Before I start tonight’s review of Creating Cinderella I would like to disclose that I am one of the authors who has a story published in this anthology but I do not gain monetarily from the sale of this book as all proceeds go to helping the Australian Wildlife devastated by bush fires. And with that let’s shine a big ol’ spotlight on the the other talented voices in this volume!
In this anthology you will find an assortment of very diverse stories that all show the classic tale of Cinderella in a different light. Having been on both sides of this as both an author and a reader I must admit this was fascinating. You wouldn’t think there could be much done to make this old fable new and interesting but then you’d be wrong.
It was super interesting to see which aspects of the classic fairy tale these authors decided to run with and what they did with them. We have to admit the traditional Cinderella had some issues that make some modern readers a little uneasy. Suffice to say creating a world where a woman has to be rescued by a prince is… uninspired to say the least. And yet Cinderella really finds her voice in this anthology!
Even more interesting is that Cinderella isn’t even the main character in a good deal of these retellings. In fact we get to hear from almost the whole cast – a vignette from the helpful mice, a few stories from the perspective of the evil step mother, a little side view of some of the step sisters, and even the thoughts of the prince.
The world each author created was a whirlwind of creativity – from making Cinderella a spider, to twisting the tale into a Gothic horror, to retelling it in the form of an epic poem, to shining a strange whimsical new light on the worlds of professional wrestling and ballet I was happily surprised with each entry. A delightful variety I am super happy to have contributed my own gender-bent Cinderella story to.
I would enthusiastically recommend this to anyone interested in learning about perspective or anyone who loves fairy tales. If this might be you it can be purchased in ebook or paperback form on Amazon.