put-downs to adult-pleasing double-entendres, there’s one of the show’s many tonal lurches when Cinderella finds herself in a cross between a bridal shop and an icy operating theater, presided over by a stalking, Grace Jones-like Godmother (Gloria Onitri, in perilous heels and a voice of doom) who promises her perfect beauty via temporary plastic surgery. For reasons never properly explained, after inveighing against superficiality, Cinderella goes along with it.

Released from the standard fairy-tale plot, the more involving second act goes up a dramatic notch at the ball where Cinderella and Sebastian have a row, after which events take several turns for the unpredictable. But with a vital key character introduced very late, just at the point at which you wish the show and the score would let rip for its climax, several chunks of exposition appear with Fennell’s book bogged down in perilously drawn-out false endings and resolutions.

On the plus side, the show is often fun, with a welcome comic bounce almost entirely absent from Lloyd Webber’s work after “ Starlight Express ” in 1984 until “ School of Rock ” in 2015. Costume designer Gabriela Tylesova has a serious budget and an absolute field day with the sisters (sneering Georgina Castle and Laura Baldwin), and with the succession of ravishingly preposterous costumes and millinery for the stepmother. Detonating every second of her stage time, Victoria Hamilton-Barritt, her body viciously, comically skewed, leaves standard Cruella de Vil antics standing. Instead she kills the audience with constantly surprising line-readings like Zsa-Zsa Gabor crossed with Alan Rickman via Sean Connery’s consonants. Her tart, French-style duet with Trehearn, like a wonderfully mean-spirited revamp of Lerner and Loewe’s “I Remember It Well” from “Gigi,” is the score’s comedy highlight.

With no-holds-barred, on-the-money vocals, Fletcher has the lion’s share of the best numbers. She’s alive to the teen-queen power of the Phil Spector, wall-of-sound-like “I Know I Have A Heart” (because you broke it) and touchingly sincere in beguilingly gentle ballad “Far Too Late.” But director Laurence Connor has not managed to curb Lloyd Webber’s earnestness. Was it really necessary that, at the point of her dreams collapsing, Cinderella should reprise not one, not two, but three of her big numbers in what amounts to a shameless lovestruck megamix?

Connor’s four-square staging is also not helped by choreography that almost always feels symmetrical. The numbers have plenty of well-executed moves but only express a single intention, never building in excitement.

From the book’s adult nods to its wannabe young girl’s guide to feminism, the show entertains moment by moment but rarely adds up. If, for example, Sebastian is supposed to be a non-starter physically, how come he is revealed to be the best dancer?

Its mixed messages are exemplified by Tylesova’s sets. Ignoring lyrics that talk of everyone living in “in Plexiglass houses,” she presents Belleville in folding fairytale cut-outs which, charming in themselves, look peculiar against a permanent, metallic-looking backdrop that gives off the aura of a contemporary sculpture screensaver.

As with all good versions of the story, Tylsevova creates a defining transformation. Unfortunately, it’s not Cinderella who is transformed, it’s the seating. As famously happened with the original incarnation of the composer’s “Cats” at this venue, at the start of the ball scene, the front seating block begins to move round, turning a proscenium-style theatre into an in-the-round space. The effect, aided by lighting designer Bruno Poet’s multiple star-effect lights, is dazzling. But when that’s close to the evening’s most dramatic effect, questions need to be asked. Chief among them: Since this show is so knowing, what is it that it actually knows?

Gillian Lynne Theatre, London; 1,297 seats. £135 ($185) top. Opened, reviewed Aug 18, 2021. Running time: 2 HOURS, 45 MIN.

• Production: A Really Useful Group, No Guarantees and Len Blavatnik presentation of a musical in two acts, music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, book by Emerald Fennell and lyrics by David Zippel.
• Crew: Directed by Laurence Connor. Musical direction, Ben van Tienen; musical supervision, John Rigby and David Wilson; choreography by JoAnn M. Hunter. Sets and costumes, Gabriela Tylesova; lighting, Bruno Poet; sound, Gareth Owen; orchestrations, Andrew Lloyd Webber; production stage managers, George Cook and Jo Hinton.
• Cast: Carrie Hope Fletcher, Ivano Turco, Rebecca Trehearn, Victoria Hamilton-Barritt, Laura Baldwin, Georgina Castle, Gloria Onitiri, Caleb Roberts, Michael Afemaré, Michelle Bishop, Lauren Byrne, Sophie Camble, Tobias Charles, Vinny Coyle, Nicole Deon, Jonathan David Dudley, Michael Hamway, James Lee Harris, Kate Ivory Jordan, Jessica Kirton, Kelsie-Rae Marshall, Sam Robinson, Giovanni Spano, Georgia Tapp, Matthieu Vinetot, Rodney Vubya, Alexandra Waite-Roberts.
• Music By: Andrew Lloyd Webber (score) and David Zippel (lyrics).

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Book Summary

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Read original fairy tales >>

Cinderella Summary

Charles Perrault

Cinderella is a fairy tale written by Charles Perrault. This is a story about a poor girl's passivity in the form of abuse that ends with a reward by a fairy godmother and wins a prince's heart. It's a gentle reminder to remain kind to everyone.

Further study Cinderella Book Cinderella Analysis Cinderella Characters Charles Perrault Biography

Once upon a time, there was a nobleman who re-married. His second wife was the most haughty and vain woman in the world. With her former husband, she had two daughters, who were exactly like her in all things. A nobleman, just like her, had a young daughter from his first marriage. She was likewise sweet and good just like her mother.

As soon as the wedding ceremony ended, the girl's stepmother began to show her real face. She couldn't stand her good qualities because she made her daughters appear more odious. She gave her the meanest and dirtiest work in the house - washing the dishes, tables, cleaning her and her daughter's chambers. She made her sleep in a garret, on a wretched straw bed, while her stepsisters got fine rooms with the most comfortable beds and large mirrors.

"She slept in a sorry garret, on a wretched straw bed, while her sisters slept in fine rooms, with floors all inlaid, on beds of the very newest fashion, and where they had looking glasses so large that they could see themselves at their full length from head to foot."

The poor girl patiently endured all and didn't dare to complain to her father, who would scold her, because he was under the influence of his new wife. Only then, the girl would lose her father's love and support, so she endured it all bravely and with a smile.

When she finished all the work, she would sit in the ashes, so everyone in the house called her Cinderella. Even such, in an old torn wardrobe and stained with ashes, was much more beautiful than her stepsisters, who were always nicely dressed.

One day, the young prince decided to have a royal ball. All important persons in the kingdom were invited. Two of Cinderella's half-sisters were also invited. This brought misery to Cinderella as she now had to work all the time. It was necessary that she arranged all the clothes, put decorations on the dresses, and make her stepsisters look as beautiful as possible. Everyone was focused on the ball.

When they chose what they would wear, each time they called Cinderella to beautify them. Although always dirty and poorly dressed, she had good taste and knew how to make beautiful hairstyles.

"As she was doing this, they said to her, "Cinderella, would you not like to go to the ball?"

"Alas!" said she, "you only jeer me; it is not for such as I am to go to such a place."

"You are quite right," they replied. "It would make the people laugh to see a Cinderwench at a ball."

Someone else, after much teasing and everything, would be mad, but Cinderella was always good-hearted and not angry. She tried to make them as beautiful as possible. Finally, that long-awaited day has come. Her stepsisters got ready and went to the ball, and Cinderella watched them sadly. Then she started crying.

Her fairy godmother appeared and asked why she was crying. When Cinderella told her, her godmother asked her if she would also like to go to the ball. Cinderella said that she would very much like it and a good fairy answered that she would help her because she is a very good girl and she deserves it.

First, she told her to go to the garden and pick one pumpkin. Cinderella did that and she couldn't understand how the pumpkin would help her get to the royal ball. The good fairy carved a pumpkin and turned it into beautiful gilded carriages with her magic wand. Then they went to the mousetrap, where they found six mice. Cinderella lifted the lid of the mousetrap, and the fairy touched the mice one by one with a wand and turned them into six beautiful horses.

"She then went to look into her mousetrap, where she found six mice, all alive, and ordered Cinderella to lift up a little the trapdoor. She gave each mouse, as it went out, a little tap with her wand, and the mouse was that moment turned into a fine horse, which altogether made a very fine set of six horses of a beautiful mouse colored dapple gray."

Cinderella found a rat and the good fairy turned the rat into a beautiful boy who became the coachman of this magical carriage. After that, Cinderella went to bring six lizards, which the fairy turned into six footmen in suits with golden threads. The new footmen immediately climbed into the carriage and behaved with as much dignity as if they had always done so.

Cinderella was delighted with the prepared carriages. The only thing that didn't fit into this perfect picture was the tattered clothes she was wearing.

"Her godmother then touched her with her wand, and, at the same instant, her clothes turned into cloth of gold and silver, all beset with jewels. This done, she gave her a pair of glass slippers, the prettiest in the whole world."

Satisfied, Cinderella climbed into the carriage and was ready to go to the royal ball. Her godmother told her to have a good time, but that she should not stay longer than midnight. If she stays even a minute longer, the carriage will turn into a pumpkin, horses into mice, footmen into lizards, and her beautiful dress into ordinary rags. Cinderella promised to leave before midnight and left with the biggest smile on her face.

The king's son was informed that a very beautiful unknown princess had arrived, so he hurried to meet her. He took her hand as she got out of the carriage. He led her to the ceremonial hall where the guests were. When she came in, everyone silenced, the dancing stopped, and the musicians stopped playing - everyone was so amazed by the beauty and great looks of the unknown girl.

Everyone watched Cinderella with enthusiasm. Even the king was delighted with her beauty and whispered to the queen that he had not seen such a beautiful princess for a long time. All the ladies at the ball watched her so that the next day they could make the same hairstyle and sew the same dress.

