I Love a Remix
I love YA! My first YA retelling/remix was A Blade So Black. I loved getting into the fantasy genre by starting with a story I was familiar with like Alice & Wonderland. I love YA but it's usually not fantasy. So, I had to read Cinderella Is Dead. A remix that gives a history of the Cinderella story with queer Black girls on a mission to change their community.
Sophia is 16, courageous, likes girls and is not a big believer in fairy god mother's or the magic that existed. I enjoyed reading Cinderella is Dead! I would think the story was going one way and was wrong! I loved that. Sophia Grimmins is not easily swayed by anyone, even the girl she loves. She wanted to see change in her world and she doesn't just talk about but is ready to risk it all. I found myself rooting for her along the way. I also smiled whenever she was in her feelings towards a couple of special girls.
In this remix to the fairy tale I was glad to continually think I knew what would happen next and be wrong. I enjoyed the reveals as the fairytale story began to be exposed. The same way dissident media can help to expose the truth. The town follows the history of the Cinderella story. However, we know certain lies told and passed down can be accepted as truth until the truth is uncovered.
Sophia knew to create a change in how women were treated she couldn't just try to change leadership, she had to get the system abolished. Read the book to see the truths she discovers about Cinderella's story.
