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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
a fun, quick read, August 11, 2006
Isabel (Bella) is an unlucky girl. At the time of her birth her mother died and her father, having loved her mother passionately, abandoned Isabel to her Aunt Maud for care. Maud placed her in a foster home, that of the Lady Beatrice (former wet nurse of the crown Prince of Moranmoor) and her husband, Martin, and son Will, and later a daughter named Margaret. Bella grew up in relative peace and comfort, never knowing that she owed her birth to a heartless knight. As she aged she grew friendly with the Prince of Moranmoor, Julian, who always called her a Princess despite her station and once gave her a thimble in a game of the faerie castle that he and Will invented for her.
Despite her pleasant upbringing there is still unhappiness brewing in the land of Moranmoor. Moranmoor has been at war with the neighboring kingdom, Brutanna, for years. Bella sees much strife in her quaint life. But suddenly peace has come to pass with the signing of a treaty between the two rivals. Unfortunately Prince Julian, as the king's youngest son, must go in to the palace of Brutanna as an amicable hostage so that peace might be ensured for the nations, but not before he mistreats Bella in a rather upsetting manor.
Shortly after Isabel's Aunt comes to fetch her. Her father has asked for her, and as such Bella has to be returned to a household she has never known. Her father has remarried a woman named Matilda who has two daughters, snobbish Marianne and mute Alice, who is still grieving the death of their father at sea. Not knowing what to do with a girl raised by peasants Bella is placed in the kitchens for lack of finesse as Marianne is placed at court. Every visit she brings a bit of gossip back home with her and one day Bella learns that Julian's life is in danger. Despite the fact that he mistreated her she has to warn him of his impending doom, and treks across the countryside to bring this news to him. But will he regard her as warmly as he once did in his youth or will his last actions to her prove that his heart has hardened against Bella?
"Bella at Midnight" is a warm and sweet retelling of Cinderella with a lot more truth and a lot less fantasy. The trace elements of magic and whimsy are at the behest of God's will. Bella herself acquires the means necessary to arrive at the "Ball" (in this case an opulent wedding) in style. The role of the fairy godmother has been taken over by Bella's kindly Aunt, and the wicked stepmother and sisters are of course in fine form, save Alice who does help out Bella at times. I'll be honest that for a while I found the book lacking in the middle. The character development is a little flat even though Stanley has chosen to break up the narration into different characters for every chapter. This actually distances the reader from the characters instead of drawing them in. However, the overall plot, the nice way she tied in the original mythos of Cinderella, and the incredible "Joan of Arc" style ending culminate in a fun, quick read. I would happily give this book 4 stars, but the character weakness that I have mention must alter that opinion a touch, so 3.5 out of 5 feels about right. I think younger folks will very much enjoy this.
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Impossible things are happening every day, May 17, 2006
Hello, Diane Stanley. You're looking well today. Could it be the result of a new haircut? A new shirt? Or could it be the fact that you've just written a work of fiction that is getting resounding, unending, and universal applause? I think that might be the case. You look at "Bella At Midnight" and you don't exactly know what to think. It's a nice cover and all, but is it any good? Well, there's a starred review of it in Kirkus, a starred review of it in Booklist, and a starred review of it in School Library Journal. So, yes, it is indeed good. More importantly, it does something that I would have seriously doubted possible until this time. It takes that old chestnut of a Cinderella myth, pumps it full of new life and vitality, and sends it spinning off into the ether like some kind of newfangled original tale. I still had qualms with some aspects of the storytelling, but for three-dimensional characters, magnificent plotting, and a great bit of writing through and through, "Bella At Midnight" is near impossible to beat.
