| $@%&! level: None “Bedroom” level: None Violence level: None Back Cover: “In this unusual spin on the old favorite, Cinderella is a boy! He's Cinderellis, and he has two unfriendly brothers and no fairy godmother to help him out. Luckily, he does have magic powders, and he intends to use them to win the hand of his Princess Charming—that is, Marigold. The only problem is—Marigold thinks Cinderellis is a monster!” |
And then there’s Marigold’s father. I’ve always said fairy tales were primarily based in dysfunctional families, and there are no exceptions here. Again, it isn’t so much that the King is cruel as that he just doesn’t care to spend any time with his daughter. His ridiculous quests do add a nice bit of humor to the situation, though. Just imagine what he might have found if he’d actually managed to go on quest for Marigold’s husband! He may be mostly harmless, but as a king he’s also completely useless. I wonder who actually runs this kingdom, and how they’ll react when they eventually have someone who’s willing to take that responsibility.
Now here’s one thing I especially like. Just as with the gender reversal, there are several elements of the story that are also reversed. For instance, Cinderellis is trying to get to the princess rather than run away from her. And while the Prince spreads pitch on the stairs to keep Cinderella from running away, Marigold spreads oil on the glass to keep Cinderellis from getting to her. I thought that was a nice twist. I also like that they do fall in love at first meeting, but that the princess thinks her “perfect husband” is some kind of monster when he shows up in armor that’s much too big for him. (Again, the opposite of the Prince’s reaction to Cinderella’s beauty at the ball.) This is really just a silly, amusing little tale, but I like that this much imagination went into it.
And my favorite line from the whole thing: “What’s wrong with pretty potatoes?!”