A clever and spirited twist on a classic tale.
Cinderella is a liar.
In this fairy-tale retelling, Prince Bayard D’Harcourt of Holbein arrives at the door of Ellain DeBrun, places the glass slipper on her foot, and whisks her away from her cruel stepfamily. Ell doesn’t confess that she didn't attend the ball and has never met the prince. Their engagement is announced—she’s to wed Bayard in just three days. At court, lonely Ell makes friends for the first time since her father’s death, but she faces new dangers. Duke Maxim D’Arcy, Bayard’s best friend, knows about Ell’s lie, but he can’t expose her without risking his own secrets. The ill-tempered King Alaric is waging war on Fairyland, burdening the peasants with its costs. He also despises his son, regarding him as cowardly and spineless and speaking scornfully about Bayard’s inability to recognize people’s faces (his prosopagnosia isn’t named as such in the book). Meanwhile, Ell’s stepfamily still seeks to destroy her, and Maxim quietly plots to prevent the marriage. With war threatening Holbein and her position precarious, Ell must save herself and the kingdom. In this version of the story, Ell is spirited and has a strong sense of self-preservation. Her abusive past makes her deeply empathetic toward the commoners. Quick-thinking, kind, and resilient, she will earn readers’ affection as she carves out her own path for survival, offering “Cinderella” a much-needed 21st-century update. Main characters present white.
A clever and spirited twist on a classic tale. (note to readers) (Fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: Jan. 14, 2025
ISBN: 9798890039675
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Page Street
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
