Cinderella Is Dead

by Kalynn Bayron

First published 2019

Sophia stands in her finest dress at the Annual Ball, where the kingdom's men will choose wives from the assembled teenage girls. Two hundred years have passed since Cinderella married her prince, but now girls who aren't selected simply vanish. Sophia wants to marry Erin, her childhood best friend, not parade before male suitors. She makes a desperate choice to run from the ball and hides in Cinderella's mausoleum. There she encounters Constance, the final descendant of Cinderella and her stepsisters. Constance reveals that the famous fairy tale holds darker truths than anyone suspected. The two young women join forces to overthrow the king and his brutal system. As they plan their rebellion, Sophia discovers that the stories she grew up believing were lies designed to keep girls powerless and compliant.

Genres: dystopia, fantasy, young-adult, fairy-tale-retellings

Vibes: dark, suspenseful, thought-provoking

Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family

Setting: Cinderella's Mausoleum

Period: 200 Years After Cinderella

416 pages · Hardcover · Turtleback

Content warnings: sexism

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