Cinderella is Dead

By Kalynn Bayron

Published by Harper Collins

THROUGHOUT my time reading young adult fiction I’ve come across a lot of novels focused on the general concepts of dystopian worlds and twisted fairytales, and even a few combining the two. Kalynn Bayron created the perfect mix while retaining all of the best parts of each genre.

The impact of a story like this is both the exciting sense of experiencing something new, with a few variations from the day-to-day aspects of our own lives. Although the story is dramatised, the political points that it makes are all too real.

This connection to unsettling issues that still haven’t been resolved in real life means that, no matter how fantastical some of the ideas may seem, there’s always enough truth to keep you thinking.

This story takes place 200 years after the death of Cinderella, when much of life is centred on her tale and society is built on an extreme patriarchal system.

Every young girl grows up learning the Cinderella story off by heart and adhering to a strict set of rules and curfew, enjoying very little freedom unless permitted by the male head of their household.

At the age of 16, they are eligible to attend their first ball, where they can be chosen by a suitor who wants to marry them. The lives of those not chosen are declared forfeit and they are considered a disgrace to their families.

The time around the ball is always hurried and intense, particularly for those who have already been to one or, worse, two balls, preparing to look as beautiful as though they had been visited by a fairy godmother themselves.

The story is centred on Sophia Grimmins, a girl who, to the dismay of many, questions the way they are forced to live. She is determined to avoid the horror of her first ball at all costs, because she knows that she couldn’t be content in a marriage with anyone other than Erin, the girl she loves and one of her closest friends.

Despite hating the system just as much as Sophia, Erin is painfully realistic, knowing that they could never get away with simply running away from it all together. Not only is she scared of getting caught and the subsequent punishment, she is so convinced that disappointment is the only path in life she sees no way out.

The growing sense of hope that change could be possible is what really makes Cinderella Is Dead special.

My favourite aspect of the novel is the way the main character Sophia is portrayed. It’s often the case in books with such exciting, well written plots that the characters can feel lacking and simply props to further the story. Sophia is immediately so much more than that.

She has the strength and will necessary to be the start of a corrupt system’s destruction, as well as providing an emotional depth through her romance and the damage society’s restrictions have inflicted on her.

The best thing about Sophia and this book is that she’s not just a hero for the sake of being a hero, but for herself and those she loves.