I thought of starting with: TRIGGER WARNING: BULLYING
But realized bullying is implied in a Cinderella trope. There are some tough moments with bullying (for me) but they are not the whole story.
With that said, the world within the story is rich with complex characters who grow and change. Their motivations are made clear and that challenged me along the way. I enjoyed the story. I listened to the audiobook and immediately bought the sequel.
There are definite fairy tale elements but it's such a real journey, that I didn't notice them at the time. ...and I ALWAYS love a good Cinderella story and have read and watched many. ( )
I was given this free e-book in exchange for an honest review.
What teenage girl doesn't dream of a rich and handsome and famous boy who falls in love with her? Well, Ella has just that only she doesnt really know who he is and they have only talked on line!
Ella suffers a tragic loss and ends up having to move in with her father who left her and her mom years ago. His new family is vile and narcissistic basically a walking living nightmare. She ends up leaving behind everything she has ever known on the East coast and struggles to find normalcy on the west coast. It has been months since she has done anything online, from web searching to her online blog of book and movie reviews, which incidentally is where she met Cinder. After gathering up enough courage to contact him, the romance part of this book explodes.
This was a fun read and kept me intrigued and wanting to know what happened next, from the snobby family issues to her father seeing her for the first time to Cinder. ( )
I am a sucker for fairy tale retellings, and I love when they aren't necessarily in the fantasy or science fiction genre. I glommed onto this book from page one and didn't come up for air until the end, when it was 5 in the morning and I had no hope of a full night's sleep.
I adored this book. It's pure fun and escapism and I loved every second of it.
I have a few buttons and this book hit nearly all of them. Fairy tale retelling? Check. Hidden identity? Check. Celebrity? Check. Geekiness and nerdiness? Check check check.
A few things did detract. Brian was a bit too alpha-male at times. Ella was a little bit of a brat at times (though with good reason, and Juliette did smack that in her face).
Still, I love it. I have new comfort reading material. ( )
I wasn't expecting to love this book as much as I do. I was thinking it was going to be just a fun, cheesy book about a high school crush. I was completely wrong. Cinder and Ella truly has it all. Great story? Check! Well developing characters you can relate to? Check! The ability to make you laugh, cry and smile? Check again! I read this book in just a few hours because I couldn't wait to see what happened, but at the same time didn't want it to end. The tragedies poor Ella has to face are just horrible but I feel she does a beautiful job in handling them. She even knows when its best to surrender and get help. I recommend this book to anyone who loves getting completely submersed in a book. I look forward to reading more of Kelly Oram's books and can see how she could quickly become one of my favorite authors.
Update: I just finished rereading this book and it was just as great the second time around! Can't wait til Kelly Oram releases the sequel novella! ( )
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TRIGGER WARNING: BULLYING
But realized bullying is implied in a Cinderella trope. There are some tough moments with bullying (for me) but they are not the whole story.
With that said, the world within the story is rich with complex characters who grow and change. Their motivations are made clear and that challenged me along the way. I enjoyed the story. I listened to the audiobook and immediately bought the sequel.
There are definite fairy tale elements but it's such a real journey, that I didn't notice them at the time. ...and I ALWAYS love a good Cinderella story and have read and watched many. (