The prince took Cinderella to the most honorable place to sit. Then he invited her to dance. She was so beautiful while dancing that everyone in the hall admired her. Even when the dinner arrived, the prince did not taste a bite. He watched the beautiful, unknown princess all the time. During that time, Cinderella sat next to her half-sisters and talked amicably. They were both amazed because no one knew this princess.

"There was immediately a profound silence. Everyone stopped dancing, and the violins ceased to play, so entranced was everyone with the singular beauties of the unknown newcomer.

Nothing was then heard but a confused noise of, "How beautiful she is! How beautiful she is!""

While having fun, Cinderella heard the clock tick fifteen minutes to midnight. She quickly got up from her seat, bowed to everyone, and hurried to the exit. When she got home, she looked for her godmother to thank her for everything and to tell her that the prince had invited her to come to the ball the next day. While she was telling her godmother how she spent her time at the ball, her half-sisters arrived home.

""You stayed such a long time!" she cried, gaping, rubbing her eyes and stretching herself as if she had been sleeping; she had not, however, had any manner of inclination to sleep while they were away from home.

"If you had been at the ball," said one of her sisters, "you would not have been tired with it. The finest princess was there, the most beautiful that mortal eyes have ever seen. She showed us a thousand civilities, and gave us oranges and citrons.""

Cinderella was beside herself when she heard their stories of an unknown princess. She asked them if they knew the name of the beautiful princess, and they told her that no one knows and that the prince himself tried in every way to find out who she was, but that he didn't succeed. Cinderella just laughed sweetly. When she asked one of the sisters to lend her a dress so that she could go to the ball and see that beautiful princess for herself, they just laughed. They didn't want to lend their dresses to "dirty Cinderwench", as they called her.

The next day, the stepsisters got dressed again and went to the ball, and this time Cinderella was even more beautifully and lavishly dressed. The prince was by her side all evening. She had so much fun that she forgot what her godmother had told her. She forgot to watch what time it was and not to stay longer than midnight. Then suddenly she heard the clock ticking midnight. She quickly got up and ran out of the hall, and the young prince followed her, but he couldn't reach her.

While she was running, a glass shoe fell off her foot, which the prince carefully took. Panting, Cinderella arrived home without a carriage or footman, in her usual rites. Of the lavish dress and everything, she was left with only one glass shoe, the same as the one she lost.

The prince ordered that this beautiful girl needs to be found, so he questioned the guards, but they claimed that no beautiful princess passed by them, but only an ordinary girl, in tattered clothes. She certainly didn't look like a princess.

When her half-sisters returned, Cinderella asked them how they had spent their time and whether a beautiful princess was there. They told her that she was and that she was even more beautiful this time, but that she ran out of the hall at midnight and that she lost a glass shoe. They also told her that the prince was looking for her and that he fell very much in love with the mysterious beautiful princess.

The prince announced throughout the kingdom that he would marry the girl to whom the glass shoe would fit. And so all the princesses and duchesses, and even the other girls in the court, began to try on this famous shoe, but in vain. One day the procession came to Cinderella's house. Her two half-sisters tried it. They did their best to put their foot into a small shoe, but they didn't succeed.

"Cinderella, who saw all this, and knew that it was her slipper, said to them, laughing, "Let me see if it will not fit me.""

Then, Cinderella asked if she could try on a glass shoe. The two girls started laughing out loud and making fun of her. The man who brought the shoe looked carefully at Cinderella's face and saw that she was very beautiful. He was ordered to try on the shoe by all the girls in every house, so he took Cinderella and sat her down on a chair. He brought the shoe to her little foot and it fit her effortlessly. The sisters were amazed. Cinderella then took out the other shoe and put it on.

Then a good fairy appeared and touched Cinderella's shoulder with her magic wand. Her dress became even brighter than the one she wore to the balls. Then her half-sisters realized that Cinderella was actually that beautiful unknown princess. They fell to their knees and begged her to forgive them for always being evil and behaving badly towards her. Cinderella, who has always been good-hearted, passed over everything with a smile this time as well. She hugged her half-sisters and said that she forgives them with all her heart and that from now on she wants to live with them in harmony and love.

Then they took Cinderella, so beautifully dressed, to the prince. Now he liked her even more and after a few days, they got married. Cinderella, who was as good as she was beautiful, brought her half-sisters to the court, and on the same day, they married two of the king's courtiers.

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Book Review

Reviewed by Lit Amri for Readers' Favorite

If you want to put fairy tale leading ladies into the real world, a night out on the town is probably the most fabulous way to do it. A Cinderella Story by Joe Miloscia is a graphic novel tailored for adults, who perhaps wonder what’s beyond “happily ever after,” realistically speaking. It starts with Cinderella, who “...crept away from her castle for a night out on the town. She went to a bar and ordered tequila, and a beer to chase it down.” When loneliness sinks in, Cinderella runs into Snow White. Soon enough, readers will find the duo joined by other fairy tale princesses, as they all bond and reminisce about the faded magic of “happily ever after” and “Prince Charming.” If I have to characterize the flavor of Miloscia’s narrative, it would be honesty and humor. The narrative rhymes flawlessly, complementing the illustrations by Danielle Ramirez. The dark and slightly seedy depictions of the town and the bars slightly alter as the night out progresses, capturing the emotions projected by the visually engaging characters. There is no glass slipper (although it is briefly mentioned), kind fairy godmother, the seven dwarfs or perfect Prince Charming. A Cinderella Story is contemporary, relatable and quirky. Miloscia and Ramirez make us wonder about all the real fairy tale princesses in society, their friendship, and disenchantment with hyperbolic expectations of life. All in all, this is a really fun read and contains quite humbling truths for all of us. Highly recommended to my fellow readers.

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A chance encounter in the dark leads eighteen-year-old Daniel and the girl who stumbles across him to profess their love for each other. But this love comes with conditions: they agree it will only last one hour and it will only be make-believe.

When their hour is up and the girl rushes off like Cinderella, Daniel tries to convince himself that what happened between them only seemed perfect because they were pretending it was perfect. Moments like that with girls like her don’t happen outside of fairytales.

One year and one bad relationship later, his disbelief in insta-love is stripped away the day he meets Six: a girl with a strange name and an even stranger personality. Daniel soon realizes the way he pretended to feel about Cinderella and the way he really feels about Six may not be so different after all. Especially when the two loves of his life end up being one in the same.

Unfortunately for Daniel, finding Cinderella doesn’t guarantee their happily ever after…it only further threatens it.

BOOK REVIEW: Finding Cinderella

Colleen hoover.

Book Series:  Hopeless

“I’ve never believed in anything like I believe in the possibility of the two of us.”

Oh my God, can this woman write a bad book just for kicks? No, this is not just a novella, it is not just a little add-on story to an already stellar series, and this is definitely not a re-hash of anything we’ve already seen in Hopeless or Losing Hope – this is the story that fills all the little gaps we never even knew needed filling and it is the story that makes us fall in love with the two secondary characters as much as we loved Holder and Sky. It is also a testament to the fact that Colleen Hoover doesn’t need 400 pages to make you feel with every crevice of your heart and that when it comes to telling a story through witty but emotionally-charged dialogues or creating loveable, engaging characters, she is unrivalled. I knew this story would be great but I never even imagined a novella could be this spectacular.

“I don’t even know your phone number,” I say. “I don’t even know your birthday,” she says. “You’re the worst girlfriend I’ve ever had.”

We met Daniel and Six in previous instalments of the series as Holder and Sky’s best friends, two outspoken, sarcastic, but fiercely loyal individuals who supported their best friends through thick and thin, and now we get to see them in the limelight. By knowing all the other characters and the main storyline in such detail, no time is wasted on introductions or setups of scenes – we get to immediately zoom into their story and enjoy the ride.

“How do you make love to someone you aren’t in love with?” I lean forward until my mouth is next to her ear. “We pretend.”

I refuse to spoil any of their story for you, however, not because of its length, but because I knew very little going in and I am grateful for that as not knowing what to expect was half the fun in this case. I will only tell you that their tale starts with one fated encounter that forever changes who they are and what they hope to find in life. The rest of their story is a delightful account of a boy and a girl falling head over heels for one another, and learning what love is through that experience. Their captivating personalities and the amusing dialogues between them drive the story forward and keep us engrossed page after page.

“Are you a witch? … I have no idea who you even are and now you’re my damn girlfriend. What the hell have you done to me?”

This is a book that had me laughing out loud, constantly catching myself smiling like a fool, and even had me shed a few heart-clenching tears at times. My emotions were all over the place because every word meant something, every scene counted, and every sentence struck the right chord. If you’ve loved Hopeless and Losing Hope as desperately as I have, I have no doubt that you will adore Six and Daniel’s beautiful story. They say you can’t improve on perfection – I guess Ms Hoover just did.

While this story could be read as a standalone novella, I personally would not recommend doing so without first reading the other two books in the series as it follows a parallel timeline and some knowledge of events and other characters would enhance the overall reading experience.

“Stop! Stop saying things that make me grin like an idiot. My face has been hurting since the second I met you.”

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Great Review!! I love Colleen Hoover and her works, especially the Hopeless Series. Adding a short novella about Six and Daniel is just great. October 14th can’t get here fast enough!

Hi! Great Review, I still haven’t read books by Colleen Hoover, but they are in my wishlist!

PS: I’m italian and I don’t write English very well, so I’m sorry if there are grammatical errors. ^^

Your English is perfect! Complimenti! xxx

Thank you! ^^

Hey! I just read your review and honestly, I loved it. Well, I myself am a die-hard fan of Ms. Hoover’s writings and your review made me feel like “Oh! She is just writing my heart out” so thank you for doing that.

