Cinderella Is Dead
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- Create Date：2021-03-24 12:22:18
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Kalynn Bayron
- ISBN：1526621975
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Summary
It's 200 years since Cinderella found her prince， but the fairytale is over。
Sophia knows the story though， off by heart。 Because every girl has to recite it daily， from when she's tiny until the night she's sent to the royal ball for choosing。 And every girl knows that she has only one chance。 For the lives of those not chosen by a man at the ball 。 are forfeit。
But Sophia doesn't want to be chosen - she's in love with her best friend， Erin， and hates the idea of being traded like cattle。 And when Sophia's night at the ball goes horribly wrong， she must run for her life。 Alone and terrified， she finds herself hiding in Cinderella's tomb。 And there she meets someone who will show her that she has the power to remake her world。
Sophia knows the story though， off by heart。 Because every girl has to recite it daily， from when she's tiny until the night she's sent to the royal ball for choosing。 And every girl knows that she has only one chance。 For the lives of those not chosen by a man at the ball 。 are forfeit。
But Sophia doesn't want to be chosen - she's in love with her best friend， Erin， and hates the idea of being traded like cattle。 And when Sophia's night at the ball goes horribly wrong， she must run for her life。 Alone and terrified， she finds herself hiding in Cinderella's tomb。 And there she meets someone who will show her that she has the power to remake her world。
Reviews
kc
，
4。5 starsTrigger warnings: misogyny， death/murder， blood， sexual assault/rape， abuse， homophobia， kidnapping， torture， forced institutionalizationMentions of: slavery/human trafficking， suicide， and animal death~ ~ ~I really liked this one！ I thought that some aspects of the story were a little too on the nose。 I also felt that there was a lot of telling， not showing throughout the book。 The plot twist at the end was AMAZING （as well as the foreshadowing for the plot twist）！！ Overall， I definite 4。5 starsTrigger warnings: misogyny， death/murder， blood， sexual assault/rape， abuse， homophobia， kidnapping， torture， forced institutionalizationMentions of: slavery/human trafficking， suicide， and animal death~ ~ ~I really liked this one！ I thought that some aspects of the story were a little too on the nose。 I also felt that there was a lot of telling， not showing throughout the book。 The plot twist at the end was AMAZING （as well as the foreshadowing for the plot twist）！！ Overall， I definitely recommend this book， especially to people who love retellings。 。。。more
Anneliese
，
3。5/5 stars
endeavoursofvic
，
Cinderella is Dead: 3 Stars[5。14 - good]I liked this book。 But I found myself not caring through the entire middle section and I am VERY sad about it。 I adore our main character but none of the other characters did anything for me - which was really where this one lost me。 Because I am a character based reader。I feel like this book had so much to offer but I simply wasn't in the mood for what it offered me。 It is a good book and I adored a lot of the commentary this book did （and it did it amazi Cinderella is Dead: 3 Stars[5。14 - good]I liked this book。 But I found myself not caring through the entire middle section and I am VERY sad about it。 I adore our main character but none of the other characters did anything for me - which was really where this one lost me。 Because I am a character based reader。I feel like this book had so much to offer but I simply wasn't in the mood for what it offered me。 It is a good book and I adored a lot of the commentary this book did （and it did it amazingly） but I am first and foremost a character based reader and I simply did not give a damn about anyone but Sophia :（ 。。。more
Karri Li
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Initially， I was extremely excited to read this book。 The premise was creative and eye catching， and I was looking forward to queer， Black， female representation。 However， I was quickly disappointed。 I feel bad for rating a novel with such great potential so poorly， but it's genuinely how I felt while reading it。I would have given this book 3 stars if it had the great representation and commentary on bigotry that it promised， yet it falls short。 The main character， Sophia， is not the feminist ic Initially， I was extremely excited to read this book。 The premise was creative and eye catching， and I was looking forward to queer， Black， female representation。 However， I was quickly disappointed。 I feel bad for rating a novel with such great potential so poorly， but it's genuinely how I felt while reading it。I would have given this book 3 stars if it had the great representation and commentary on bigotry that it promised， yet it falls short。 The main character， Sophia， is not the feminist icon she thinks she is。 She's very masculine （which is perfectly fine）， but she constantly belittles femininity in the women around her。 