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Post by Mary on May 29, 2006 23:06:33 GMT -5
Has anyone else read this title? I picked this book up because I enjoy Stanley's picture book biographies so much. I found I enjoyed this novel with its many Cinderella elements a great deal. I recommend it. What do you guys think?
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Post by Diane on Jul 23, 2006 9:19:29 GMT -5
I just read it last night. Thank you for suggesting it. I thought it was great. It had an enjoyable mixture of love, family, magic, treachery, honor, evil, humor, glass slippers and an avoided battle. But, most of all, love conquers. I hope it wins the Newbery.
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Post by heather on Jul 25, 2006 9:55:34 GMT -5
I finished this title last night and thought that it was enjoyable. I liked that it was Cinderella-esque without being another Cinderella story. I like that Bella was a strong character who did something about the injustice that she saw.
But something about the end felt flat. The chapter where she goes back to greet her "family" didn't sit right for me. What do you think?
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mandy
New Member
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Post by mandy on Jul 25, 2006 11:21:12 GMT -5
I agree with you Heather. I also thought something was odd about that last chapter. The way Bella approached her family seemed out of character - almost arrogant or proud. I can't imagine her wanting to wear the suit of armor any longer than she had to when she had always been content to wear the one dress that she owned before.
Regardless, I found this book to be a very enjoyable read. Despite the many Cinderella elements, I felt that Bella at Midnight was a very different, very original story. I liked the way that the glass slippers, the stepsisters, etc. reminded me of something familiar, but the plot of the book held my interest. This normally doesn't happen with typical fairy tale variants.
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Post by DianeB on Aug 29, 2006 11:06:04 GMT -5
Yes, the ending could have gone in a different direction and made more sense. But, overall, I enjoyed the story and found myself trying to find connections to Cinderella. It was fun.
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martha
Junior Member
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Post by martha on Sept 7, 2006 20:25:19 GMT -5
I thought this book took way to long to get to the meat of the story. I did like part of it, but I don't find it memorable. I read it a month or two ago and have already forgotten most of the story, and not just because it's another Cinderella variant.
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Post by Erica on Oct 3, 2006 21:48:27 GMT -5
I found this to be engrossing and wonderfully magical as it unfolded. It was enough like Cinderella for a reader to be guessing and connecting, but enough different to be surprising. I found myself really pulling for her, and hoping she would have the best of all possible outcomes. I read it awhile ago, in an uncorrected proof, and although I do remember the homecoming feeling like an anticlimax, that seems appropriate for young readers. (What is the big deal about going home? It's just home!) The only flaw that I remember vividly is that she is in possession of a magical object that for almost the entire book she completely neglects to USE! I found myself repeating silently to myself, "Look at the ring!" Ah well, it all seemed to work out in the end, so I guess she didn't need it anyway. Or maybe I misunderstood, or forgot?
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