P.S: I was looking for your Ugly Love review. Couldn’t find it.

Thank you for reading. And the reason you couldn’t find my review of Ugly Love is because I never reviewed it. I did enjoy it very much though.

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Cinderella | Bedtime Stories For Kids

Cinderella Fairytale

Illustrated By:  Suzie Chang

Part 1: A Girl Named Cinderella

ONCE UPON A TIME a girl named Cinderella lived with her stepmother and two stepsisters.  It was Cinderella who had to wake up each morning when it was still dark and cold to start the fire.  Cinderella who cooked the meals. Cinderella who kept the fire going. The poor girl could not stay clean, from all the ashes and cinders by the fire.

“What a mess you are!” her two stepsisters laughed.  That is why they called her “Cinderella.”

One day, big news was announced in their village.  It was time for the Prince to find a bride, and the King and Queen were going to have a ball!  All of the young ladies of the land were invited to come.  The stepsisters were wild with joy. They would wear their most beautiful gowns and fix their hair in the most splendid way. No doubt they would be the one to win the favor of the Prince!

Cinderella now had extra work to do.  She had to sew two fabulous gowns for her step-sisters in the latest fashion.  

No doubt they would be the one to win the favor of the Prince!

“Faster!” shouted one stepsister.

“You call that a dress?” screamed the other.  

“Oh, dear!” said Cinderella.  “When can I–“

The stepmother marched into the room.  “When can you WHAT?”

“Well,” said the girl, “when will I have time to make my own dress for the ball?”

“You?” barked the stepmother.  “Who said YOU were going to the ball?”

“Did you hear that?” One stepsister rolled back with laughter. "Cinderella, going to the ball?" 

“Looking like THAT?"  Her stepsisters roared with laughter.  "They'd never let that mess in the front door!"  

Cinderella thought to herself, “I may look like a mess but I am not a mess, not really, And if I could, I WOULD go to the ball.”

Soon the big day came.  Poufed and pampered, the stepmother and stepsisters were ready to leave for the big night.

Part 2: The Big Party

A fine carriage arrived to pick them up. The stepmother and stepsisters hopped inside.  

“Good-bye!” called Cinderella.  “Have a good time!” But the stepmother and stepsisters did not turn to respond.  The carriage door shut and off they were, in a cloud of dust.

“Ah!” groaned Cinderella as the carriage clip-clopped down the cobblestone street.  “If only there was a way for me to go to the ball, too!”

Then - Poof!  All of a sudden, in front of her stood a fairy.

“You called?” said the Fairy.

“I did?” said Cinderella.  “Who are you?”

“Your Fairy Godmother, of course!  I know what you wish, and I have come to grant it.”

“But…” said Cinderella, “my wish is impossible.”

“Excuse me!” said the Fairy Godmother in a huff.  “Did I not just show up out of thin air?”

“I suppose you did,” said Cinderella.

“Did I not just show up out of thin air?"

“Then let me be the one to say what is possible or not!”

“Well, all right," said Cinderella.  She looked down at her dirty clothes. “But look at me.  I cannot go to the ball.”

“You do look a bit of a mess, child,” said the Fairy Godmother gently.

“Even if I had something nice to wear," said the girl, "I would have no way to get there."

“Dear me, all of that is possible,” said the Fairy. She tapped her wand on Cinderella’s head.

At once, Cinderella was perfectly clean.  What's more, she was dressed in a beautiful blue gown!  Her hair was set up high on her head in a golden band.

“This is amazing!” said Cinderella.

“Who said I was done?” said the Fairy Godmother.  She tapped her wand again. At once, a beautiful carriage came to be, with a driver and four white horses.

“Am I dreaming?” said Cinderella, looking around her in astonishment.

“It's as real as real can be,” said the Fairy Godmother.  “But there is one thing you must know.”

“What is that?”

“The magic lasts only to midnight.  At the stroke of midnight, it will be over.  Everything will go back to how it was before.”

“Then I must be sure to leave the ball before midnight,” said Cinderella.

“At the stroke of midnight, it will be over."

“Smart cookie,” said the Fairy Godmother.  She stepped back. “My work here is done.” In a puff of smoke, the Fairy Godmother was gone.

Cinderella looked around.  "Did that even happen?"  But there she was in a fine gown, with a golden band in her hair.  And there were her driver and four horses.

“Coming?” called the driver.

"I suppose it did," said Cinderella.  She stepped into the carriage, and they were off.

Part 3: The Ball

During the ball, the Prince felt despondent.  “Why do you have that sad look on your face?” the Queen said to her son.  “You would think you weren't at a royal ball your father and I are hosting just for you, so you can find a bride.”

“I know you and Father are looking out for me,” said the Prince.  Yet something was wrong. He had already met most of the young women at the ball, and after he said “Hello,” there was nothing more to say.

"Look!"  Someone pointed to the front door of the ballroom, at the top of the stairs.  

All heads turned.  Who was that lovely maiden stepping down the stairs?  She held her head tall and stepped with grace and elegance. Who was she?  No one knew.

“There is something about that young lady,” said the Prince to himself.  “I will ask her to dance.” He walked over to Cinderella.

“Have we met?” said the Prince.

“I am pleased to meet you now,” said Cinderella with a bow.

“I feel as if I know you,” said the Prince.  “But of course, that's impossible.”

“I feel as if I know you," said the Prince.

“Many things are possible,” said Cinderella, “if you wish them to be true.”

"Do you really believe that?" said the Prince.

"I know it," said Cinderella. 

The Prince felt a leap in his heart.  He and Cinderella danced. When the song was over, they danced again.  And then again. All the time they were talking and laughing.  Soon the other maidens at the ball grew jealous.  “Why is he staying dance after dance with HER?” they said. “Give someone else a chance.  How rude!”

But all the Prince wanted to do was to stay with Cinderella.   In fact, they danced so long that Cinderella did not see the clock.

Part 4: The Clock Strikes

“Dong!” struck the clock.

Cinderella looked up.  

“Dong!” rung the clock again.  

She turned to the clock.  “Oh, my!” she cried.  “It's almost midnight!”

“Dong!” called the clock.  

“Why does it matter?” said the Prince.  "The night is young."

“Dong!" called the clock.

“Dong!” rung the clock again.

“I must go!” said Cinderella.  

“Dong!” went the clock.

“But we just met!” said the Prince. 

“Dong!” rung the clock.

“I must GO!” said Cinderella.  She ran to the steps.

“Dong!” cried the clock.

“I cannot hear you,” said the Prince.  “The clock is too loud!”

“Goodbye!” said Cinderella. The ran up the stairs as fast as she could.

“Please, stop for a moment!” said the Prince.

“Oh, dear!” she said as one glass slipper fell off her foot on the stair.  But Cinderella kept running.

“Dong!” said the clock.

“Please wait a moment!” said the Prince.  

“Goodbye!” Cinderella turned one last time.  She rushed out the door.

“Dong!”  The clock was quiet. It was midnight.  

“Wait!” called the Prince.  He picked up her glass slipper and dashed out the door to follow her.  

He looked around but could not see her blue dress anywhere.  “This is all I have left from her,” he said, looking down forlornly at the glass slipper.  He noticed that it was made in a special way, to fit a foot like none other. “Somewhere that young maiden has the other glass slipper,” he said.  “I will find her, and when I do, I will ask her to be my bride!”

Part 5: The Search

From village to village, and from cottage to cottage went the Prince.  One young woman after another tried to fit her foot inside the glass slipper.  But none could fit. He asked if they had the other glass slipper.  None did. And the Prince moved on.

At last the Prince came to Cinderella’s cottage.  

“He is coming!” shrieked one stepsister as she looked out the window.

“He is here, at the door right now!” screamed the other stepsister.  

At last the Prince came to Cinderella's cottage.

“Hush!” hissed the stepmother.  “He'll hear you!  Now get ready. One of you must fit your foot in that slipper, no matter what it takes!”  The stepmother swirled around to face Cinderella.  "Get out of my sight," she glowered, "Go to your room right now and stay there!"

The Prince knocked.  The stepmother flew open the door.  “Come in!” she said in a sweet, sultry voice. “I have two lovely daughters you must see.”

The first stepsister tried to fit her foot in the glass slipper.  

As hard as she tried, her foot could not squeeze in. The second step-sister tried to fit her foot inside, but no dice.  And neither of them had the other glass slipper.

“Are there any other young women in the house?” said the Prince.

“None,” said the stepmother.

“Then I will take my leave,” said the Prince.

“Maybe there is one more,” said Cinderella, stepping into the room.

“I thought you said there were no other young women here,” said the Prince.

“None who matter!” seethed the stepmother.

“Come here,” said the Prince warmly.

Cinderella stepped up to him.  The Prince got down on one knee and tried the glass slipper on her foot.  

It fit perfectly!  "Well, I suppose I have the pair back again," said Cinderella.  And from her pocket she took out the other glass slipper!

“I knew it!” he cried.  “You are the one!”

“WHAT?” shouted a stepsister.  

“Not HER!” screamed the other stepsister.

“This cannot BE!” shrieked the stepmother.  

But it was too late.  The prince looked into her eyes.  He knew that this young woman was the very same one he had met and danced with, and loved talking to.  He did not see the cinders in her hair or the ashes on her face.

“I have found you!” he said.

“And I have found you,” said Cinderella.

And so Cinderella and the Prince were married, and they lived happily ever after.

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136 Comments

IS GOOD TO BE FAIR WITH OHTERS

Suzie Chang’s enchanting illustrations breathe life into the timeless Cinderella fairytale! Her artistic brilliance captures the magic, making every page a journey into a world of wonder. Bravo, Suzie!

Every thing is possible if you are patient.

If you act mean, nothing will get done.

That the dream that you wish will come true!!!

The Story is sooo cool!

