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Tuesday 7 January 2020

CINDERELLA: The Graphic Novel by Beth Bracken & Jeffrey Stewart Timmins

Cinderella: The Graphic Novel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

We all know the story of Cinderella, so I'm very familiar with it. Yet, I can't stop reading new updated versions or retellings, so of course I picked this up when hubby found it during one of our (many) thrift store adventures.

Ella is very sad when she loses her mother and can't shake the sadness.

When her father remarries, her stepmother and two stepsisters move in and take over the house. Leaving Ella to become their housekeeper.

But when a ball is announced and her stepmother refuses to let her go, Ella finds a way...

This was a dark and lovely retelling of a very familiar story. I especially liked that her name was Ella, and that much of the story focused on the grief the poor girl goes through after losing her mother. She tries so hard to be strong, but can't stop visiting her mother's gravesite and cries all the time.

Yet, no one notices but the animals.

The essence of the original fairy tale is captured not only through the darker and subtle additions to the narrative, but also through the eerie illustrations. There's something Burton-esque about this graphic novel and I LOVED it.

The style of character drawings and even the colour palette are quite drab, yet so pretty. I enjoy all kinds of artwork in graphic novels and comic books, but the weirder the better.

At the end of the book there's also an interesting history about the true origins of this fairy tale, a few discussion questions and even writing prompts.

This book is going right to my Keeper Shelf.


View all my reviews


ADDITIONAL NOTES:

This lovely book included three discussion questions at the end, so I thought I'd answer them. 😁

1). The prince didn't care about Ella being dusty and dirty because he wasn't shallow and mean like her stepmother. He was a good person willing to give everyone a shot. Plus, he wanted all the girls to try on the glass slipper.

2). I love the panel with Ella standing at her mother's gravesite after the tree grows. It was beautiful, very emotional and magical.

3). Being a fan of fairy tales means that I've heard, read and watched a bunch of Cinderella versions. This one is different because there's a darker edge to the story potrayed through the artwork. Not to mention the deeper addition to Ella's struggle with grief.

That was fun!


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