Published: 2022
Series: Cinder & Glass
Author: Melissa de la Cruz
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult, Retellings, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Fairy Tales, Cinderella
Audience (Grade Levels): High School; Grades 9-12
Number of Stars: 5-star
Goodreads Link: Cinder & Glass
Triggers: Death, murder, servitude
Review By: Sara Tripp
Publisher’s Summary:
For this princess, winning the crown is no fairytale.
1682. The king sends out an invitation to all the maidens in France: their presence is requested at a number of balls and events that will be held in honor of the dashing Prince Louis, who must choose a bride. Cendrillon de Louvois has more grace, beauty, and charm than anyone else in France. While she was once the darling child of the king’s favorite adviser, her father’s death has turned her into the servant of her stepmother and cruel stepsisters–and at her own chateau, too!
Cendrillon–now called Cinder–manages to evade her stepmother and attend the ball, where she catches the eye of the handsome Prince Louis and his younger brother Auguste. Even though Cendrillon has an immediate aversion to Louis, and a connection with Auguste, the only way to escape her stepmother is to compete with the other women at court for the Prince’s hand. Soon, as Cendrillon glows closer to Auguste and dislikes the prince more and more, she will have to decide if she can bear losing the boy she loves in order to leave a life she hates. Melissa de la Cruz takes a lush, romantic hand to this retold fairy tale classic.
Review:
The classic Cinderella story mixed with the Bachelor. Cendrillion aka Cinderella meets the same fate of a wicked stepmother and evil stepsister. There is a godmother but not a fairy godmother with a pumpkin for a carriage. This retelling is sweet and keeps enough of the original story to keep you loving it. There is enough twist to the story to keep you interested in finding out what will happen to Cendrillion. Will she get her happiness and what will that happiness be? In this story she is competing with 24 other girls for the hand of the prince. This part reminded me of the show The Bachelor. The prince picks 25 girls to court and they go on dates. Some group dates and some one on one dates to help the prince decide who he will chose as his wife. There is a lot at stake for Cendrillion who hopes to escape her wicked stepmother. What she doesn’t anticipate is falling in love and how that will complicate her journey. What I most enjoyed was the warmth of the king and his family. After reading a lot of historical fiction you tend to paint any king as a villian, someone that feels all powerful and doesn’t think people deserve to be treated with humanity when they go against the crown’s expectations. I was pleasantly surprised with the king in this story! I really enjoyed this retelling and hope that this author creates more!
Classroom & Curricular Connections:
- English Language Arts (Fairy Tale Adaptations & Comparative Literature): This historical fantasy serves as a fantastic vehicle for secondary ELA units focused on subverting archetypes. Students can contrast de la Cruz’s 17th-century French court setting and the “dating competition” structure against traditional versions of the Cinderella folktale, analyzing how structural pacing alterations modify theme, agency, and romance.
- World History (17th-Century French Court Culture): Set in 1682, the novel provides a lushly detailed backdrop of France under the Bourbon monarchy. History teachers can utilize the text alongside curriculum units regarding the court of Versailles, exploring courtly expectations, aristocratic social hierarchies, and the limited agency available to young women under the crown.
Readalikes:
- The Selection by Kiera Cass
- Cinder by Marissa Meyer
- Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly
- Snow & Poison by Melissa de la Cruz
Check out the review of Book 2 in the series, Snow & Poison.