THIS IS A RESPONSE FROM STORIES TO GROW BY. Rama, tell us–what do you think was most cool about Cinderella?

a cool story and i think this story will be my favorite

That anything is possible

My little brothers words : ‘ This platform is amazing ! I sometimes feel like i am reading an actual book with easy word meanings and and it has pictures ! if i were to rate this reading platform it would be a 10/10 ! ‘ And i completely agree with him , this is an amazing reading platform with easy vocabulary and sentences .

My brother thinks that this story teaches you that you need to treat others the way you want to be treated because you never know how they might turn out to be in the future.

It show us that is not good to be a wicked person.

This book was so fun to read I loved that she found him?✨?

Really good and simple language which has simple meaning and vocabulary also. I got it all.

Happy endings do come true for those who keep their word.

My daughter’s words: The book was awesome and I love it!!

I liked the part when it said “dong”!

Why is everyone in these comments “just learning about how you shouldn’t be rude to people”? Bruh, I learned that when I was 4.

We must not think that we’re better than others.

Don’t judge anyone and love everyone.

That is not nice to be mean

I love this story the same way I love books

This story is sóóóooooooooooó cool!!!

Really good for night time story reading if adults are too tired to read just relax and watch the words, also good that there are pictures there too my little girl loved looking at the pics.

this story was so nice and I am feeling very good for reading the story, I got some English conversation. Thank you.

I love how the godmother said it will all be gone after midnight but the slippers stayed

After growing up, I realized the prince can just recognize the girl through her appearance. He does not need to have all the girls try on the shoes.

I love the way you can read it and listen to the words that it says. ??

I learned that it is not good to do bad things to others and if you do, bad will come back to you. And to care about others, you should be kind to people and not do what you don’t want others to do to you. They are people so do not do it the end.

What I learned about today’s topic called Cinderella is that: 1. We should be nice to others because when we do bad things to others, bad will come back to us. 2. We should not make people suffer and make fun of them because at the end it will be your turn.

I like this story because it tells that if we have faith in ourselves and are patient, then even an impossible wish can come true. I like Cinderella a lot for this.

If you wish something it is possible.

It tells the reader that nothing is impossible if you believe.

IS TRYING TO BE PATIENT

Basically the moral of Cinderella is: people should always fight for what they want with a good heart and hard work. And wickedness and envy will lead to negative consequences, whereas perseverance will lead to a happy ending. And no matter what your situation is, don’t give up on your dreams.

The moral of the story : Do not be rude Nothing is impossible And bad never wins but good every time wins

Nothing is impossible.

The moral of the story is that nothing is impossible. And also to not be rude .

It tells us nothing is impossible.

It tells us nothing is impossible

The story is trying to tell you that nothing is impossible

It was good and I never heard this version before that’s one reason why it’s good another is that the stepmom and sisters got what they deserved

The story is trying tell us that nothing is impossible.

That anything is possible. If you keep walking forward with courage and hope, you’ll find what you need

i like the story Cinderella but this one is the best ever!

This story tells that nothing is impossible

Do not lose hope. No matter the difficulties you meet in life, there is still hope.

Never stop dreaming??

Hold that dream and keep dreaming it.

Your sound is beautiful

That keep on wishing on your dream and it will come true.

In one of my classes, there is a class called Discovery Aces. We are learning about Theme. To answer “Say what you think the story is trying to show you….” I think, the theme is “Don’t doubt yourself even when others doubt you.” I thought this story was a very good thing and I liked the pictures but sometimes they looked really different. Me and my teacher were having a lot of fun reading this book. We had a lot of laughs.

I loved that the speaker was reading with so much expressions, and the right ones too!

The story might be showing us that if you believe in yourself you can accomplish whatever you want.

3.The story is trying to tell us to be neat and nice.

People good evening sir/ma this is a very interesting story and I think it has a very good lesson

This is the lesson I have learned. To be kinder to my family and those who need it. It’s called kindness and respect to the people who are not nice.

Wow! Lessons well received.

Cinderella let her stepsisters be mean because she is really nice and they treated her like a slave. Cinderella changed in a really good way. She went from a slave to a princess and found her prince. The story is showing you that you can be anything you want to be. 7/10

Cinderella let her stepsisters be mean to her because she was their slave, she had no choice.

Cinderella changed because she went from being the maid to being engaged to the prince.

The story was trying to show me not to give up on your hopes because mean people boss you around.

I think this story is showing me that people have to be very kind.

Wow, this story is amazing. I can keep reading this as long as I want. I love it so much!

Wow! I like the story. It is not good to lie be jealous. it is a moral lesson

Cinderella was nice so didn’t want to be mean to the step sisters.

Cinderella found out that good things happen to good people.

That good beats bad.

cause Cinderella has no choice

It teaches me to persevere through hard time and never to be jealous…My own blessing must surely locate me in due season even if am hidden in the valley.

Be kindness and be brave is what this story tells us. If you are a servant or anything, when you do good thing you also deserve good.

Hi from Turkey! We should treat people in equal no matter who!

because she thought that if she let her step-sisters be mean to her, one day they would begin to act nice to her and treat her well.

This is trying to tell us that we should be hard working and never give up on ourselves.

What a nice and lovely story, I loved it much more than any other story.

It taught us not to treat others differently because if your life is bad it can always change in the future.

Cinderella was changed from a slave to a princess. She grew more strong by leaving her step mother and step sister and marrying the prince. She learned that she is way more than what she was.

(1) Cinderella let her stepsisters be mean to her because later on in life she will have better than her stepsisters. Also, she will know that once she meets or has someone in her life who loves her, she can get back at them because she married the prince and now her stepmother and sister can be her maids or whatever she wants to call it. Next, she got to dance with the prince and her stepsisters were jealous.

(2) I pick the stepsisters if I was them and rude to Cinderella, I would feel bad, mad and sad. Bad is for why have I been rude to her? She could grow up more than me and marry someone better and I may or may not marry someone. I would feel mad because I wouldn’t get to dance with the prince and have a better life than her. And I’d feel sad because I was rude and for other reasons.

(3) To always be nice and way more, but I have to go.

The End ,,,, by E and B TOOK 5 MINS TO WRITE THIS THANKS FOR TELLING !!!!?

I think what the story is trying to tell us is to treat others the way you want to be treated, and don’t underestimate others. ?

This story was great, it really helped me fall asleep at night when I felt sick. This was a great telling of the story.

It teaches us that you have to be nice or else the other person will get all the good and fun stuff

I think Cinderella wanted to make her stepsisters like her. So she tried to be nice, hoping they would.

This story is trying to teach us that we should treat every one equal

1. Because then she won’t have anything to eat or survive. 2. Cinderella grew and changed because she got married and was happy to be with someone that makes her happy. 3. To not let anyone judge a book by its cover because you have lessons to learn everyday and you don’t know it.

This help me a lot and it calms me down. This one was a hit to victory. I want hear more stories like this one. Question 3- I think anything is possible, and number 2 is Cinderella

It teach us not to make fun of someone ???

Why did the step sisters and step mother were mean what did she do to them so sad ????????and that’s a nice story but sad By Maria

IT TEACH US NOT TO BE MAKING JEST OF SOMEONE

This is my daughters favorite story and I love the pictures/paintings

Q1 Maybe she believed their insults. Maybe hearing the insults so often made her believe them. Or she didn’t have any support when she stood up to them. Maybe she didn’t think it would be good manners or proper to speak back.

1. Cinderella let her stepsisters be mean to her because if Cinderella says something rude about her stepsisters then her stepmother will say, “It is not the stepsisters fault, it is your fault.” 2. Cinderella changed because she doesn’t have to do the work again for her mean stepsisters and stepmother. 3. I think the story is trying to tell us that if you really really really want to win at something but you loose because the person you were mean to will win, for example if you were mean to someone and then there is a competition 1 day then you really want to win but you won’t because the person who you were mean to will win.

1. why did Cinderella let her stepsisters be mean to her? Because Cinderella didn’t want to hurt them, or she loves them.

The stepmother is being rude and hatefull

External beauty many can achieve, its the inner beauty that makes one unique.

Thanks for your hard and amazing work, my son and I are very appreciative.

Cinderella from the beginning of the story was like a maid at home and in the end of the story she became a princess and she will live at the castle. We should treat people with respect and not make fun of them.

1. Cinderella let her stepsisters be mean to her because if Cinderella says something rude about her stepsisters then her stepmother will say ” It is not the stepsisters fault, it is your fault.” 2. Cinderella changed because she doesn’t have to do the work again for her mean stepsisters and stepmother. 3. I think the story is trying to tell us that if you really really really want to win at something but you loose because the person you were mean to will win, for example if you were mean to someone and then there is a competition 1 day then you really want to win but you won’t because the person who you were mean to will win.

Say what you think the story is trying to show you.

I feel that the story is trying to say that whatever good you do, good will come back to you.

Question 3— Say what you think the story is trying to show you.

the story is trying to say that nothing is impossible

Question 1: I would imagine Cinderella realized her position. Although her step-family mistreated her greatly, they were still her family and some small part of her cared for them. Cinderella was a Baron’s daughter. She could’ve easily written to the constable about the mistreatment and fought for the rights of her title. But Cinderella had a spirit of forbearance. She was kind and had a good heart. Maybe she knew the realities of those in that era who found themselves in a pitiable state.

This is soo good to let your mind rest?

I love this story because it has a good end and the lesson is to be kind to other people no matter if they are poor or rich the thing that matters is to be kind to everyone and if we all do that we can make the world a better place and live our happily ever after life

Question 1 : Cinderella starts the story as a Housemaid to her stepmother and stepsisters while they go and boss her around. But Cinderella stills hopes to go to the ball with the Prince and continues to hope despite being bossed around by her stepmother and stepsisters. Then she eventually does meet her magic fairy after her stepmother denies her request to go to the festival. The Magic fairy dresses her up and takes her to the festival as a princess but tells her to be back before midnight. She forgets about midnight and rushes home while her prince does a kingdom-wide search. He eventually finds Cinderella and buts her magic slipper on and they get married happily ever after.

