Jana here, with a fun blog post with publication dates spanning from the ‘90s to 2021! (Anyone still trying to fill that 90s bestseller PopSugar prompt?)
Do you like retellings? If so, do you have a favorite story? I have never met a Cinderella retelling that I didn’t like, but I love a lot of retellings. I have a little something for everyone – from middle grade to adult readers, fantasy, sci -fi, or contemporary!
All blurbs are from the publisher. Opinions are mine!
If the Shoe Fits, Julie Murphy
Contemporary, publication July 2021
After having just graduated with a degree in shoe design, and trying to get her feet on the ground, Cindy is working for her stepmother, who happens to be the executive producer of America’s favorite reality show, Before Midnight. When a spot on the show needs filling ASAP, Cindy volunteers, hoping it might help jump-start her fashion career, or at least give her something to do while her peers land jobs in the world of high fashion.
Turns out being the only plus size woman on a reality dating competition makes a splash, and soon Cindy becomes a body positivity icon for women everywhere. What she doesn’t expect? That she may just find inspiration-and love-in the process. Ultimately, Cindy learns that if the shoe doesn’t fit, maybe it’s time to design your own.
Ok – I have finally fallen in love with reality TV during the pandemic. Like, fully watched all of Katie’s season of The Bachelorette, and am now watching Bachelor in Paradise. So, a book that combines reality TV, body positivity, AND Cinderella? Count me all the way in.
Cinderella is Dead
YA fantasy, July 2020
If Julie Murphy sounds a little too sugary-sweet for you, how about a dark fantasy?
It’s 200 years after Cinderella found her prince, but the fairy tale is over. Teen girls are now required to appear at the Annual Ball, where the men of the kingdom select wives based on a girl’s display of finery. If a suitable match is not found, the girls not chosen are never heard from again.
Sixteen-year-old Sophia would much rather marry Erin, her childhood best friend, than parade in front of suitors. At the ball, Sophia makes the desperate decision to flee, and finds herself hiding in Cinderella’s mausoleum. There, she meets Constance, the last known descendant of Cinderella and her step sisters. Together they vow to bring down the king once and for all–and in the process, they learn that there’s more to Cinderella’s story than they ever knew . . .
This fresh take on a classic story will make readers question the tales they’ve been told, and root for girls to break down the constructs of the world around them.
Cinder, Marissa Meyer
YA sci-fi, 2012
With over 700,000 ratings on Goodreads and almost a decade on the shelves, you’ve probably heard of this one. But maybe not. And if you haven’t, please let me tell you about my absolute love for Marissa Meyer. She is able to weave humor, romance, and a plot that keeps you at the edge of your seat with all of her books. I am in love with all of her characters. (And cannot wait for Gilded in November!!)
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.
Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, Gregory Maguire
Adult fantasy, villain POV, published 1999
Maguire is well known for Wicked, his retelling of the Wizard of Oz from Elphaba’s perspective. Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister was published four years after Wicked, and in my opinion is even more entertaining. (But it could be my obsession with Cinderella talking.)
We have all 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 Cinderella’s looks?
Set against the 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. Iris’s 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, Iris seeks out the shadowy secrets of her new household — and the treacherous truth of her former life.
An Offer From a Gentleman, Julia Quinn
Regency romance, published 2001
Anyone else get obsessed with the Bridgertons this year? I watched the Netflix show four times before I decided to move on and read the books. If I’m being completely honest, I did not love the first two, but I did love this one! You do not need to read them in order, but the characters do turn up on occasion in later books, so it’s fun if you do.
Will she accept his offer before the clock strikes midnight?
Sophie Beckett never dreamed she’d be able to sneak into Lady Bridgerton’s famed masquerade ball—or that “Prince Charming” would be waiting there for her! Though the daughter of an earl, Sophie has been relegated to the role of servant by her disdainful stepmother. But now, spinning in the strong arms of the debonair and devastatingly handsome Benedict Bridgerton, she feels like royalty. Alas, she knows all enchantments must end when the clock strikes midnight.
Who was that extraordinary woman? Ever since that magical night, a radiant vision in silver has blinded Benedict to the attractions of any other—except, perhaps this alluring and oddly familiar beauty dressed in housemaid’s garb whom he feels compelled to rescue from a most disagreeable situation. He has sworn to find and wed his mystery miss, but this breathtaking maid makes him weak with wanting her. Yet, if he offers his heart, will Benedict sacrifice his only chance for a fairy tale love?
Ella Enchanted
Middle grade fantasy, published 1998
When people say the book was better than the movie, they are talking about this book and this movie specifically. If you are a middle grade reader or know one, this book is a must read. I’ve read it at least a dozen times.
At birth, Ella is inadvertently cursed by an imprudent young fairy named Lucinda, who bestows on her the “gift” of obedience. Anything anyone tells her to do, Ella must obey. Another girl might have been cowed by this affliction, but not feisty Ella: “Instead of making me docile, Lucinda’s curse made a rebel of me. Or perhaps I was that way naturally.” When her beloved mother dies, leaving her in the care of a mostly absent and avaricious father, and later, a loathsome stepmother and two treacherous stepsisters, Ella’s life and well-being seem to be in grave peril. But her intelligence and saucy nature keep her in good stead as she sets out on a quest for freedom and self-discovery as she tries to track down Lucinda to undo the curse, fending off ogres, befriending elves, and falling in love with a prince along the way. Yes, there is a pumpkin coach, a glass slipper, and a happily ever after, but this is the most remarkable, delightful, and profound version of Cinderella you’ll ever read.
Leave a Reply