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Cinderella's Dress by Shonna Slayton Review

Happy Monday Everyone :)


Thanks so much for joining me today on the Preppy Book Princess :)


As many of you already probably know, I loooove Disney. It's my favorite vacation spot, I love Disney movies, Disney style, the Disney characters....my list could go on and on.


So it probably comes as no surprise to anyone that I also really love reading fairy tale retellings. And, I often enjoy the ones the most that deviate from the usual Disney tale, and go somewhere else with the story.


I recently finished an amazing novel in the last few days that was definitely like this, and I'm excited to get to talk about it with all of you today.


Cinderella's Dress by Shonna Slayton:




Publisher: Entangled Teen

Publication Date: June 3rd, 2014

Source: Bought for myself 


Synopsis:

Being a teenager during World War II is tough. Finding out you're the next keeper of the real Cinderella's dress is even tougher.

Kate simply wants to create window displays at the department store where she's working, trying to help out with the war effort. But when long-lost relatives from Poland arrive with a steamer trunk they claim holds the Cinderella's dress, life gets complicated.

Now, with a father missing in action, her new sweetheart shipped off to boot camp, and her great aunt losing her wits, Kate has to unravel the mystery before it's too late.

After all, the descendants of the wicked stepsisters will stop at nothing to get what they think they deserve.

******synopsis from goodreads*****


My Review:

I honestly think that the story of Cinderella is probably one of the most loved and shared fairy tales of all time. It's one of those classic tales that most people are familiar with, and most little girl's dreamed about during their childhood. Cinderella retellings have also become quite popular, especially in the YA genre, and I've had the opportunity to read quite a few. However, I was pleasantly surprised with just how unique Shonna Slayton's beautiful story was, and it really was unlike any I'd personally read before.


Kate Allen's goals for herself don't match those of her social climber mother. Kate has no interest in a modelling career, or a career in the fashion market period. Instead, it's the beautiful store window's at Harmon-Craig's department store that attracts her attention. After all, what's not to love about getting to design a window that attract's shopper's attention, and highlights the designer's abilities to bring a scene to life. And it's beginning to look like Kate might get her dream of working in the windows after all, when a job opens up for her in the department, which is almost unheard of for a female during this time period. However, Kate's life begins to change in ways she never could have seen coming when her great aunt and uncle arrive from Poland as refugees, and bring with them a whole side of family history that leaves Kate wondering if they can possibly know what they're talking about. After all, Cinderella doesn't exist, so how could her family possibly be chosen as the guardians of her famous dresses? 

Right from the start of this wonderfully written story, I had a feeling that it was going to be a new favorite. It was a refreshing change to see a Cinderella retelling focus on something other than Cinderella herself, and that's exactly what Shonna Slayton has done in this historical YA fiction novel. Instead the emphasis is on Cinderella's wardrobe, and the family chosen to keep it safe from the descendants of the evil stepsisters. Mixed in with well researched historical aspects on World War Two, and Polish culture, a fun cast of secondary characters like Floyd, Josie, Elsie, Adalbert, and Johnny, Cinderella's Dress had me hooked line and sinker right from the first page.


The characters were well developed, and showed real growth over the course of the story playing out, and definitely learned from both their mistakes and the gruesome effects of World War Two. As well, the developing romance between Johnny and Kate was believable, adorable, and seemed well representative of a what a real romance would have been like between two teens during this time period. As well, the fairy tale element never seemed too fanatical, and I never had a hard time believing the circumstances surrounding the mysterious dresses. Kate's character in particular was one I really enjoyed, as the reader really got a sense of the way she wanted to make a name for herself among the all male staff of window dressers she's been assigned to work for, but she definitely learns the cost of her ambitions on more than one account, and isn't afraid to admit she was wrong.


All in all, I really loved this different take on the Cinderella story, and the way that Shonna Slayton intertwined her fictional story with the real, devastating events of World War Two. I especially loved that it really had no objectionable content in it, and that I felt perfectly comfortable throughout the whole story.  I gave this one four out of five stars, and the only reason it wasn't a five star read for me, was that I wasn't a huge fan of the ending, but I'm still anxiously anticipating getting to continue on with the story in Cinderella's Shoes. 


I definitely recommend this one to anyone who's a fan of young adult fiction, historical fiction, or fairy tale retellings. 


Thanks so much for reading guys! And I hope your week's off to a great start.



This is not a sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. The photo does not belong to me, and all rights to the respective owners. 

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