Title: Sinful Cinderella
Author: Anita Valle
Published by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Book Publication date: September 30, 2015
Pages: 99
Genres: Dark Fiction, Young Adult
Grade: 81%
Rating: ★★★★★
Buy the Book: Here
Summary:
I'm not who they think I am. A docile girl who meekly obeys her stepmother and stepsisters. Some kind of sick angel who cheerfully bears their mistreatment. That's what I WANT them to think. Because then they won't suspect what I'm really up to.
The ball, the prince - it's all part of my plan to come out on top. Stepmother and her demented daughters will pay for every floor I have scoured, every sneer I have borne. They don't know about the white magic, how I use it to enhance myself. They can't see that my heart is black as midnight, rotten as a poisoned apple.
They're about to find out.
Thoughts:
I have to say the cover captivated me the second I looked at it and compelled me to read the summary. When I read the summary I knew I had to read this book, even as short as it is. I had a fantastic time! I couldn't stop laughing at the "evil Cinderella" and her spunk. It would have been more interesting if it was a full novel instead of a novella, but it was still charming none-the-less. The writing style was much to be desired, but the plot and Cinderella's spunk definitely made up for that. Definitely, a must read if you enjoy dark stories.
Grading
(you can find my rubric here)
Character Development:
Grade: 3/5 = 15 pts
This department hurt a lot, mainly because it was such a short read. Cinderella was on her way to being developed, it was on the tip of the author's pen but not quite there just yet. She was very Mary Sue- ish and that, in this case, hurt the author's story. Cinderella was bratty and immature which kind of fits her age group but would have loved to seen her more mature for her age for having to practically raise herself.
One character I actually really liked was the prince in this book. Even if he was a terrible person, I have to say this twist was an interesting twist on the author's part.
Tone / Writing style:
Grade: 4/5 = 10 pts
The author truly loved her characters and really thought everything through. There were a few grammar mistakes that had me re-read the sentence a few times to understand what was missing or didn't work which caused the flow of the story to interrupt. Other than those grammar mistakes everything was perfectly unique and interesting.
Plot:
Grade: 5/5 = 15 pts
Click here to see spoilers
I tried to make this subjective to avoid the spoilers, but I couldn't. I honestly had a lot of fun with the plot in this story. The author introduced concepts that I personally never even thought about in a Disney story. She introduced a wounded servant girl who is numb and angry wanting to wish pain on those who mistreat her. The story took a turn when we found out just how abusive the prince was. Which is kind of ironic, Cinderella leaving a neglectful family for a physically abusive one. Though they do say that in some cases abuse victims tend to seek out more abuse subconsciously (such as leaving an abusive relationship for another abusive relationship).
What surprised me the most about the actual story was that the author had enough content to successfully pull off a subplot! Great Job! That is no little feat when the book in itself is only 99 pages long.
Theme(s):
Grade: 5/5 = 10 pts
I have always wanted to say this, but the theme for this book is "be careful for whatcha wish for, you just might get it." Yup. Cinderella wanted that prince with everything in her, and she got him in the end. That poor girl.
Unpredictability:
Grade: 5/5 = 10 pts
Click here to see spoilers
There were two things that honestly shocked me, and is such an interesting concept. One I had mentioned before, and that is the abusive prince. The prince in the original fairytale swept her off her feet, and they rode off into the sunset to live a happy life together. This story had Cinderella's world crash down around her at the first slap in the face. She wasn't expecting a wicked prince; she was expecting a prince that she could manipulate. In the end, he manipulated her into marriage.
The second concept that I thought was very interesting was the princess' name is Snow White. There was a bit of foreshadowing about this in the middle of the book when Cinderella uses the last bit of her white magic to make her eyes look like sapphires. She grinned wickedly to the mirror and asked who was the fairest of them all. I just thought at the time that the author was just trying to be funny. Great concept. I love the idea that all the fairytales intertwine like that.
Food For Thought:
Grade: 4/5 = 8 pts
While this didn't make me think about my life, it did make me think about the book. I love the concept that the author introduced. I knew that the Disney stories all were in the same universe, but I never thought them to intertwine. That is a great story.
Ending:
Grade: 5/5 = 10 pts
The ending was complete and answered all unanswered questions. Full points!
Setting:
Grade: 3/5 = 3 pts
The setting wasn't much to talk about. The author gave just enough information for us to understand where Cinderella was, but never enough detail to fully appreciate the author's writing talent.
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