Question 2 : I think one of the themes of the story is to be hopeful, yet still try. In the story Cinderella is rugged and Dirty and has abusive parental units and sisters who are tormenting her, yet she still hopes and tries to go the the festival. She kept on hoping and eventually she did get to the ball but she didn’t get their without some help and without trying and hoping.

Beautiful story…. My lesson from the story.. Never ever think that we are better than the person who sit next to us…

Cinderella is so nice ?♥️♥️♥️♥️?❤️❤️ The message of the story is that be kind Because you don’t Know your future or what is the blessings of the day ❤️❤️❤️?????

Que 1 Cinderella is good and kind but she’s in a situation where these character traits would not normally flourish. She has to work hard at menial tasks, she’s forced to wear tattered clothing, and she is cut off from a support network and isolated in the attic. She should be miserable and lonely.

Que2 It is often said that some things get better with time, and in the case of Cinderella I would have to agree. Although I know the story and have seen multiple versions numerous times, experiencing the Nashville Children’s Theatre’s version of Cinderella presented me with ideas I had never considered in the context of the story.

Cinderella is hard worker and she deserves a break. Cinderella should marry the prince cause she’s good person. She works hard and takes care of her stepsisters and her stepmother. At the end she finally gets married to the prince and has a happy life .

Helps me to learn things i don’t know and to not do bad things.

I love this story ?? it’s so calming

THIS WAS AMAZING WHO EVER MADE IT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cinderella let her stepsisters be mean to her because if she tried to fight back she would just get yelled at and pushed around even more. Cinderella thought she should go to the ball because all the young women were invited and being a woman she felt that she needed to go.

Cinderella lived with her step mother and stepsisters. She had no where else to go so she did everything they told her to do. She was always a mess and never looked clean like them.

She knew she was beautiful and not a mess. She wanted to look nice for the Prince too.

Cinderella let her stepsisters be mean to her because she had to do their jobs like her stepmother told her to. She was scared of her stepmother. She thought she should go to the ball because the prince said all young ladies should go.

So they could rest.

Because she did not feel she was a mess.

She had no way of stopping her step sister from being mean to her. If she would fight back her step mother would have been more hateful to her. She had to do what they said because she had no where else to go.

All of the women of the village were invited, Cinderella being a woman of the village felt like she should go.

Cinderella let her stepsisters be mean to her because if she would’ve said something then her stepmother would of yelled at her

Cinderella wanted to go to the ball because she thought it would make her happy

Cinderella wanted to go to the ball because it would make her happy but she didn’t want her stepmother to yell at her anymore.

Wow! Thank you! I constantly needed to write on my blog something like that. Can I take a part of your post to my blog?

Because she didn’t think she was a mess. Because she is a nice person and deserves better.

I like this story. There’s magic inside this story

answer 1 : because at last they were family. answer 2: her thoughts were different from the others.

1: she thought she was the maid

2: her step sisters got to go and she wanted to go as well

because she knew they would make life unbearable for her, if she disobeys them.and she needed them even if they were the most annoying people.

1 Cinderella let her half-sisters be wicked and cruel to her because she had asked her mother to be kind and not be cruel to others.

2 She thought if she was alone she would feel lonely, so she let her step-mother and step-sister go to the dance.

It teaches us how to respect people. It is a very touching story and it makes me feel happy anytime i read the story, the place i like most is when the fairy godmother came and transformed her from a tattered girl to a beautiful girl with a blue gown and a band on her hair and a glass shoe.

Cinderella should to the ball because it would make her happy. She did not want her stepmother to yell at her more.

1,Beacause cinderella did not want to be mean to them.

2.Beacause her stepmother and stepsisters went to the ball.

Cinderella let her stepsisters be mean to her because she promised her mother she will never be mean to people Cinderella thinks she should go to the ball because her stepsisters, and stepmom was going and she thought she should go too.

Cinderella let them be mean to her because she promise her mother at she we’ll be kind nice and never be mean to people

I think Cinderella let her step sisters be mean to her because she felt like she had no choice to listen to them

I think Cinderella thought she should go to the ball because she felt like since she lived with them and they were going to the ball she should be included to.

I learned so much from this is to not judge by its own dress or look

Wonderful ?????????

I’m not sure. Cinderella I think just wanted to please other people that she didn’t have time to think about them being mean for her. Cinderella thought she should go to the ball because, if her family got to go then why won’t she be able to?

infact i enjoy it,its lovely

I wish that i could be a cindrella

I very much like this story

wow i wish i was cendarella

lovely story I enjoyed it

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• Book Review: Finding Cinderella by Colleen Hoover

My thoughts about Finding Cinderella by Colleen Hoover

The book synopsis for  Finding Cinderella   by Colleen Hoover

Discussing  Finding Cinderella   by Colleen Hoover

Quotes from  Finding Cinderella by Colleen Hoover

“God, this sucks, man. The only good thing about this entire school since you moved is fifth period.” “What’s fifth period?” Holder asks. “Nothing. They forgot to assign me a class, so I hide out in this maintenance closet every day for an hour.”

Her breath tastes like Starburst and it makes me want to keep kissing her until I can identify every single flavor.

“I am so not a virgin,” she says. “That’s why it’s sad. I’m pretty skilled in the sex department, but looking back . . . I’ve never loved any of them. None of them have ever loved me, either. Sometimes I wonder if sex with someone who actually loves you is different. Better.”

My favorite part about you though is when I catch you staring at me. I love that you don’t look away and you stare unapologetically, like you aren’t ashamed that you can’t stop watching me. It’s all you want to do because you think I’m the most amazing thing you’ve ever laid eyes on. I love how much you love me.”

I’ve been waiting patiently for Six’s flaws to stand out, but so far I can’t find any. Granted, we’ve only interacted with each other for a collective three or four hours now, so hers may just be buried deeper than other people’s.

“Ignore it all. I want to kiss you and I want you to want me to kiss you and I don’t really feel like waiting until I walk you to your porch tonight because I’ve never really wanted to kiss someone this much before.”

“Don’t open your eyes,” I whisper, still staring at her. “Give me ten more seconds to stare, because you look absolutely beautiful right now.”

“We all have deal breakers, Daniel. Some of us just hope we can keep them hidden forever.”

She’s smiling when I look at her again. “Oh, there are definitely expectations,” she says teasingly. “I expect this to be the most mind-blowing thing I’ve ever experienced, so you better deliver.”

“I have no interest in faking disinterest,” I say. “If you want to call yourself my girlfriend half as much as I wish you would, then it would save me a whole lot of begging. Because I was literally about to drop to my knees and beg you.”

“Are you a witch?” I ask. Her laugh returns and I suddenly don’t care if she’s a witch. If this is some kind of spell she’s put on me, I hope it never breaks.

That’s exactly what this feels like. Like she’s a drug I’ve become immediately addicted to, but I have none in supply. The only thing that satiates the craving is her laugh. Or her smile or her kiss or the feel of her pressed against me.

“I thought your window was out of commission.” “Only to people with penises.” I laugh. “What if I told you I didn’t have a penis?” She glances at me. “I would probably rejoice. My experiences with people who have penises never end well.”

She shoves my chest. “Stop! Stop saying things that make me grin like an idiot. My face has been hurting since the second I met you.”

“For real,” I say. “You’re my best friend and I love you. I’m not ashamed to admit that I love a guy. I love you, Holder. Daniel Wesley loves Dean Holder. Always and forever.”

Whatever this is between us, neither one of us was searching for it. Neither one of us knew it even existed. Neither one of us is even remotely prepared for it, but I know we both want it. She wants this to work with me as much as I want it to work with her and seeing the look in her eyes right now makes me believe that it will. I’ve never believed in anything like I believe in the possibility of the two of us.

Where to find   Finding Cinderella   by Colleen Hoover  online:

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Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah - review

This book is one of the most inspiring books I have ever read. It really shows that you can do anything you set your mind to. It's a true story of the author's childhood where she was hated and despised by her family because she is believed to be the cause of her mothers death. Despite this she is an extremely intelligent girl trying exceedingly hard at school, desperate to prove her worth.

She goes through a series of highs and lows; from being abandoned to being deeply congratulated by her aunt, but somehow she overcomes the odds and later publishes this book of her childhood which is now a Puffin classic.

At the end of the book I felt so moved by her courage and determination I was almost in tears! I well and truly hated her stepmother for the hardship she forced upon Adeline and her father for not caring.

I also learnt a lot about Chinese culture - I never knew children could be treated this way or that a child could be hated and unloved by her parents for almost no reason at all. I felt as though I was really there beside Adeline experiencing the terrible thrashes of her stepmother or the sneering remarks from her brothers.

If you do read this book prepare for a terrible childhood where there is little hope and a lot of courage, a girl who was determined to prove her worth and the cruelest stepmother you have ever known. I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone over the age of nine.

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Cinderella has survived a lot over the years, first the wicked stepmother and the midnight curfew and then hundreds of versions and adaptations in books, on television, and in film, undertaken by just about everyone, including Walt Disney , Julie Andrews , Jerry Lewis , Drew Barrymore , Anne Hathaway , and Rodgers and Hammerstein. She is going to survive this tricked-up version, too, a mish-mash of relentless air quotes and sensory overload that wants to grab you by the shoulders and shout—no, sing—"BE ENTERTAINED." And sometimes we are. But it is less a movie than a string of TikTok clips and it made my eyes spin like pinwheels.

