What I have enjoyed about starting this post at the end of each month is that it forces me to review what I’ve read and refile my thoughts about them and also rank them– not picking the top seven or top three, but really picking one that stuck out.

Behold, July’s outstanding book…. Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron.

There are plenty of fans of retellings out there and if you are one of them, then make sure this one is on your TBR. The book is built on strong, memorable characters and challenging society (in this fantasy novel and in real life). It’s hard to separate Sophia and Constance, one readers meet Constance. Both have their motivations, Constance several generations removed from the stepsisters of Cinderella’s story, but Sophia wants to challenge the status quo of this kingdom, lorded over by the prince. She sees her friends readying themselves for the ball where they will be selected by a man who can then do whatever he pleases with her. Not only does Sophia not want to marry, she doesn’t want a husband. Erin has been her love for quite some time but is reluctant to run away from the kingdom with Sophia and is instead resigned to a life similar to everyone else’s.

And it’s Sophia and Erin’s first ball, that is one of several scenes in the book that are memorable. The ballroom itself appears in climactic scenes in the story to anchor the fantasy that most readers have of the Cinderella narrative. And Bayron turns it on its head, especially when the united pair of Sophia and Constance along with the fairy godmother raise Cinderella from the dead in another scene. How else can you alter your view of the sparkling, glass-slippered Cinderella than to raid her tomb and use a potion to reinvigorate her for a few minutes? Just as your version of a fairy godmother changes when the girls go into the White Wood and find her too.

Because not all that glitters… and one of the memorable quotes is what Sophia knew in her gut from the start but is slowly revealed as she goes on her quest to take down the prince.

I think sometimes we make the mistake of thinking monsters are abhorrent aberrations, lurking in the darkest recesses, when the truth is far more disturbing. The most monstrous men are those who sit in plain sight, daring you to challenge them.

Yes, the entire book is that powerful with a few crazy happenings in between. The feminist perspective with intersectional characters and a challenge of stories we hold dear not only feels so right for 2020, but also for our teens.

If Bayron now decides to do some more retellings, I’ll be waiting over here with my cup of tea.