It further perpetuates the idea that femininity is inherently weak， while masculinity is strong and superior。 Not to mention， one of her feminine friends is immediately "refrigerated"， a common sexist trope in which a woman in a man's life （or in this case， the masculine character's life） dies in order to give the main character motivation to pursue their goal。 The novel only highlights the overt， extreme sexism that we see， but does little to comment on how average people perpetuate sexism on a day to day basis。 Overall， Sophia reads like third wave feminism instagram infographics。It also misses the great opportunity to examine the intersection of race and gender， which negates Sophia's Blackness。 The reader is constantly told that Sophia is a lesbian， yet her love for Erin is almost never shown。 Her instalove with Constance cheapens the romance， and therefore the overall LGBTQ+ representation。The premise of the book was what drew me in to read it， so I had high expectations for the plot and world building。 My opinion might be skewed because of how high my expectations were， but both were very underwhelming。 The plot felt like every other YA novel， and it was predictable。 I love fantasy novels because of how immersive they are， but the world building was pretty bare bones， and so it was hard to get into the story。 The stakes should have felt incredibly high， yet I couldn't feel them because of how much the main character could recklessly get away with pretty much anything she did。 This book had so much potential to be a great story with commentary on sexism， homophobia， and racism。 Bayron had a very creative idea， and I hope that she continues to write and improve。 。。。more
Emily Green
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Not quite gay enough but I still loved this book！！ Damn！！
Yanneke
，
Omg， this one amazing！！
Lauryn M
，
one of my favorite sapphic books
madi
，
I liked this book。 It definitely had some twists and turns and plot twits that I thought were an interesting take on the Cinderella fairytale。 I feel like the story had some loose ends and wasn't exactly in a pretty bow like I wanted it to be， but it was still an overall good story。 I will read anything about overthrowing the patriarchy。 I hope in the future we can see stores that build on Constance's storybook filled with the truth of different fairytales， like Snow White was highlighted。 I liked this book。 It definitely had some twists and turns and plot twits that I thought were an interesting take on the Cinderella fairytale。 I feel like the story had some loose ends and wasn't exactly in a pretty bow like I wanted it to be， but it was still an overall good story。 I will read anything about overthrowing the patriarchy。 I hope in the future we can see stores that build on Constance's storybook filled with the truth of different fairytales， like Snow White was highlighted。 。。。more
Nina
，
Liked it good enough but it feld rushed on some occasions。 Plot twists where nice though
Meri
，
It was an excellent twist on an incredibly overtold fairy tale。 I've become skeptical of the Cinderella story。 Why is it great that she marries a man she just met？ Because that's the only way out of her circumstances？ That's not an uplifting story。 I love the way this one repaints Cinderella as a revolutionary， giving her far more power than the Brothers Grimm did。 It's also a good LGBT love story。 It was an excellent twist on an incredibly overtold fairy tale。 I've become skeptical of the Cinderella story。 Why is it great that she marries a man she just met？ Because that's the only way out of her circumstances？ That's not an uplifting story。 I love the way this one repaints Cinderella as a revolutionary， giving her far more power than the Brothers Grimm did。 It's also a good LGBT love story。 。。。more
Lauren
，
Interesting premise and powerful message， but the stilted dialogue and over-explaining pulled me out of it。
Julia
，
*4。5 The writing style was a little difficult at times， but the actual content of the book more than made up for it。 It's definitely a book i'd both recommend and read again。 *4。5 The writing style was a little difficult at times， but the actual content of the book more than made up for it。 It's definitely a book i'd both recommend and read again。 。。。more
Erin
，
Oh I aggressively love the decision to situate this within the concept of Cinderella。 I'm a fan of fairy tales being twisted around and told in a new way already， but like。 Very much enjoyed that。 I felt echoes of The Selection series， of course， but more aggressive and justified not just by tradition， this is how it's always been， but almost by religion， if you can consider the worship of Cinderella and her story to be that。 It did take a bit to get off the ground-I feel like tdd he author was Oh I aggressively love the decision to situate this within the concept of Cinderella。 I'm a fan of fairy tales being twisted around and told in a new way already， but like。 Very much enjoyed that。 I felt echoes of The Selection series， of course， but more aggressive and justified not just by tradition， this is how it's always been， but almost by religion， if you can consider the worship of Cinderella and her story to be that。 It did take a bit to get off the ground-I feel like tdd he author was trying to make it Very Clear that our girl had no other option than to leave her friend behind， by giving us like three repetitions of 'Come away with me， to be free and gay！' 'No， we can't， we mustn't！'Also， gay， I do appreciate the gay。 。。。more
