CINDERELLA AND THE BEAST (OR, BEAUTY AND THE GLASS SLIPPER)

Two heroes trade places in a lightweight fairy-tale mashup.

After some magical shenanigans, Belle, the daughter of a down-on-his-luck widower, wakes up one morning lying in a fireplace and facing a woman and her two daughters, who demand that she act as their servant. Elsewhere in Reverie, Ella, an orphan with a glass leg, is being kept captive in an enchanted castle by the beast of the woods. Both girls display considerable pluck and intelligence, standard-issue characteristics in fairy-tale reimaginings. The twist comes from the introduction of a third hero—a rebellious, bad-tempered princess who’s mysteriously disappeared from the capital city of Miravale. Belle teams up with the princess’ brother, Crown Prince Amir, in an effort to discover her whereabouts and escape her own servitude. Does the missing royal have anything to do with the grumpy beast living in the cursed castle in the forest, now befriending Ella? Many readers will spot the stories’ connections long before the official reveal, but they’ll nevertheless appreciate the resourcefulness and empathy of each of the girls as they strive to overcome their magical obstacles and help those around them. Bussing takes the popular trope of reframing villains’ stories to an intriguing extreme by offering everyone (even Ella’s stepmother) sympathy and psychological motives for their misbehavior. Ella and Belle are cued white; Amir and his sister have olive skin and dark hair.

Devourers of fractured fairy tales will enjoy this kindhearted take on two classics.