Spinelli shines at setting a tongue-in-cheek tone for a tale with serious underpinnings, and as in Stargirl (2000), readers will be swept into the relationship that develops between this adolescent odd couple.

What follows, in a long conversational ramble through town and beyond, is a day at once ordinary yet rich in discovery and self-discovery-not just for Worm, but for Becca too, with a climactic twist that leaves both ready, or readier, for whatever may come next. But being (or having been, anyway) a more outgoing sort, she sees their encounter as a sign that she’s got a mission. Becca Finch is as surprised and confused as Worm, only remembering losing control of her car on an icy slope that past Christmas Eve. Like many of his classmates, shy, self-conscious Robbie “Worm” Tarnauer has been looking forward to Dead Wed as a day for cutting loose rather than sober reflection…until he finds himself talking to a strange girl or, as she would have it, “spectral maiden,” only he can see or touch. On the second Wednesday in June, every eighth grader in Amber Springs, Pennsylvania, gets a black shirt, the name and picture of a teen killed the previous year through reckless behavior-and the silent treatment from everyone in town. Will both entertain and encourage reflection.įor two teenagers, a small town’s annual cautionary ritual becomes both a life- and a death-changing experience. The atmospheric setting is a particular strength, and the twists and turns will keep readers in suspense. This promising debut deals with themes around rebellion and empowerment as well as the toll that rejecting the status quo can take on relationships. As the two grew closer-and sparks fly-they discover secrets that could end Manford’s cruel reign. There she meets rebellious Constance, an attractive young red-haired woman with a very personal motivation for sabotaging the monarchy. After fleeing the ball, Sophia stumbles across Cinderella’s mausoleum, hidden in the woods. While racial diversity is a natural part of this world, the same acceptance does not exist for those who defy rigid gender norms: Anything other than heterosexual desire is strictly forbidden, and while Sophia wishes to escape as a couple, Erin is too fearful. Sophia is a beautiful Black girl in love with dark-haired Erin, one of her best friends.

But being chosen can be its own curse in a society where domestic violence is common. Any young woman who has not been claimed after her third ball is destined to spend the rest of her days engaged in hard labor. Sophia is turning 16, the age at which young women must attend King Manford’s annual ball, at which they are scrutinized by and married off to male attendees.

In Mersailles, “Cinderella” is more than just a fairy tale: It’s the basis for a harsh monarch’s throttlehold on his kingdom.

Cinderella is not dead