Cinderella stories - variations on a classic

Explore enchanting Cinderella stories with unique twists! Discover classic variations and modern retellings of this timeless fairy tale in our curated book list.

Ella Enchanted Cover
Book

Ella Enchanted

by Gail Carson Levine

How can a fairy's blessing be such a curse? At her birth, Ella of Frell was given a foolish fairy's gift—the "gift" of obedience. Ella must obey any order given to her, whether it's hopping on one foot for a day or chopping off her own head! But strong-willed Ella does not tamely accept her fate. She goes on a quest, encountering ogres, giants, wicked stepsisters, fairy godmothers, and handsome princes, determined to break the curse—and live happily ever after.
Item Not Found
ID: B00005JM5Q
(Type: books)
Item Not Found
ID: B00006ZXSK
(Type: books)
Item Not Found
ID: 0440228158
(Type: books)
Just Ella Cover
Book

Just Ella

by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Being a princess isn't all that.... You've heard the fairytale: a glass slipper, Prince Charming, happily ever after... Welcome to reality: royal genealogy lessons, needlepoint, acting like "a proper lady," and -- worst of all -- a prince who is not the least bit interesting, and certainly not charming. As soon-to-be princess Ella deals with her newfound status, she comes to realize she is not "your majesty" material. But breaking off a royal engagement is no easy feat, especially when you're crushing on another boy in the palace.... For Ella to escape, it will take intelligence, determination, and spunk -- and no ladylike behavior allowed.
Item Not Found
ID: 0689861788
(Type: books)
Item Not Found
ID: B0003JANM8
(Type: books)
Cindy Ella Cover
Book

Cindy Ella

by Robin Palmer

Sophomore iconoclast Cindy's prom-bashing letter to her high school newspaper complicates her life when she develops a crush on her SAT tutor, added to the ones she has on a popular senior and a boy she has been instant messaging but has never met. Original.
The Ordinary Princess Cover
Book

The Ordinary Princess

by M. M. Kaye

Along with Wit, Charm, Health, and Courage, Princess Amy of Phantasmorania receives a special fairy christening gift: Ordinariness. Unlike her six beautiful sisters, she has brown hair and freckles, and would rather have adventures than play the harp, embroider tapestries . . . or become a Queen. When her royal parents try to marry her off, Amy runs away and, because she's so ordinary, easily becomes the fourteenth assistant kitchen maid at a neighboring palace. And there . . . much to everyone's surprise . . . she meets a prince just as ordinary (and special) as she is! "This delightful fairy tale is sure to please young romantics . . . Neither Kaye's princess nor her book should be considered ordinary." (School Library Journal)
Item Not Found
ID: 0756402727
(Type: books)
Item Not Found
ID: B000TM1CM4
(Type: books)
Item Not Found
ID: B000ALJQLS
(Type: books)
Before Midnight Cover
Book

Before Midnight

by Cameron Dokey

"ONCE UPON A TIME" IS TIMELESS Etienne de Brabant is brokenhearted. His wife has died in childbirth, leaving him alone with an infant daughter he cannot bear to name. But before he abandons her for king and court, he brings a second child to be raised alongside her, a boy whose identity he does not reveal. The girl, La Cendrillon, and the boy, Raoul, pass sixteen years in the servants' care until one day a very fine lady arrives with her two daughters. The lady has married La Cendrillon's father, and her arrival changes their lives. When an invitation to a great ball reaches the family, La Cendrillon's new stepmother will make a decision with far-reaching effects. Her choice will lead La Cendrillon and Raoul toward their destiny -- a choice that will challenge their understanding of family, test their loyalty and courage, and, ultimately, teach them who they are.
An Offer from a Gentleman Cover
Book

An Offer from a Gentleman

 

No summary available.
Item Not Found
ID: 0060775750
(Type: books)
Item Not Found
ID: 0441777929
(Type: books)
Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister Cover
Book

Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister

by Gregory Maguire

Is this new land a place where magics really happen? From Gregory Maguire, the acclaimed author of Wicked, comes his much-anticipated second novel, a brilliant and provocative retelling of the timeless Cinderella tale. In the lives of children, pumpkins can turn into coaches, mice and rats into human beings.... When we grow up, we learn that it's far more common for human beings to turn into rats.... We all have heard the story of Cinderella, the beautiful child cast out to slave among the ashes. But what of her stepsisters, the homely pair exiled into ignominy by the fame of their lovely sibling? What fate befell those untouched by beauty . . . and what curses accompanied Cinderella's exquisite looks? Extreme beauty is an affliction Set against the rich backdrop of seventeenth-century Holland, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister tells the story of Iris, an unlikely heroine who finds herself swept from the lowly streets of Haarlem to a strange world of wealth, artifice, and ambition. Iris's path quickly becomes intertwined with that of Clara, the mysterious and unnaturally beautiful girl destined to become her sister. Clara was the prettiest child, but was her life the prettiest tale? While Clara retreats to the cinders of the family hearth, burning all memories of her past, Iris seeks out the shadowy secrets of her new household--and the treacherous truth of her former life. God and Satan snarling at each other like dogs.... Imps and fairy godmotbers trying to undo each other's work. How we try to pin the world between opposite extremes! Far more than a mere fairy-tale, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister is a novel of beauty and betrayal, illusion and understanding, reminding us that deception can be unearthed--and love unveiled--in the most unexpected of places.
Item Not Found
ID: 0397321805
(Type: books)
Item Not Found
ID: B000050XAI
(Type: books)
Item Not Found
ID: 0375836209
(Type: books)
Item Not Found
ID: B001B7CO0K
(Type: books)