Customer Reviews

Cindy Ella

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have never been a fan of modern versions of classic fables, but I must say CINDY ELLA worked in almost every way. The writing was fresh and the lead characters were both believable and original. I found myself laughing aloud several times - something I never do.

What a great book for tweens and teens, and adults like me! Funny, wry, insightful, soulful, smart, with a dry wit that will make you laugh out loud and tell the person in front of you "listen to this part, this is so funny!" I loved this book. Buy it in bulk and give it out as birthday presents.

All of her life, Cindy Ella Gold has been aware that her name reminds people of the fairy tale. However, she's not an storybook princess; she's a high school student. When sophomore Cindy writes an 'anti-prom' letter to the editor that gets published in her school paper, most of her prom-obsessed classmates (and even some of her teachers!) are shocked and appalled. Luckily, Cindy's friends and family support her to different degrees, even those who are planning on going to the prom themselves. Before this contemporary comedy is through, Cindy finds another way and another reason to celebrate.

Cindy Ella, Robin Palmer's debut novel, is a modern-day realistic Cinderella story without the fantasy elements. Instead of battling her evil stepmother, Cindy battles her frizzy hair. She doesn't have a horrible home life. In fact, even though she doesn't share their priorities, she gets along fairly well with her father, her half-brother, her stepmother, and her stepsisters. The latter are fraternal twins, popular at their school, anxious to get custom-made dresses for prom. Cindy's friends, peace-and-yoga-loving India and suave eighties film buff Malcolm, offer plenty of tongue-in-cheek commentary about the City of Angels and their affluent classmates. While the main characters acknowledge their wealth and the advantages it provides, Cindy herself prefers flip-flops to pricey shoes and doesn't care at all for shopping.

All in all, a fun read. The easily-flustered title character has plenty of embarrassing moments which will endear her to readers. Instead of scrubbing floors or waiting for her fairy godmother to appear, Cindy baby-sits her younger brother, hangs out with her friends, crushes on senior Adam Silver, and chats with her online pal BklynBoy. She's an L.A. girl, yes, but she's very much an awkward teen, stumbling over her own feet rather than coveting glass slippers. Never aspiring for beauty or a crown makes Cindy a real winner. Recommended for fans of The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot or the Lizzie McGuire television series.

My twelve year old daughter couldn't put this book down. Never before has she ever read a book in one sitting. At dinner my husband and I had to listen to her read passage after passage to us with our meatloaf and spinach.

While my husband had to help her with her spelling, she wrote a book report on Cindy Ella for which the teacher gave her an "A".

Thank you Robin Palmer for making a reader out of our daughter who never took her face out of her IPOD before.

All three of us, my daughter, my husband and I look forward to your next teenage book.

Karen Elise

I have a 12 year old daughter. This book was a wonderful read for her. She went to school with head high feeling good about herself. She even got all her friends to buy the book. One parent called me and thanked me. This is without a doubt some hip wholesome reading that really lets insecure tweens feel good about themselves.

I highly recommend buying this book for some tween you love.

I don't usually like re-makes, but this story was so much fun to read! The characters were relatable and likable and the writing was cool and witty! I think this would be a great book for early teen girls- but I'm a grown woman and loved every minute of it! The story didn't end up being all that predictible- and I loved the smart plot twist near the end. All in all, a really fun read- I'd recommend it to all of my friends and their daughters!

This is by far one of the best books I have ever read. It was entertaining, funny, witty, engaging, clever, etc. If I could think of more fantastic adjectives, I would write them all down now. Suffice to say that if you read this book, you will not be disappointed. I only wish I hadn't read it so I could have it to look forward to.

Seriously - this book ROCKED! I totally laughed out loud, cried, IT WAS BETTER THAN CATS! Cindy is such a great character - she reminds me of ME! I totally relate to her ups and downs - will she or won't she finally find the right guy???!!! I was rooting for her the whole way. Life can be so tough sometimes, but it feels a little less tough after reading CINDY ELLA. If Cindy Ella can find her Prince Charming and live happily ever after then maybe all of us can! I can't wait to read Robin Palmer's next book which I hear is supposed to be RAD!

This is a VERY cute version of Cinderella and even laugh out loud funny... also a very easy read and a page turner... but in saying that, I've seen this before in the movie 'A Cinderella Story' starring Hillary Duff. Everything from the totally name-brand Hollywood type Botox mom, to the fraternal twin sisters and even an email relationship... Been there, done that. There are a few unique twists and turns, which make it enjoyable, if not completely original. Including three crushes, which would leave my daughter guessing almost to the very end, just which guy to choose or who chooses her. She's only nine, however, so I am going to wait a few years before I let her read it. The step-mother is not as nasty as the typical Cinderella step-mother and the sisters aren't any more mean than your 'average older teenage sisters' are... which I found VERY nice and much more real, kudos for the author on this. All in all, a good funny book.

Cindy Ella is one of those books that's actually incredibly difficult to judge. The Cinderella re-telling has been done to death, but the fractured fairy-tale fanatic in me thought this one was actually pretty good, although I'm not entire sure Cinderella was so ridiculously shallow. I was hooked from the very beginning, thinking that Cindy was going to be this awesome hippie activist standing up for the little people, but while reading, this view changed quite a lot. While she says she's an activist, her actions didn't exactly go along with her words, and I found India a much bigger activist than Cindy could ever be. India goes to prom, while Cindy does not, and yet, India really doesn't come off so balloon-headed. Cindy claims to be anti-prom, but then she goes falling all over random guys. For all those YA books out there that are about independent strong girls, there really is an awful lot of flirting in all of them, and this certainly seems to follow that pattern. I found some parts of the book to be dreadfully predictable, and others just plain dreadful (the reveal of BklynBoy's identity falling in both categories), and the ending just didn't do it for me.

Rating: 3/5