Amy Dixon
，
Absolutely amazing， I wasn’t to hooked at first but by around the 10th chapter I couldn’t put it down！！ Just wish the ending told us more about Sophia
Raziasultana
，
Nice
zaheerah
，
Two hundred years after Cinderella met her prince， every young girl of Mersailles must appear at the Annual Ball， where the Kingdom’s men select their future wives。 All the girls know that they risk disappearing， never to be heard from again if they’re not chosen。 Sophia yearns to marry her childhood best friend， Erin， who fears the repercussions their union would bring。 An incident at the ball sends Sophia on the run， the King’s men hot on her heels。 When she finds safety in Cinderella’s abando Two hundred years after Cinderella met her prince， every young girl of Mersailles must appear at the Annual Ball， where the Kingdom’s men select their future wives。 All the girls know that they risk disappearing， never to be heard from again if they’re not chosen。 Sophia yearns to marry her childhood best friend， Erin， who fears the repercussions their union would bring。 An incident at the ball sends Sophia on the run， the King’s men hot on her heels。 When she finds safety in Cinderella’s abandoned mausoleum， she comes face to face with one of the last descendants of Cinderella’s family， Constance。 The two girls must work together to defeat King Manford’s reign of terror or risk their story be rewritten。 Cinderella Is Dead is perfect in its concept。 A dark， imaginative reinterpretation of the well-loved fairy tale。 Prince Charming turns cruel， and his successors follow his actions two hundred years later， forcing girls to appear at an actual ball searching for their future spouse。 Once married， they are nothing but property to their husbands。 They all must abide by a curfew， and nothing they own is genuinely theirs。 Sophia has despised this system for a while and finally has a chance to escape during the ball。 But the execution of， quite frankly， everything in this novel left me disappointed and underwhelmed。 To start， the story was doomed from the very beginning。 It begins strong with Sophia begrudgingly preparing for the Ball; she makes a point whenever she can that is very much against the system， while her parents dissuade her from speaking too loudly in fear of being accused of treason。 She plots her escape and takes a chance during the ball and meets Constance， who confirms that the Cinderella story that the Kingdom has passed down generations is false。 From then on， the story takes on a very tepid journey of Sophia and Constance journeying through a forest and plotting to take down the King。 No tension and sadly really dull。 If anything， I enjoyed the smatterings of fights scenes and seeing Constance and Sophia work smart to evade capture。 But the rest of the plot fails to capture any good attention。 I felt like I was being dragged from one plot point to another and told to deal with it。 The characters were highly disappointing。 Sophia is a selfish character who continually acts first and thinks later， leading to other people getting harmed。 She’s aware that her actions can get her in trouble， but plot armour saves the day for her while everyone gets hurt。 We also know nothing about her。 Her likes， dislikes， quirks， nothing makes her stand out aside from her decision to go up against the King。 Erin is rarely on-page but was the most interesting for me。 She wants to be with Sophia， but her fear of the society around her creates an internal struggle that I would have loved to develop。 And then comes Constance， mysterious and funny， but the possibility of what could’ve been is squandered for insta-love and no development。 I’ll end this review with a disappointing sigh。 Never have I seen a book with such potential fail to follow through on its promises。 It’s an easy read， albeit grim in some select scenes。 Sophia’s journey barely goes beyond its surface level， and the characters are wasted and discarded just as they’re introduced。 A promising premise that needed to go back to the drawing board。 。。。more
maryromdts
，
Es una historia muy interesante y sobre todo， una forma de abordar el cuento de Cenicienta muy original y entretenida。 Me hubiera gustado que se desarrollaran más otras subtramas， incluso la trama en mi opinión hubiera encajado bien en una trilogía。
Ellen
，