The child was unwanted. Her mother had died in childbirth and her father wanted nothing to do with her, so unbalanced was he by his wife's death. So it was that Isabel (nicknamed Bella) was taken from her father's home and tended to by a peasant wetnurse by the name of Beatrice who had lately tended to the prince himself. Prince Julian, the third son in his family, often comes back to visit this wetnurse of his, and over the years it becomes clear that the person he seeks most often on his visits is Bella. But it isn't until Bella is a teenager that she is told the truth about herself. The peasant family who has loved her all these years? Not her family. Without any advance notice, Bella is shipped away from everyone and everything she has ever loved to live with a father she's never known alongside a new stepmother and stepsister. Sound familiar? The story of Cinderella has been retold for a new generation and with it comes a story full of intrigue, miracles, magic, and even a pair of tiny glass slippers. It's all here. What's remarkable is how Stanley manages to incorporate all these details and never loose sight of her own original story.
In this book, each chapter is told from a different person's point of view. Once in a while a singler person's P.O.V. will occur twice in a row, but usually that's out of sheer narrative necessity. What this multiple-narrative really manages to do is give almost everyone a voice. If Bella's stepmother is vicious or her stepsister proud, you learn why that might be from their separate stories. Talk about well-rounded storytelling! Not everyone gets a voice, I'll admit. We never really get inside of Bella's father's head (thankfully!) but we can see rather clearly why he acts the way he does. And any author that is able to make a privileged prince of pure heart and mind sound like someone you'd actually want to hang out with (to say nothing of perfect beautiful Bella) is an author of finely honed writing skills indeed. Actually, extra kudos to Stanley for giving Bella a backbone and having her save the day in a particularly dramatic way at the story's end. I've always been sick of Cinderella stories where the protagonist just sits around waiting for good fortune to fall into her lap.
Then take into account the way Stanley has incorporated everything from the original Cinderella myth alongside works like Shakespeare's, "The Tempest". When we first meet the meekest of Bella's stepsisters we hit a chapter that begins with, "My father lies below the sea. Crabs scuttle over him and scatter his bones. Beside his remains, half buried in the sand, lie trinkets he was bringing home for me". Ariel's song anyone? "Full fathom five thy father lies", and all that? There are multiple examples of intelligent referencing in this book, but never presented in such a way that they jar with the book itself.
With all these laudable qualities you might wonder how anyone could find ANYTHING to object to in this book. Admittedly, I was disinclined to say anything against "Bella", but there was one repeating and ridiculous aspect to Stanley's writing. It involves her children. Now I am perfectly aware that this story takes place in some distant past and that long ago kids were required to become adults much faster than they are today. Just the same, how likely does it seem to you that a ten-year-old conversing with a seven-year-old should say something along the lines of, "And then, Bella, I was not satisfied with merely playing a great hero... Is that not prideful enough for you? Can you picture me riding into the midst of a battle and bringing armies to their knees?"? The seven-year-old Bella's reply? "If God willed it, you could! You have a pure heart, Julian, as the Worthy Knight is said to have. God could make you a champion if it was needful". I am willing to suspend my disbelief a rather great ways, but this conversation doesn't read like that of a pair of children. It reads like a pair of twenty-somethings. And, considering the course it takes, rather wise twenty-somethings at that. I've always had a dislike of books in which kids don't act or speak like real children (hence my tempestuous relationship with E.L. Konigsburg). "Bella At Midnight", commits this crime multiple times. Fortunately, by page 66 these too-knowledgeable kids have grown into their flowery tongues and the book progresses at a rapid clip.
There's something wonderful about Cinderella stories. They speak to a universal desire to be recognized beyond the state of our birth. I daresay that no author (until now, of course) has ever given a Cinderella story such care and love as is found in this newest children's book. Kids with a penchant for fairy tales (perhaps of the Donna Jo Napoli variety) will find Stanley's title infinitely accessible. She really makes you believe in the world that she has conjured up. A wonderful addition to any library and a truly enjoyable read.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best Book I've Read in Years!, March 22, 2007
This book is so great. I could hardly put it down. I am a mom, an English Major, and an Elementary School teacher who loves a good read. This was fantastic. It would be great for an English teacher who is teaching point of view. I read it for fun because I am always looking for good books to read to my daughters and students. Read it -- You'll be glad you did!
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