Author: Mike Klaassen

Genre: Fairy Tale, Fantasy

Links: Amazon Kindle, Amazon Print

On Cinderella’s eighteenth birthday, the king announces a series of three grand balls in which Prince Willem will select a bride. Cinderella attends the first ball but flees when she realizes that she is a witch. Accused by her stepmother of being a dreaded temptress, Cinderella flees the second ball. Determined to gain Willem’s love, Cinderella attends the third ball only to flee again when she foresees imminent invasion by barbarians. Is the kingdom doomed, or can Cinderella use her newfound powers to save the day? Cinderella is part of the Klaassen’s Classic Tales collection of ancient stories first published in the early 1800s, now enhanced for the 21st century. If you liked Hansel and Gretel and The Frog Prince, you’ll love this novella. Rediscover the enchantment of Cinderella today!

An Interesting Retelling

Rating: 5 Stars

I'm sure everyone is familiar with this classic fairy tale. So my recommendation to you all: read this version anyway!

Cinderella as retold by Mike Klaassen is awesome. Fairy tales, as we know, are told in a simplistic manner as they are meant to be short and also meant to appeal to children. On this particular retelling however, the author has enhanced the story further, giving it more life and depth to the storyline, providing a perspective of its own, and presenting characters with believable motivations. Needless to say, this "made-for-grownups" version is much more interesting and though we probably could guess what the ending will be, it still made for an enjoyable read.

The other point of interest for me is on Cinderella's character. As you can surmise from the blurb, this is another non-conforming element and twist to the story-line, that Cinderella is a....witch! How could this be? And how will this affect the interaction points with the other characters in the story? That alone makes this book a must read! There were other interesting add-ons as well that as I recall, were not really present in the traditional fairy tale -- a reference to Cinderella's mom, the hazel tree and the gifts it bestowed, and more. All in all, I think these help to patch and provide plausible explanations for Cinderella's character and behavior.

And so I encourage every book lover to pick up this version of Cinderella. You won't regret it. Certainly a refreshing take to a fairy tale that we've all come to know since young.