Listen， you have to enjoy this book as what it is: bad YA in the fine tradition of bad YA。 As a long-time lover of bad YA， I thought it was a fantastic contribution of the genre。 Was it predictable and kind of clunky and very heavy-handed？ Yes！ It's bad YA。 That's what you're getting into。 But it picks up momentum in the second half once all the cumbersome character introductions are done and it throws one or two genuine surprises at you， and it's high time we had a good， high-profile book in th Listen， you have to enjoy this book as what it is: bad YA in the fine tradition of bad YA。 As a long-time lover of bad YA， I thought it was a fantastic contribution of the genre。 Was it predictable and kind of clunky and very heavy-handed？ Yes！ It's bad YA。 That's what you're getting into。 But it picks up momentum in the second half once all the cumbersome character introductions are done and it throws one or two genuine surprises at you， and it's high time we had a good， high-profile book in the bad YA genre that features queer romances and characters of colour and an anti-patriarchy message。 Every genre deserves these things！ If you try to read this book as something it isn't， it's not going to be terribly enjoyable。 If you go in expecting a junk-food YA read， it's fun and refreshing！ Set your expectations accordingly。 。。。more
Hannah Bergstrom de Leon
，
Here's what I love， the messages and purpose of this story are 100% amazing and transformative and I am HERE for them all！ But the other side of that is。。。I forget that fairy tales are just not my bag and apparently even rewritten ones that tell a MUCH better story。 So I'm not a great reviewer for this one。 I am not in the least bit sad I read this book and I do think if you get lost in the fairy tale world you will enjoy。 So give it a go。 😉。 Here's what I love， the messages and purpose of this story are 100% amazing and transformative and I am HERE for them all！ But the other side of that is。。。I forget that fairy tales are just not my bag and apparently even rewritten ones that tell a MUCH better story。 So I'm not a great reviewer for this one。 I am not in the least bit sad I read this book and I do think if you get lost in the fairy tale world you will enjoy。 So give it a go。 😉。 。。。more
Amy （mimilovestoread）
，
Reimagining a well known and well loved fairy tale cannot be easy。 Reimagining it with a queer black heroine who only wanted the freedom to be who she was and who wanted to change the world she lives in for the better was everything I could want from a retelling。 Her strength， determination， bravery and loyalty is what you need from a kick ass heroine which I loved。 What I didn't love was the romance。 It felt rushed and untrue to her character。 Reimagining a well known and well loved fairy tale cannot be easy。 Reimagining it with a queer black heroine who only wanted the freedom to be who she was and who wanted to change the world she lives in for the better was everything I could want from a retelling。 Her strength， determination， bravery and loyalty is what you need from a kick ass heroine which I loved。 What I didn't love was the romance。 It felt rushed and untrue to her character。 。。。more
Sara
，
Bayron reimagines elements of the Cinderella story， such as the fairy godmother and stepsisters， in creative， unexpected ways， but the fairy tale alone is not enough to fulfill the need for worldbuilding。 This is basically Gilead in a pseudo-French setting with ambiguous historical elements。 Additionally， most of the characters were static， and the villain was cartoonishly evil。 The ending was especially didactic。This is a debut novel， and it shows， but Bayron definitely has potential。3/5
Crow
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 3，4⭐I wanted to LOVE this book so much more than I did。 I suppose I expected more romance but the relationship just felt。。off。 They were cute but we don't see them a lot。 Otherwise， this was a powerful story of queer girls overthrowing the patriarchy， and I loved Sophia 3，4⭐I wanted to LOVE this book so much more than I did。 I suppose I expected more romance but the relationship just felt。。off。 They were cute but we don't see them a lot。 Otherwise， this was a powerful story of queer girls overthrowing the patriarchy， and I loved Sophia 。。。more
Sacha The Reading Bear
，
The premise was good but the execution could have been better。 The characters were very juvenile at points and the story could have had more plot and substance。 The message about standing up and rasing your voice was good and I liked the diverse representation。
Kaitlynne
，
The premise of the story gets a 5 right off the bat。 I love retellings with a twist。 And boy did it have twists！ （one I didn't see coming at all） The actual execution/my overall enjoyment of the book gets 3。5 stars。 It started off with action， which I enjoyed， but there were some parts of the pacing that felt off to me。 Which isn't unusual in YA fantasy。 I wasn't a big fan of Erin's。。。 I don't know why， but there was just something about her that rubbed me the wrong way。。。 I also wish we could h The premise of the story gets a 5 right off the bat。 I love retellings with a twist。 And boy did it have twists！ （one I didn't see coming at all） The actual execution/my overall enjoyment of the book gets 3。5 stars。 It started off with action， which I enjoyed， but there were some parts of the pacing that felt off to me。 Which isn't unusual in YA fantasy。 I wasn't a big fan of Erin's。。。 I don't know why， but there was just something about her that rubbed me the wrong way。。。 I also wish we could have seen more of what ended up happening with one of the characters （view spoiler）[Luke， for those of you wondering。 He was a slightly？ important part of the beginning， and then we think he's dead， only to find out he's alive-ish。。。 And。。。 what？ did I miss something that told us what happened to him after they got him out of the dungeon？ （hide spoiler）]And my favorite quote was:Do not be silent。Raise your voice。Be a light in the dark。 。。。more
