Review: CINDERS by Michelle Davidson Argyle

Title: Cinders
Author: Michelle Davidson Argyle
Publisher: CreateSpace
Pub. Date: June 23, 2010
Format: Paperback, 182 pages
Rating: 4/5

Back Cover:
Cinderella's happily-ever-after isn't turning out the way she expected.

With her fairy godmother imprisoned in the castle and a mysterious stranger haunting her dreams, Cinderella is on her own to discover true love untainted by magic.


What I Thought:
In a world where Disney has turned princesses into beautiful young women, striving to find their prince while singing to animals, Michelle Davidson Argyle's novella is refreshing. Argyle's protagonist is Cinderella, but not Disney's version.

Last semester I took a class on folklore, and we spent half the semester covering the Cinderella fairy tale (which is 510A in the Aarne-Thompson fairy tale index, in case you were wondering. I know you were.), so I thought I was burnt out on all things Cinderella. Until I saw this book. A friend read it and let me borrow it (That would be Amanda. You can find her review here.), and I LOVED the idea.

Cinders is all about how Cinderella's dream-come-true has gone all kinds of wrong. Argyle takes the tale and turns it on its head. She gives you more Cinderella. You see her thoughts, dreams, and worries as she confronts the idea that what she wished for may not be what she wants. She expands the fairy tale and gives you characters with names and personalities, instead of epithets and stereotypes. One of my favorite things about the book is that Cinderella is not her real name. It's a nickname that she prefers because she loves the way it makes her feel.

Another great thing about Cinders is all the elements from the fairy tale that come up in the story. For example, Cinderella's shoes are FUR, not glass. (If you're confused by this, go here and read footnote 40.) Another element that worked wonderfully: MAGIC. Argyle's take on magic is not that it's a cure-all for every little problem. It's a powerful element that has consequences. Magic serves as a way for Cinderella to make choices and live life.

Cinders, at 182 pages, is a novella. Not many novellas get published these days because most of them just don't work. Cinders works as a novella. I didn't find it to be too short or too vague. Argyle has all the details and plot necessary to make a wonderful story.

The only thing I didn't care too much for was the ending, but that was just a personal preference. I get disappointed every time endings don't go the way I wanted them to. HOWEVER, I understand why the ending is the way it is. It's necessary, and it's true to the way fairy tales used to be written.

All in all, I loved Cinders. It broke my heart, but in a good way.

You can visit Michelle Davidson Arygle's website here, and you can purchase Cinders from Amazon (in paperback and Kindle edition) and from Barnes and Noble.

Review: Wicked by Gregory Maguire

Back Cover:

When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her archnemesis, the mysterious Witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked?

Gregory Maguire creates a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again. Wicked is about a land where animals talk and strive to be treated like first-class citizens, Munchkinlanders seek the comfort of middle-class stability, and the Tin Man becomes a victim of domestic violence. And then there is the little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to become the infamous Wicked Witch of the West--a smart, prickly, and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil.

What I Thought:

I had been meaning to read this book for years. Seriously, years. I was in high school the first time I saw anyone reading it, and the idea intrigued me. Four years later, I spot a used copy on my local bookstore's shelf for only four dollars. Naturally, I snatched it right up. I even took the time to read L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz before I opened Wicked. I wanted to be well-informed about Baum's Oz when I read Maguire's take on it.

The story starts off wonderfully, but the time the book spends at Shiz University is probably my favorite part of the book. At this point, Maguire makes it apparent just how complex Elphaba is. He sets out her principles, her values, and her morals through her years at Shiz. He makes her character easy to relate to, even if she is a fictional, green-skinned resident of Oz. Maguire also takes this time as an opportunity to point out all the political problems in Oz and what Elphaba's take on them is, from religion to Animal rights.

My least favorite part of the book is the last half or so, when Elphaba moves out to the Vinkus. It's such a strange and slow part. When I got to this part, I had to make myself keep reading, but it wasn't a complete deal breaker.

What kills Wicked for me is the characterization of Glinda and Elphaba. Glinda was so affected by what happened to Doctor Dillamond that she changed her name from Galinda to Glinda, which was the way he pronounced it. She became more serious and cared less about silliness and her society friends, but by the end of the book, she's content to be a high society lady in frilly dresses. What happened to her changes? Elphaba's actions at the end contradict everything Maguire has done with her throughout the entire book. Her strong-willed and calm character resorts to stalking a little girl. Yes, she always had conspiracy theories, but this one is just blown up out of proportion. Elphaba is a logical person, but when Dorothy comes calling, she just goes crazy on her. In my opinion, it's inconsistent with her character, and I was irritated by it. It killed the book for me, and that made me sad.

Rating: 3/5

Title: Wicked
Author: Gregory Maguire
MMP: 538
Publisher: Harper