In fairness, my five-year-old cousin will love it. It helps a lot that the Cinderella story is a classic for a reason. The essence of this tale, about the mistreated but pure-hearted girl who gets the ultimate makeover and the classic fairy tale happily ever after ending appears in many cultures going back as far as recorded history. There are moments in this film where that imperishable story shines through, despite all efforts to clutter it up with snippets of pop songs and winks at the audience.

Each generation brings its own perspective to the Cinderella story. Recent versions focused on more diversity (the Brandy/ Whitney Houston version), more agency (" Ever After "), or at least a better explanation for her obedience (" Ella Enchanted "). In this version, Cinderella (singer Camila Cabello ) has big dreams of being a fashion designer and supporting herself so that she no longer has to live in her stepmother's basement. It also tries to give the stepmother ( Idina Menzel ) some understanding of the reason for her cruelty and tones down the mean girl element of the two step-sisters. 

But the screenplay by writer/director Kay Cannon (" Pitch Perfect ") overcorrects "Cinderella" and leaves the storyline unbalanced. It's possible to give the title character more aspirations, independence, and humor without dulling down everyone around her. But attributes are handed out here, one to a character, a challenge even the talented cast cannot overcome: the king ( Pierce Brosnan ) is dictatorial, the queen ( Minnie Driver ) is frustrated, the princess ( Tallulah Greive ) studies public policy, and the fairy god-person ( Billy Porter as Fab G) is flamboyant. Prince Robert ( Nicholas Galitzine ) barely has any attributes at all other than being handsome, singing nicely, and being crazy about Cinderella. It's supposed to be a running joke that he is referred to as "The King's Idiot Son." But it's kind of not wrong. Okay, maybe not an idiot, but kind of a spoiled slacker who is clear on what he's not interested in but not so clear on what he might be interested in. 

Audiences may not notice all of that, though, because there's a lot going on, and most of it is very tuneful and colorful with some big, bright dance numbers. Hence the prediction about the five-year-old, and, I have to admit, the five-year-old that lives in all of us. The movie begins with a spirited opening number showing the villagers dancing to ... "Rhythm Nation." Yes, Janet Jackson's version of a new national anthem, calling for social justice, is just the thing for a vaguely 18th or 19th century village to sing as they get ready for the day. On the other hand, it's undeniably peppy and energetic, with lots of popular songs from the era of Gen Z's parents and grandparents, like "What a Man," "Shining Star," and "Seven Nation Army." But Queen's "Somebody to Love" is an unfortunate reminder that it was used better in "Ella Enchanted."

The musical numbers are much better than the dialogue, which is cutesy. Not once, but twice, we hear that the prince "still gets spanked on the tush-tush." Even Porter's snap cannot save his lines about the glass slippers not being comfortable.

Musical characters like to introduce themselves with an "I Want" song, and so we meet Cinderella, in her basement workshop, saving a caterpillar from a spider web and singing "You Gotta Be" by Des'ree. So, what does she want? To be bold, tough, wiser, and better, and for love to save the day. She is sweet, she is optimistic, and she is loved by mice, one of them voiced by producer James Corden . This is yet another reminder that one reason the producer should not be in the movie is that producers are not the best judge of whether they add value to the movie. 

The frenetic silliness and uneven tone are unfortunate distractions from the genuine pleasures of the film, including Cabello's appealing performance as Cinderella, and the creative and energetic musical numbers. This Cinderella story should have asked Fab G for a make-under.

On Amazon Prime today.

Nell Minow is the Contributing Editor at RogerEbert.com.

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Cinderella (2021)

Rated PG for suggestive material and language.

113 minutes

Camila Cabello as Cinderella

Nicholas Galitzine as Prince Robert

Billy Porter as Fairy Godfother

Idina Menzel as Evelyn / Stepmother

Pierce Brosnan as The King

Maddie Baillio as Stepsister

Charlotte Spencer as Stepsister

Minnie Driver as Queen Beatrice

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Heidi Dischler

Book review: finding cinderella by colleen hoover.

Today, I’m going to review Finding Cinderella by Colleen Hoover for you guys. I’m usually not a fan of novellas, but this one was just so  freaking  adorable. You won’t regret it if you’ve read  Hopeless and want a little more from the characters in that book. 

Book Information

In this novella from the world of  Hopeless , Daniel finds the girl of his dreams. There’s only one problem, though. He doesn’t know who she is. After a chance encounter in the janitor’s closet with no lights, Daniel thinks he would be able to recognize his Cinderella anywhere. However, when Six comes back from Italy and she and Daniel meet, Daniel thinks he’s found his girl, but it’s a lot more complicated than it seems. 

Review | Heidi Dischler

Let me start out with this: Daniel is an… interesting character. He is goofy, definitely there for comedic relief in  Hopeless,  and, to be completely honest, not a character who you could see falling in love. It was so adorable, though, seeing his personality in all its wonders as he found someone who fit well with him romantically. 

This is definitely one of those books that you pick up and finish in a few hours. It was a quick read for me and I found it so much more enjoyable than  Losing Hope (mainly because you get a whole new storyline instead of the exact thing you had read before). Daniel was definitely an interesting enough character to propel the book forward, and after all the reveals happened, this book became even more intriguing. 

Overall, this short novella by Colleen Hoover will give you all the feels (as CoHo normally does), and you won’t be left disappointed. You’ll be even more elated after reading  Finding Perfect , the next novella (and last) in this series. That one… that one stole my heart. 

Source: Personal Copy

“Because it feels like her air just became my air and I suddenly want to take in fewer breaths in order to ensure she never runs out.”

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Book list: Cinderella retellings

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Another week, another list. Following on our lists of Robin Hood retellings , YA books about mermaids , and Kate Forsyths curated list of Rapunzel retellings , I thought Id hunt down some of the myriad Cinderella retellings out there. Im always surprised by how popular this story is, as I think its one of the more problematic fairy tales aroundbut this mix of traditional and progressive retellings of this particular story will hopefully offer some food for thought.

As always, feel free to add your suggestions in the comments below!

(All blurbs taken from Amazon)

Godmother by Carolyn Turgeon

Lil is an old woman who spends her days shelving rare books in a tiny Manhattan bookstore and lonely nights at home in her apartment. But Lil has an intriguing secret. Tucked and bound behind her back are white feathery wings'the only key to who she once was: the fairy godmother responsible for getting Cinderella to the ball to unite with her Prince Charming. But on that fateful night, something went terribly and beautifully wrong. Lil allowed herself the unthinkable: to feel the emotions of human beings and fall in love with the prince herself, going to the ball in place of Cinderella in her exquisitely gorgeous human guise. For her unforgivable mistake, she was banished to live among humans, far from her fairy sisters and their magical underwater world. But then one day she meets Veronica'a young, fair-skinned, flame-haired East Village beauty with a love of all things vintage and a penchant for falling in love with the wrong men'and suddenly it becomes clear to Lil that she's been given a chance at redemption. If she can find a soul mate for Veronica, she may right her wrong and return to the fairy world she so deeply longs for. . . .

Before Midnight by Cameron Dokey

Etienne de Brabant is brokenhearted. His wife has died in childbirth, leaving him alone with an infant daughter he cannot bear to name. But before he abandons her for king and court, he brings a second child to be raised alongside her, a boy whose identity he does not reveal.'The girl, La Cendrillon, and the boy, Raoul, pass sixteen years in the servants care until one day a very fine lady arrives with her two daughters. The lady has married La Cendrillons father, and her arrival changes their lives.'When an invitation to a great ball reaches the family, La Cendrillons new stepmother will make a decision with far-reaching effects. Her choice will lead La Cendrillon and Raoul toward their destiny a choice that will challenge their understanding of family, test their loyalty and courage, and, ultimately, teach them who they are.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth's fate hinges on one girl. . . .'Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She's a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world's future.

Princess of Glass by Jessica Day George

Hoping to escape the troubles in her kingdom, Princess Poppy reluctantly agrees to take part in a royal exchange program. She travels abroad hoping to find better political alliances and perhaps a marriage. But thanks to a vengeful fairy, Poppys happily ever after gets complicated.

Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire

We all have heard the story of Cinderella, the beautiful child cast out to slave among the ashes. But what of her stepsisters, the homely pair exiled into ignominy by the fame of their lovely sibling? What fate befell those untouched by beauty . . . and what curses accompanied Cinderellas exquisite looks?'Set against the rich backdrop of seventeenth-century Holland,' Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister 'tells the story of Iris, an unlikely heroine who finds herself swept from the lowly streets of Haarlem to a strange world of wealth, artifice, and ambition. Iriss path quickly becomes intertwined with that of Clara, the mysterious and unnaturally beautiful girl destined to become her sister.'While Clara retreats to the cinders of the family hearth, burning all memories of her past, Iris seeks out the shadowy secrets of her new householdand the treacherous truth of her former life.

Silver Woven in my Hair by Shirley Rousseau Murphy

A medieval sixteen-year-old girl who still believes in magic is helped by an old monk and a young goatherd to escape her dismal life reminiscent of Cinderellas.

Cinder and Ella by Melissa Lemon

After her fathers disappearance, Cinder leaves home for a servant job at the castle. But it isn t long before her sister Ella is brought to the castle herself. What Ella finds there starts a quest that will change her life and the entire kingdom. With a supernatural twist on this beloved fairytale, its a must read youll never forget.

Ash by Malinda Lo

In the wake of her fathers death, Ash is left at the mercy of her cruel stepmother. Consumed with grief, her only joy comes by the light of the dying hearth fire, rereading the fairy tales her mother once told her. In her dreams, someday the fairies will steal her away, as they are said to do. When she meets the dark and dangerous fairy Sidhean, she believes that her wish may be granted.'The day that Ash meets Kaisa, the Kings Huntress, her heart begins to change. Instead of chasing fairies, Ash learns to hunt with Kaisa. Though their friendship is as delicate as a new bloom, it reawakens Ashs capacity for love-and her desire to live. But Sidhean has already claimed Ash for his own, and she must make a choice between fairy tale dreams and true love. Entrancing, empowering, and romantic,' Ash 'is about the connection between life and love, and solitude and death, where transformation can come from even the deepest grief.

