“It’s 200 years since Cinderella found her prince…but the fairy tale is over. Sophia knows the story though, off by heart. Because every girl has to recite it daily, from when she’s tiny until the night she’s sent to the royal ball for choosing. And every girl knows that she has only one chance. For the lives of those not chosen at the ball…are forfeit. But Sophia doesn’t want to be chosen. She doesn’t want to go to the ball at all. Not when she’s afraid the girl she loves might be chosen too. Pushed beyond breaking by a society that denies everything she is, Sophia sets out on a journey that will remake her world…into one where SHE gets to choose.”
What is the book about?
It has been 200 years since the start of Cinderella’s fairy tale, when she met her prince, but the fairy tale lives on in the kingdom of Mersailles. This is because every girl from when she first learns to the night she’s sent to the royal ball is forced to recite it daily. The royal ball is similar to Cinderella’s ball where she met her prince, but now the stakes are much higher. Every girl in Lille, at the age of 16, must attend the royal ball and compete to win the heart of one of the men at the ball, so that she can be chosen by him and they can then live the rest of their lives like Cinderella and Prince Charming. But this royal ball isn’t even remotely charming as each girl only has 3 chances to be chosen, and if not then their lives will be forfeit. But Sophia doesn’t want to be chosen. She doesn’t even want to go to the ball at all. For all she wants is to live a quiet life with the girl she loves, away from all the expectations of her society. Then one night Sophia is pushed beyond her limit by the rules that deny everything she is, so she sets out on a journey to remake her world into one where she and every other girl in Mersailles has a chance to be herself and choose her own path.
What were your initial thoughts on the book?
This was a book that I had never actually thought of ever buying or reading. I had seen it multiple times in Waterstones whenever I went in to admire the books and I had always been intrigued by it, but never enough to convince myself into buying it. Only a little while ago I met up with my friend who shares a love of reading with me and we were discussing the books we had read over the summer and the still unread ones we had on our shelves. Then, while we were in her house and I was taking in the wonderful books she had on her shelves, I came across one that I had been dying to get, and, as I was going to be borrowing some books anyways, she almost screamed at me to take Cinderella is Dead and read it first, because she was in great need of discussing the book with someone. The cover and the blurb intrigued me and I was really interested in reading the book and being able to uncover all the mysterious secrets it held within its pages. Now that I have finished reading it, I cannot believe the adventure I have been on and how I passed up the opportunity of reading the book multiple times. Cinderella is Dead never bored me and grasped my attention from the very first page.
Who was your favourite character and why?
There were a couple of characters I loved and many more that I think I really would have liked if it weren’t for the shocking rules in place stopping them from expressing their true selves. However, the character that was my favourite was one that never stopped fighting to be herself and who tried hard to defy the king, even when she knew that she could be killed in a second for a single tiny misstep – Sophia. Everyone thought Sophia was an idiot; she purposefully defied everything that the king said and she did everything she could to try to be herself. In the beginning, I too thought that it was wildly irresponsible of her to continue to stand against the king’s rules when she knew that it could get her and her loved ones killed without a chance to explain. But, once I began to understand that it didn’t matter if she obeyed or disobeyed because either way she was going to live a life full of pain and sorrow. After finishing the book I realised the growing respect I had for Sophia because of how brave and selfless she was. She kept pushing and trying to change the world for her family and friends and all the other citizens of Mersailles and she risked her life in the process. And when the end finally came and everything was finally coming together, she decided that she would save everyone else before saving herself. I believe she was the best character because of how she lived in the same place as thousands of others and yet she was one of the first to ever try to defy the king openly, rather than just keep running.
What was your favourite part of the book and why?
I think that my favourite part of the book was the ending because of how it was almost like all hope was lost and there was no way that anyone would ever be able to change anything in Mersailles, but Sophia didn’t accept it and decided that the only way she could ever make a difference was to give it her all. She risked her life in trying to make Mersailles a better place for every single girl and boy who would ever want something different to the rules the king had made. She made the choice to risk her own life so that others could live the lives that they wanted to live and not ones that had been decided for them. The twists that came at the end of the book were shocking and answered many of the questions that I still hadn’t got answers to. I loved the ending because it showed me that you should never ever give up hope even when there is only darkness surrounding you and it showed me that freedom is always worth fighting for, if not for yourself then for all the other people that will come after you and will be grateful for your effort to make their lives better.
What was your overall impression of the book?
Overall, I really loved reading Cinderella is Dead and enjoyed every second of it. One of the things that I really loved about the book was how it was one of the most twisted fairy tales I have ever read. I have read many fairy tale retellings and this genre will always hold a very special part of my heart because of how these tales were my childhood and without the Disney Princesses that I adored I wouldn’t have turned out to be a fiction lover, always wanting to go into another world where magic is possible. Now Kalynn Bayron went completely beyond my expectations as she took a fairy tale, twisted it and then set the book 200 years after that fairy tale. Everything was based on the tale that I had loved when I was little and still loved, but it was a lie and thousands of people had wrongly lived their lives trying to follow the fairy tale Cinderella had lived. Another thing that I really liked was how the whole book felt, in a way, like a giant plot twist, but then at the end came the real twists. I knew that the book was going to be interesting and mysterious, but I had definitely not been prepared for what I actually read. One last thing that I absolutely adored was the ending. In the last few chapters I was holding my breath, completely unsure of what was going to happen and how everything would turn out. It was like all hope was lost for a little bit and there was no way at all that the ending would be happy. The book really taught me how you have to hold on to hope when in the darkness, because, if not, you really have nothing left. I really loved Cinderella is Dead and am anxious to be able to talk about the events with my friend. It was an incredible, unique book and I hope to read many more like it.
Would you recommend this book?
I would undoubtedly recommend this book to anyone who adores mysteries, adventures and fairy tale retellings. It is an amazing read, particularly for readers over the age of 13 who are ready to be thrown into a magical twisted tale filled with secrets.
Summarise the book in one sentence. (Verdict)
A magical, twisted fairy tale full of secrets and sorrow like no other.
Reviewed by Jimena Gutierrez Reviriego
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