Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron is a twisted sapphic fairy tale. Sophie lives in a land where Prince Charming and Cinderellas’ story is true, but Cinderella and Prince Charming are dead and she lives in a controlling society where women must find husbands and be quiet. Sophie doesn’t want a husband, she’s in love with her best friend but they know they can’t be together. On the night of a ball for women to find husbands Sophie runs and defies the current king. She finds herself at Cinderellas tomb where she meets Constance. Her and Constance have the same feminist revolutionary mindset. Cinderella is Dead is a story about tearing down the patriarchy and being able to love who you want.
I gave this book 4 stars because I really like the plot line and the main characters. I thought it was a super fast and simple read that makes you feel good by the end. As far as a twisted fairtail goes this is definitely a great example, the original story of Cinderella isn’t the story we follow either which makes the book a little bit more compelling. While it was mildly prediciblte follow the plot map completely it did all that well. I think the representation in the novel makes it even better especially since the amount of sapphic YA books isn’t very high. Overall a good quick read when you need a feel good story (or an empowering feminist tale).