Moonlight and Ashes by Sophie Masson

The story of Cinderella as youve never heard it before A girl whose fortunes have plummeted from wealthy aristocrat to servant-girl. A magic hazel twig. A prince. A desperate escape from danger. This is not the story of a girl whose fairy godmother arranges her future for her. This is the story of Selena, who will take charge of her own destiny, and learn that her magic is not to be feared but celebrated. Pure fairytale with all the romance, magic and adventure that goes along with it.

Cinders by Michelle Davidson Argyle

We all know that money cant buy love, but in' Cinders 'we learn magic isnt a sure bet either. Cinderella now officially a princess finds royal life is not what she once dreamed. Pretty clothes, fancy meals, and fabulous balls cant make up for a life restricted, and she is denied the simple pleasures she used to take for granted. When a figure from her past stirs up a long-suppressed passion, Cinderella begins to wonder if there really is love under the spell that earned her husbands heart. But undoing magic can be harder than casting the initial spell, and the results are less predictable.

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

In this novel based on the story of Cinderella, Ella struggles against the childhood curse that forces her to obey any order given to her.

Phoenix and Ashes by Mercedes Lackey

In this dark and atmospheric rendition of the Cinderella fairy tale, an intelligent young Englishwoman is made into a virtual slave by her evil stepmother. Her only hope of rescue comes in the shape of a scarred World War I pilot of noble blood, whose own powers over the elements are about to be needed more than ever.

Charming the Prince by Teresa Medeiros

My enemies know me as Lord Bannor the Bold, Pride of the English and Terror of the French. Never in my life have I backed down from any challenge or betrayed so much as a hint of fear'until the war ended and I found myself a reluctant papa to a dozen unruly children.'Realising that I couldnt lop their little heads off or throw them in the dungeon, I sent my steward out to find them a mother and me a bride'an attractive, meek, maternal creature too plain to tempt me to get her with child. You can imagine my horror when he returned with Lady Willow of Bedlington, a spirited beauty who made me think of nothing else! With her cloud of dark curls and the sparkle of passion in her eyes, Willow was everything Id sworn to resist. I never dreamed she would join forces with those mischievous imps of mine to teach this cynical warrior just how sweet surrender can be.

Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Youve heard the fairytale: a glass slipper, Prince Charming, happily ever afterWelcome to reality: royal genealogy lessons, needlepoint, acting like a proper lady, and worst of all a prince who is not the least bit interesting, and certainly not charming.'As soon-to-be princess Ella deals with her newfound status, she comes to realise she is not your majesty material. But breaking off a royal engagement is no easy feat, especially when youre crushing on another boy in the palace. For Ella to escape, it will take intelligence, determination, and spunk and no ladylike behavior allowed.

The Stepsister Scheme by Jim Hines

What would happen if an author went back to the darker themes of the original fairy tales for his plots, and then crossed the Disney princesses with Charlies Angels?

Cindy Ella by Robin Palmer

Prom fever has infected LA'especially Cindy's two annoying stepsisters, and her overly Botoxed stepmother. Cindy seems to be the only one immune to it all. But her anti-prom letter in the school newspaper does more to turn Cindy into Queen of the Freaks than close the gap between the popular kids and the rest of the students. Everyone thinks she's committed social suicide, except for her two best friends, the yoga goddess India and John Hughes'worshipping Malcolm, and shockingly, the most popular senior at Castle Heights High and Cindy's crush, Adam Silver. Suddenly Cindy starts to think that maybe her social life could have a happily ever after. But there's still the rest of the school to deal with. With a little bit of help from an unexpected source and a fabulous pair of heels, Cindy realises that she still has a chance at a happily ever after.

Shadows on the Moon by Zoe Marriott

Trained in the magical art of shadow-weaving, 16-year-old Suzume is able to re-create herself in any forma fabulous gift for a girl desperate to escape her past. But who is she really? Is she a girl of noble birth living under the tyranny of her mothers new husband, Lord Terayama? Or a lowly drudge scraping a living in the ashes of Terayamas kitchens?

The Ash Girl by Timberlake Wertenbaker

With her mother dead and her father away, the Ash Girl lives huddled deep in the protection of the ashes with her stepmother and two stepsisters. When an invitation to the Ball, addressed to all the daughters of the house, arrives from Prince Amir, Ashie cant believe that she can go too.

If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where is my Prince? by Melissa Kantor

Wicked stepmother?' Check . Evil stepsisters?' Check . Miserable life?' Check .'Lucy Norton's life has all the makings of a Cinderella story. Her dad's always away on business, leaving Lucy with her cruel stepmother and bratty stepsisters. She's burdened with chores, and has a hard time fitting in at her new school. So when she sees Connor Pearson, the star player on the varsity basketball team, Lucy hopes her destiny has finally changed. With everything else going on in her life, doesn't she at least deserve to get the handsome prince?

Bound 'by Donna Jo Napoli

Young Xing Xing is bound. Bound to her late fathers second wife and daughter. Bound to a life of servitude as a young girl in ancient China, where a woman is valued less than livestock. Bound to be alone, with no parents to arrange for a suitable husband. Xing Xing spends her days taking care of her half sister, Wei Ping, who cannot walk because of her foot bindings, the painful tradition for girls who are fit to be married. Even so, Xing Xing is content to practice her gift for poetry and calligraphy, and to dream of a life unbound by the laws of family and society. But all of this is about to change as Stepmother, who has spent nearly all of the familys money, grows desperate to find a husband for Wei Ping. Xing Xing soon realizes that this greed and desperation may threaten not only her memories of the past, but also her dreams for the future.

The Rough-Face Girl by Rafe Martin

From the Algonquin Indians comes an unusual and touching version of the Cinderella story. In their village lives an invisible being whom all the young women want to marry, because it is said that he is powerful and handsome. But only the rough-face girl, burned and scarred from tending the fires, has the vision to see him in every part of the natural world.

The Coachman Rat 'by David Henry Wilson

The fate of a young rat magically transformed for one brief night into a coachman takes on the air of heroic tragedy in this retelling (from a different point of view) of one of childhoods most famous fairytales. Set in a Europe on the verge of enlightenment, Wilsons somber portrayal of a creature trapped halfway between his animal origins and his new human awareness explores the shadowy aftermath of the phrase and they lived happily ever after.

Bella at Midnight by Diane Stanley

Bella has grown up thinking that she was just a simple peasant girl. But suddenly, Bellas world collapses. First, her best friend, Julian, betrays her. Then she finds out that she is, in fact, Isabel, the daughter of a knight who abandoned her in infancy. And now he wants her back. Bella is torn from her beloved foster family and tries to accept her new life with her deranged father and his resentful wife. But when she finds out about a terrible plot that threatens the kingdom, she sets out on a journey that will lead her to a destiny far greater than she could have imagined.

The Cinderella Deal by Jennifer Crusie

Daisy Flattery is a free spirit with a soft spot for strays and a weakness for a good story. Why else would she agree to the outrageous charade offered by her buttoned-down workaholic neighbor, Linc Blaise? The history professor needs to have a fiancee in order to capture his dream job, and Daisy is game to play the role. But something funny happens on their way to the altar that changes everything. Now, with the midnight hour approaching, will Daisy lose her prince, or will opposites not only attract but live happily ever after?

Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah

A Chinese proverb says, Falling leaves return to their roots. In' Chinese Cinderella , Adeline Yen Mah returns to her roots to tell the story of her painful childhood and her ultimate triumph and courage in the face of despair. Adelines affluent, powerful family considers her bad luck after her mother dies giving birth to her. Life does not get any easier when her father remarries. She and her siblings are subjected to the disdain of her stepmother, while her stepbrother and stepsister are spoiled. Although Adeline wins prizes at school, they are not enough to compensate for what she really yearns for the love and understanding of her family.

Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love by Chris Roberson

When supernatural artifacts from the Homelands surface in the modern world, it falls to Cinderella, Fabletowns best kept secret agent, to stop the illegal trafficking. But can Cindy foil the dark plot before Fabletown and its hidden, exiled inhabitants are exposed once and for all?

If the Slipper Fits by Olivia Drake

Raised in a girls' school, Annabelle Quinn longs for the world outside the walls of the academy.'When she's hired as the governess to an orphaned duke, Annabelle never expects the child's breathtakingly handsome guardian to capture her imagination ' or her heart.'Falling for his young nephew's governess is an irksome complication in Lord Simon Westbury's orderly life, but Annabelle's quiet beauty and wry intellect are too much to resist. Meanwhile, a mysterious danger looms over the remote'Cornwall'estate.'Will their newfound desire stand the test of time?'Or are some happy endings just too good to come true?

Cinderella, Ninja Warrior by Mauren McGowan

In this fast-paced story full of adventure and romance, Cinderella is more than just a servant girl waiting for her prince'shes a tough, fearless girl who is capable of taking charge of a dangerous situation. Seeking to escape the clutches of her evil stepmother, Cinderella perfects her ninja skills and magic talents in secret, waiting for the day when she can break free and live happily ever after.

Cinderellas Not So Ugly Sister by Claire Pyatt

Written in the form of a diary kept by Cinderellas step-sister, Mildred, the plot thickens as she tries to thwart her familys plans to ruin Cinderellas wedding day. With the help of her friend, Bo Peep and the rather handsome Josh, one of the Kings Men, Mildred embarks on a race against time to save the day.

