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A review by erikajay
Cinder & Ella by Kelly Oram
4.0
This book was exactly what I wanted it to be! It’s a modern-day Cinderella retelling, full of teen drama and pleasant cliches. It reminds me of the teen movies that I loved!
Honestly this was a great retelling. It’s clearly the Cinderella story, but there were a bunch of unique takes that made the book interesting. For example, we get actual motivation behind her stepfamily’s dislike. It’s not just simply “we hate her”. And I actually loved her stepmother! Yes, she was cruel at times. But it makes perfect sense WHY she was cruel and I honestly couldn’t blame her some of the time. Her dad is also still in the picture and they have a difficult relationship. And even though Ella is beautiful, she’s been in a tragic accident that leaves her handicapped and so she has to deal with tormentors because of that. I also love that Ella was really nerdy and more outspoken.
This book also ends nicely so you don’t need to read book two if you don’t want to!
Honestly this was a great retelling. It’s clearly the Cinderella story, but there were a bunch of unique takes that made the book interesting. For example, we get actual motivation behind her stepfamily’s dislike. It’s not just simply “we hate her”. And I actually loved her stepmother! Yes, she was cruel at times. But it makes perfect sense WHY she was cruel and I honestly couldn’t blame her some of the time. Her dad is also still in the picture and they have a difficult relationship. And even though Ella is beautiful, she’s been in a tragic accident that leaves her handicapped and so she has to deal with tormentors because of that. I also love that Ella was really nerdy and more outspoken.
This book also ends nicely so you don’t need to read book two if you don’t want to!