nastia
，
I found it so boring
megan
，
*3。5
Sandy
，
Why did this book even get nominated for a Goodreads choice award？ I discovered this title as I was browsing through the nominations back in November （I think） and the premise seemed so interesting。 The idea is so good， but the execution was poor。 The main character's development is barely there and all the symbols and motifs are so on the nose; nothing is nuanced。 Sophia is just a defiant girl in a patriarchal society。 She literally has no personality other than being defiant and hella gay。 I o Why did this book even get nominated for a Goodreads choice award？ I discovered this title as I was browsing through the nominations back in November （I think） and the premise seemed so interesting。 The idea is so good， but the execution was poor。 The main character's development is barely there and all the symbols and motifs are so on the nose; nothing is nuanced。 Sophia is just a defiant girl in a patriarchal society。 She literally has no personality other than being defiant and hella gay。 I only gave this book a decent rating since we need to have more LGBTQ+ stories in mainstream YA and books in general。 I really wanted to give this book a low rating because I'm not gonna rate it good just because there's some LGBTQ+ representation， even that done very poorly。 Also， the writing style just sucks。 I don't know what it is about it， but it's just not good。 It's probably the present-tense， first-person POV that gets me。 Seriously， some of the writing is actually kind of funny to look at because of the way it's written; Sophia literally describes a man as "He is tall"。 It's just so monotonous and matter-of-factly。 Again， this goes back to the lack of nuance。 One thing I liked about this book， though， was the spin on the classic Cinderella fairytale。 It was really interesting how the 'fairy godmother' was really a witch and how there was only one Prince Charming all along， etc。 The fairy tale retelling was the only thing I was there for。 Other than that， it's a pretty basic， poorly-written， YA 'dystopian' novel， if you can even call it that。 。。。more
Sophie
，
Wow！ What an amazing book！ I’ve seen some really bad reviews about this book， and im wondering if we read the same book， haha。 I totally loved this book， the writing was amazing， and the overall storyline was as great！ The chapters were the exact right amount of pages。 （I hate long chapters） overall this book was AMAZING and thats why it deserves 5 starts！ :）
Rebecca
，
Started a little slow but great fairy tale feel。
Soph
，
4。5 stars！Ok I LOVED this book！ Sophia was such a badass， and I loved her character and narration。 Constance was also really cool， and the fairy godmother was really interesting- I was not prepared for the twist at the end！ The relationship was also amazing- at first I thought it was a bit insta-love， but changed my mind very quicklyThe story was also fantastic- I love books based on fairytales， and this was honestly such a cool idea， and I loved the twists and turns， and the idea that the Cinde 4。5 stars！Ok I LOVED this book！ Sophia was such a badass， and I loved her character and narration。 Constance was also really cool， and the fairy godmother was really interesting- I was not prepared for the twist at the end！ The relationship was also amazing- at first I thought it was a bit insta-love， but changed my mind very quicklyThe story was also fantastic- I love books based on fairytales， and this was honestly such a cool idea， and I loved the twists and turns， and the idea that the Cinderella story was a lie。 The messages in this book， and the fighting back against the patriarchy are also very topical at the moment lol。 But honestly， I’m going to go around recommending this book to everyone！ There were some great quotes， the characters and relationships were amazing， and the whole premise and storyline was so original！ The world building wasn’t super detailed， but I really didn’t mind about that- you easily got enough information to imagine everything！ I also loved the writing- although I was left with some questions and I thought some characters could get more developed， but it didn’t detract from my enjoyment！Overall incredible！ 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Cinderella Is Dead
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Cinderella Is Dead&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Cinderella Is Dead&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0