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11 comments.

I love Cinderella though havent really read a re-telling which I loved strangely, I havent read any of the above! Whats going on? Maybe I dont love Cinderella as much as I thought I did or more likey, Id like to preserve what I think Cinderella should be, ha ha ha I do have Cinder (Meyer) at home to read but will have to look out for the others.

The only 2 Ive read which I remember right now are: The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey (not a strict re-telling but a twisted one ;) ) Cinderella: Ninja Warrior by Maureen McGowan (A Choose your own adventure with kick-ass Cinderella!) My review from last year is here: http://tiensblurb.wordpress.com/2011/01/21/cinderella-ninja-warrior-twisted-tales-1-by-maureen-mcgowan/

Thanks so much for the recommendations, Tien! Ill update the post with them. :)

I havent read many traditional Cinderella retellings at all, although Ive read plenty of rags to riches style books. Cinderellas always grated on me a little bit because I find it just a wee bit anti-feminist!

Aww not even when you were little? I remembered clearly my fave Cinderella book from way back when (I had more than one, ha ha ha).

In that case, I think then that you just may enjoy Cinderella: Ninja Warrior LOL.

Hmm, I cant really remember, but I was a massive tomboy as a kid, and refused to read anything girly. I remember pooh-poohing Anne of Green Gables (now one of my favourite books) because it had a wimpy title! :)

LOL! Im a bit embarassed to admit, now, that I was a bit of a princess :p

Love Anne of Green Gables! I remembered introducing the movie to my girlfiends in my early 20s and now, Im forever remembered for shedding many tears for it -*well, it was very touching!*

Oh, I LOVE this post! Ella Enchanted is one of my favourite books since it holds a special place for me. Ive read one or two others on this list but may check out the others. Yay for fairytale retellings!

So glad you enjoyed it, Elena. :) I hope you enjoy the ones you end up picking up!

I didnt realise there was so many

Im sure theres a whole slew I havent even touched on hereprobably a good many romance novels would count!

Saw this review by Sue Bursztynski the other day on Moonlight and Ashes by Sophie Masson and reminds me of your list. Another one to add by a lovely Aussie author :D Heres the link to the review: http://suebursztynski.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/moonlight-and-ashes-by-sophie-masson.html?utm_source=feedburnerutm_medium=emailutm_campaign=Feed:+TheGreatRaven+(The+Great+Raven)

Wonderful! Thanks so much for that, Tien :)

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4 New Horror Books Spiked With Dread and Profound Unease

Our columnist reviews this month’s haunting new releases.

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By Gabino Iglesias

Gabino Iglesias is a writer, editor, literary critic and professor. He is the Bram Stoker and Shirley Jackson award-winning author of “The Devil Takes You Home.”

Simone St. James is known for brilliantly mixing thriller elements with supernatural mayhem, and MURDER ROAD (Berkley, 342 pp., $29) , her most recent novel, offers readers plenty of both.

During the summer of 1995, April and Eddie are on their way to a resort for their honeymoon when a wrong turn sends them down a dark road in the middle of the night. The newlyweds pick up a hitchhiker, and then realize the young woman is bleeding. April and Eddie take the woman to a hospital, but she dies.

The couple soon learn the hitchhiker is just one of many who’ve met their demise on Atticus Line. The road, according to locals, is haunted by a ghost known as the Lost Girl, “a stupid legend,” who has allegedly been killing people for decades. Under pressure because of the unsolved murders, the police unsuccessfully try to pin the killing on the couple, and after they are cleared of any wrongdoing, April and Eddie stick around and try to get to the bottom of things. But the newlyweds have their own dark past, and as it catches up to them, so does the darkness that haunts Atticus Line.

Fast, chilling, entertaining, unexpectedly touching, and with two broken, memorable characters at its core, this might be St. James’s best novel yet.

Argentina’s new wave of horror fiction is quickly finding an international audience, and in the process, has introduced the world to literary giants like Mariana Enríquez and Samanta Schweblin. Now, Marina Yuszczuk joins that list of Argentine horror stars with THIRST (Dutton, 241 pp., $28) .

The book, which is translated by Heather Cleary, is a unique vampire novel full of eroticism and feminist rage. The story takes place in two different periods. First we follow a female vampire escaping persecution, making her way across Europe over the centuries and finally landing in Buenos Aires, where she experiences the city’s early days as well as the yellow fever pandemics of the late 1800s. Eventually, she’s forced to go into hiding in a cemetery. The second part of the book follows a divorced mother who’s dealing with her own mother’s declining health and who receives a strange old photo from an ailing woman that links her to the vampire.

This gripping tale is full of queer representation and lush, lyrical passages, all while exploring death with an air of nihilism. “We’re all standing at death’s door,” Yuszczuk writes. “Someone has to be next in line.” Vampires are making a comeback, and Yuszczuk is spearheading their revival with this bloody novel.

In addition to scaring readers, the tales in THROUGH THE NIGHT LIKE A SNAKE: Latin American Horror Stories (Two Lines Press/Calico, 228 pp., paperback, $16.95) are meant to elicit a profound sense of unease, and they pull it off with flying colors.

The anthology collects 10 stories from some of Latin America’s best purveyors of what the editor Sarah Coolidge calls “narrativa de lo inusual” — narrative of the unusual. In Mariana Enriquez’s “That Summer in the Dark,” translated by Megan McDowell, two young friends become obsessed with serial killers and then must confront the reality of a murderer in their own building. Maximiliano Barrientos’s “The Third Transformation,” translated by Tim Gutteridge, is a superb body horror nightmare full of mystery and also breathing meat flowers with teeth. Julián Isaza’s “Visitor,” translated by Joel Streicker, is the funniest story in the collection, and perhaps the one with the greatest twist. It follows an elderly woman who rescues an alien and develops a symbiotic relationship with it that leads to murder.

These stories — relentlessly unsettling as they are — serve as a fantastic introduction to a growing movement that’s bound to enrich, and help diversify, speculative fiction for years to come.

STITCHES (Viz Media, 112 pp., $18) combines the art of Junji Ito, perhaps the world’s most renowned mangaka, with the brief, punchy short stories of Hirokatsu Kihara, translated by Jocelyne Allen, to craft a delectable collection of illustrated scary stories.

Nine very short tales (more horrific morsels than full stories) make up this book, and they all share some cohesive elements: They open with a blunt opening line like “This happened when M was in elementary school,” followed by a supernatural event and then a surprising twist.

Ito and Kihara fully embrace horror in these tiny tales. In “Face,” a woman sprouts a small face on the back of her neck that must be removed by a priest. “Library” is about the ghost of a young girl who haunts a school library. “The Play” tells of a special staging of “Pinocchio” in which an otherworldly presence insists on participating. “Folk Dance” and “The Kimono” are opposite sides of the same coin: In the former, a photographer fails to capture an image of a dancing specter; in the latter, a friendly, playful ghost shows up in a family picture.

Ito, whose classics like “Uzumaki” and “Tomie” are horror staples, is a master at creating creepy details and expressive faces that help carry Kihara’s succinct terrors. Together, the two masters create their own brand of dark magic.

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Book Review: Short story anthology ‘The Black Girl Survives in This One’ challenges the horror canon

This cover image released by Flatiron shows “The Black Girl Survives in This One” horror stories edited by Desiree S. Evans and Saraciea J. Fennell. (Flatiron via AP)

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Ahh, the Final Girl — a point of pride, a point of contention. Too often, the white, virginal, Western ideal. But not this time.

“The Black Girl Survives in This One,” a short story anthology edited by Saraciea J. Fennell and Desiree S. Evans, is changing the literary horror canon. As self-proclaimed fans of “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” and “Goosebumps,” the editors have upped the ante with a new collection spotlighting Black women and girls, defying the old tropes that would box Black people in as support characters or victims.

The 15 stories are introduced with an excellent forward by Tananarive Due laying out the groundwork with a brief history of Black women in horror films and literature, and of her own experiences. She argues with an infallible persuasiveness that survival is the thread that connects Black women and the genre that has largely shunned them for so long.

These are the kind of stories that stick with you long after you’ve read them.

“Queeniums for Greenium!” by Brittney Morris features a cult-ish smoothie MLM with a deadly level of blind faith that had my heart pounding and my eyes watering with laughter at intervals. And “The Skittering Thing” by Monica Brashears captures the sheer panic of being hunted in the dark, with some quirky twists.

Many of the stories are set in the most terrifying real-life place there is: high school. As such, there are teen crushes and romance aplenty, as well as timely slang that’s probably already outdated.

Honestly, this was one of the best parts: seeing 15 different authors’ takes on a late-teens Black girl. How does she wear her hair, who are her friends, is she religious, where does she live, does she like boys or girls or no one at all? Is she a bratty teen or a goody-two-shoes or a bookworm or just doing her best to get through it? Each protagonist is totally unique and the overall cast of both characters and writers diverse.

And even though we know the Black girl survives, the end is still a shock, because the real question is how.

The anthology has something for everyone, from a classic zombie horror in “Cemetery Dance Party” by Saraciea J. Fennell to a spooky twist on Afrofuturism in “Welcome Back to The Cosmos” by Kortney Nash. Two of the stories have major “Get Out” vibes that fans of Jordan Peele will appreciate (“Black Girl Nature Group” by Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite and “Foxhunt” by Charlotte Nicole Davies). If your flavor is throwbacks and cryptids, Justina Ireland’s “Black Pride” has you covered. Or if you like slow-burn psychological thrillers and smart protagonists, “TMI” by Zakiya Delila Harris.

Overall, it’s a bit long and the anthology could stand to drop a couple of the weaker stories. But it’s well worth adding to any scary book collection, and horror fans are sure to find some new favorites.

AP book reviews: https://apnews.com/hub/book-reviews