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A review by sophiareagan
Cinder the Fireplace Boy and other Gayly Grimm Tales by Ana Mardoll
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I wasn't familiar with most of these fairy tales before reading this book. On the one hand, that might have been a good thing because the stories were new to me, but it also meant that I don't have an emotional connection to them, so seeing them retold in this way wasn't a particularly meaningful experience. I appreciate the intention, though, and it was certainly nice reading about princesses falling in love with maidens and heroes using they/them pronouns. I think if I were younger or less immersed in queer stories, it would have been much more meaningful.
This collection made me think about what we change when we retell stories. This is specifically focused on adding queer and trans characters to the stories, usually without changing the story very much. I enjoyed it the most, though, when the character's identities did have an impact, like one story where the princess has set an impossible challenge that men have to meet to marry her and it turns out the reason for that is because she doesn't want to marry any of the men. When a woman meets the challenge, the princess is happy. For me, that's where retellings shine, but I also understand the value of stories that just swap in queer characters.
There were also incidences of racism that were removed from the stories, which I support. I did notice, though, that no characters are ever described as people of color. The illustrations (which were lovely) would indicate that some of them were, but it's not in the text, which I thought was a missed opportunity.
Overall, I think Ana Mardoll did a good job retelling these stories. It wasn't something that I desperately needed, but I enjoyed it.
This collection made me think about what we change when we retell stories. This is specifically focused on adding queer and trans characters to the stories, usually without changing the story very much. I enjoyed it the most, though, when the character's identities did have an impact, like one story where the princess has set an impossible challenge that men have to meet to marry her and it turns out the reason for that is because she doesn't want to marry any of the men. When a woman meets the challenge, the princess is happy. For me, that's where retellings shine, but I also understand the value of stories that just swap in queer characters.
There were also incidences of racism that were removed from the stories, which I support. I did notice, though, that no characters are ever described as people of color. The illustrations (which were lovely) would indicate that some of them were, but it's not in the text, which I thought was a missed opportunity.
Overall, I think Ana Mardoll did a good job retelling these stories. It wasn't something that I desperately needed, but I enjoyed it.