Cinder & Glass

Cinder & Glass

Melissa De La Cruz

Putnam, 2022

316 pages

Grades 7-12

Fairy Tale Retelling

Cendrillon moves from the French countryside with her father to the court of Louis XIV to learn to be a royal lady. The pageantry and rules of court life are confusing and exacting, made more tedious by unfriendly girls and the rude young prince/future king. Her only friends are servants, a boy of the court named Auguste, and her Godmother-who she hopes will become her stepmother. Those hopes are dashed as Father marries a strange woman he has just met, leaving her with a cold stepmother and mean-girl stepsisters. Cendrillon's father dies, practically out of the blue, leaving her to the stepmother's mercy, virtually turned into a servant. When a ball is announced, honoring the young future king and launching his search for a bride, Cendrillon is anxious to attend. The problem is, she has nothing suitable to wear and a host of uncompleted chores. Miraculously, her Godmother appears after a year-long hiatus to save the night where she catches the eye of the young prince. Suddenly, Cendrillon finds herself in a contest to become the bride of the future king of France. Will her stepmother stand in her way? Can she tap down the growing feelings that she is developing for Auguste? Most of all, if Cendrillon were to win the contest, does she really want to be the queen and does she have a choice?

Best selling author, De La Cruz, offers a retelling of perhaps the most famous fairy tale in the world, setting it in it's most traditional and well-known time and place. Though entrenched firmly in this world of French aristocracy, it is a realistic retelling with contemporary sensibilities. There is no magic--all of the elements of the traditional tale are explained by actual events. The stepmother is even more devious than in the child's tale, based on a figure from actual events, as explained in the author's note. Young readers will enjoy the obvious connections to "The Bachelor" (reminding me of The Selection) and the plot will quickly become comforting and of high interest. The cover is alluring and I found the book to read quickly, despite it's somewhat long length. Although romantic in nature, the plot remains "PG", making this choice appropriate for younger teens. Cendrillon has a dilemma deciding whether to follow her heart or go for security and readers will hold their breath waiting for her decision. Everything is satisfactory wrapped up by books end-with no sequels to wade through. This is the stuff of perfect beach reads for teens who need a bit of an innocent escape.