Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron

4 out of 5 👊Cinderella and her #metoo story

A little disclaimer here first: The original version of Cinderella is obviously problematic with strongly patriarchal worldviews, yet didn't mention any actual abuse and forced marriage. Cinderella seemed very happy with the story plot and her life choices. In 'Cinderella is Dead', we got to know new facts about her life and the kingdom that added a whole new female-abusive layer. Hence my title.

Two hundred years after Cinderella fairytale and the glass shoe incident, the annual ball gathers young women 16 to 18 years old and 'eligible bachelors' with no age limit to pick their new treasure wife. Female participation is obligatory and failure to attend (or not being picked) equals atrocious consequences.

Since her early childhood, Sophia was reading Cinderella's story but would rather marry a princess than Prince Charming. Although her family accepted the relationship with her childhood friend Erin, they knew she must marry whoever would choose her on the annual ball.

The first two chapters soaked me right into that dystopian world. I loved how twisted was the idea of annual balls as the heritage of the first one. That story you won't find on Disney+!

I enjoy Sophia's character, how fierce and persisted she was while being loyal and carrying for others. Although relationships between characters were rather flat, there were full of mutual respect and honesty. The major advantage of the book was how entertaining it was, fully packed with action, adventure, and plot twists (even if quite predictable).

On the other side, the story is surprisingly dark but all the characters are so Disney-ish. Sophia is a great heroine and seems like she's the only one who sees how corrupted her kingdom is. All men comply with the rules even if they disagree, enforcing the laws on their daughters and wives. Yet - spoiler alert - Sophia accomplished to change that in lickety-split, within just a few pages. From YA book I expect something more than good vs evil single-layered plot.

Furthermore, I don't like pure evil characters, it's not realistic. Everyone has their own truth, even if we fully disagree with it. Forcing others to comply with you by violence methods, makes you no better than your oppressor. I wish 'Cinderella is Dead' had acknowledged that.

Overall, this is a fun and exciting title with an activist-wannabe vibe. For me, it's 5/5 on the entertainment side and 3/5 as a feminist book.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher Bloomsbury YA for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and feelings are my own.

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