Cinderella Is Dead
Readers rate it 3.5 (171 on Hardcover)
338 pages · Released Jul 7, 2020 · Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Content report card
Cinderella Is Dead parent’s guide: what’s inside
Substance use
What it offers
Educational value
A note for parents
This YA dystopian retelling centers on queer teen girls rebelling against a patriarchal kingdom, with sapphic romance as a central plot element. The book contains moderate violence (rebellion/resistance scenes), some darker thematic content (systemic oppression, disappearances), and occasional profanity. It offers strong positive messages about autonomy, love, and resistance to harmful systems, with LGBTQ+ themes being a defining strength rather than incidental. Best suited for mid-to-older teens comfortable with dystopian settings and ready to engage with feminist critique.
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From the publisher
"Wholly original and captivating." - Brigid Kemmerer, New York Times bestselling author of A Curse So Dark and Lonely Girls team up to overthrow the kingdom in this unique and powerful retelling of Cinderella from a stunning new voice that's perfect for fans of Dhonielle Clayton and Melissa Albert. It's 200 years after... "Wholly original and captivating." - Brigid Kemmerer, New York Times bestselling author of A Curse So Dark and Lonely Girls team up to overthrow the kingdom in this unique and powerful retelling of Cinderella from a stunning new voice that's perfect for fans of Dhonielle Clayton and Melissa Albert. It's 200 years after Cinderella found her prince, but the fairy tale is over. Teen girls are now required to appear at the Annual Ball, where the men of the kingdom select wives based on a girl's display of finery. If a suitable match is not found, the girls not chosen are never heard from again. Sixteen-year-old Sophia would much rather marry Erin, her childhood best friend, than parade in front of suitors. At the ball, Sophia makes the desperate decision to flee, and finds herself hiding in Cinderella's mausoleum. There, she meets Constance, the last known descendant of Cinderella and her step sisters. Together they vow to bring down the king once and for all--and in the process, they learn that there's more to Cinderella's story than they ever knew . . . This fresh take on a classic story will make readers question the tales they've been told, and root for girls to break down the constructs of the world around them.
Shelved under
- Young Adult Fiction
- Diverse Characters
- Loveable Characters
- A mix driven
- Strong Character Development
- Weak Character Development
- Plot driven
- Unloveable Characters
- Sapphic
- Fairy Tales
- LGBTQ+
- Adventurous
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ISBN 9781547603886 · Bloomsbury Publishing USA