Review - Cinder and Ella by Melissa Lemon (And Interview!)

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Cinder and Ella by Melissa Lemon

Page Number: 208 pages
Release Date: November 8th, 2011
Overall Rating: 4 1/2 Stars

"If you drink water and breathe air, then you have heard the story of Cinderella. And, if you drink water and breathe air, you have heard it...wrong."


   We've all heard the story of Cinderella. Girl has horrible family, girl has sad life, girl goes to ball, girl meets prince, girl and prince fall in love, clock strikes midnight, girl runs away, girl loses glass slipper, prince finds girl, happily ever after. Most of us could recite it, tell it to children, whisper it during class. We probably all know this story by heart.
   Or do we?
   Melissa Lemon challenges the fairytale, putting a new spin on a classic story. Cinderella is still there, but it's new. It's refreshing.
   In Cinder and Ella, instead of there being one girl, there's two. Cinder and Ella

    I particularly enjoyed this novel. It was interesting to hear a fresh approach to Cinderella and the book itself is just a lot of fun. There are so many little twists and turns, so you're always kept on your toes.
    Most of the characters are not based on the original version of the story. There's the very obvious difference in the main character, Cinderella, who is now two very different people. The prince in this novel is also the villain. Beatrice and Katrina are not step-sisters, just sisters who have become spoiled.
   Ella was my favorite character, but I think that's because the story followed her a bit more than everyone else. I liked Cinder, as well. And Tanner made me laugh and giggle throughout the entire book.
   In my mind, if your story has a villain, they have to be truly evil and they must be hard for the character to beat. If the villain is too easy for the main characters to beat, then the story has little drama or depth. Many novels today have issues with the villains not being difficult for the MC to conquer.
   Cinder and Ella is one of the few that do well. The prince is despicable and throughout the entire book I found myself wanting to hit him with a frying pan. That's what makes a villain. I, as a reader, should dislike them.
   Something that makes me smile, though, is that I continuously found myself reading aloud to myself. The story fits the idea of being read to someone. I find myself wishing I had a little sister to read this to before she went to bed. By that standard, I think there is very much a true fairytale element in this novel.
   The only thing that bothered me about this novel was that it was in third person. While I think it would've lost the storytelling element if it had been in first person, I'm so used to reading in it. Third person made it seem a bit awkward for me.

    Overall, I really liked this novel.