Before Midnight (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition) Book

Extremely wary was I of this one. There have been tons of Cinderella retellings and begs you to ask the question what could this little book have to offer? A substantial amount as it turns out.

Cendrillion is blamed for the death of her mother. Not by everyone mind you but by her father. He wishes to never to see her again until he can receive peace. When he comes to visit his dead wife's grave he brings another life with him. A little baby boy to be exact. His name would be Raoul and he and Cendrillion would grow up together. This was totally refreshing because Cinderella never grows up with a brother or any other siblings really. This book felt like a long novel which I was surprised by since it is fairly short. A feat I'm assuming is hard to achieve.

The stepmother and sisters are way more interesting in this story and aren't depicted as being dumb as most other retellings make them out to be. There are a lot more characters that make an appearance to add layers to the story as well. Everything from why she is named Cendrillion, to how the lost slipper comes to play was original. Wishes and love at first sight played big roles in the story. How we what wish may not always be what we thought it would be.

A couple of complaints though:

-How things worked out for her father. It felt like the easy way out. I wasn't expecting perfection but something more than what we are left with.

- Why? Why? Whyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!! must the love of their lives come at the end of the story? They can make an appearance sooner! I do love the background work Dokey puts into it but I don't think it's too much to ask to put the guys earlier into the story.

Other than that though I'm totally happy and not regretful of giving this retelling a chance.