Introduction

Cinderella Is Dead (2020) is a young adult retelling of the fairy tale “Cinderella” and is written by Kalynn Bayron. Two hundred years after the original fairy tale, the kingdom of Mersailles holds an annual ball that all young women are forced to attend in the hopes of being chosen by suitors. The novel’s protagonist, 16-year-old Sophia Grimmins, who is a lesbian, escapes the ball and meets Constance, the last surviving descendent of Cinderella. Together, they expose the truth behind Cinderella’s story and overthrow the oppressive, patriarchal monarchy. Cinderella Is Dead is also popular among the online BookTok community.

This guide is based on the paperback edition published by Bloomsbury YA (2021).

Content Warning: Cinderella Is Dead includes anti-gay bias, misogyny, and physical abuse (especially domestic abuse).

Plot Summary

Sixteen-year-old Sophia Grimmins tries to convince her girlfriend, Erin, to flee their kingdom of Mersailles. The annual ball is coming up, and since the girls are now 16, they’ll be required to attend each year until chosen by a suitor. If not chosen by their third ball, they’ll be “forfeit,” which could mean death or imprisonment. Unsanctioned unions are punishable by forfeit, as is attempted escape, so Erin doesn’t want to try. Instead, she’s ready to resign herself to the life that’s been chosen for her based on her gender. Sophia heads to the seamstress’s shop to meet her mother for a gown fitting. On her way, she sees her friend Liv, who is seeking help from a fairy godmother due to her family’s lack of money. She again asks Erin to escape, but Liv and Erin both tell Sophia not to question the rules. Sophia goes to the seamstress’s, where her mother fusses over details. Sophia’s parents know she is a lesbian but believe she should prioritize her safety over happiness by conforming to the king’s laws.

Later, Sophia’s mother asks her to fetch the hair ribbons they forgot at the seamstress’s. Luke Langley, the son of her father’s friend, drives the carriage for her because it’s considered inappropriate for women to drive. Luke asks Sophia about Erin and tells her that he has never been to the ball because he’s also “different” (gay). The meaning of this is initially lost on Sophia, and she goes into the seamstress’s shop alone, where she finds the seamstress’s young son crying because his father is beating his mother. Sophia interrupts, which irks the husband, but he allows his wife to attend Sophia. Sophia offers the seamstress help, but the seamstress dismisses her. On the way back, Sophia and Luke encounter the wealthy Morris, who bullies Luke about his former relationship with Louis. Luke punches Morris, who runs away. Morris and his brother Édouard found out about Luke and Louis’s relationship and told Louis’s parents, who forfeit him. Luke’s parents didn’t forfeit him because his sister convinced them that the relationship was a “phase.” Luke wants to team up with Sophia and escape the kingdom.

Sophia shares a carriage to the ball with Erin and again asks her to flee, but she refuses. At the ball, King Manford spots Liv, who is wearing a plain dress because no fairy godmother showed up to help her; guards remove her. The crowd mingles, and Luke offers to claim Sophia, as their fake marriage would save her from a real one, and they could plan their escape; she agrees. However, Morris also puts a claim on Sophia, voiding Luke’s claim and resulting in his imprisonment. Morris flirts with Sophia, who rejects him, and he threatens her. She squeezes out the bathroom window and runs into the woods, where she eventually reaches Cinderella’s fabled tomb. She hears someone coming and enters the tomb, where Constance appears—the last living kin of Cinderella, who offers to help Sophia escape.

Sophia visits her parents before contemplating escape. Her mother wants to hide her, but her father turns her away. Sophia sees Liv’s dead body in a ditch; her body is gray and her hair is white, with her mouth caught in a scream. Sophia and Constance go to Cinderella’s abandoned home. Constance’s family has been exiled for centuries, and she’s the last member left. She reveals that the palace-approved version of “Cinderella” is a lie. Prince Charming gained power by convincing the people that he could save them during a drought. They ousted Cinderella’s father, who was next in line, and Charming took over, instating restrictive laws. Some believe the land, or the kings, are cursed.

Sophia and Constance dress as men and go into town for supplies. There, they see Erin, who is betrothed to Édouard and already being abused. King Manford publicly executes the seamstress, whom he claims aided Sophia’s escape. A vendor recognizes Sophia as a girl, but Constance scares him off with her dagger. The girls cross Lille’s border in an under-patrolled area, eventually reaching a fairy godmother’s house to ask her about the land’s supposed curse. The fairy godmother is a witch named Amina and is in fact the one who helped Cinderella. Long ago, a man saved her from being burned at the stake and then asked her to make him king. He wanted to cause a drought and then cure it to become the land’s “savior.” In other words, Prince Charming and King Manford are the same person. Manford has a way to regenerate his youth, but Amina doesn’t know how because although her own life is sustained with magic, she doesn’t appear young. Amina considered killing Charming but couldn’t after he saved her life. Instead, she gave Cinderella a special dagger to kill him. However, Charming fell in love with Cinderella and Amina thought love could change him, so she gave Cinderella a temporary love potion. When it wore off and Cinderella hated him, Charming became resentful.

Over the course of their journey, Sophia and Constance begin a romance. Manford appears and demands to see Sophia, but Amina turns him away. During a divination, Amina sees her own death, Constance sees someone on the ground whom she has to save, and Sophia sees herself with the king and a light—and the king is trying to “drain” her. The women perform necromancy on Cinderella, who is gray and white-haired, resembling Liv. Cinderella wants them to find her diary and end Manford, describing Sophia’s vision.

Amina steals an invitation to a new required event, the winter cotillion, for Sophia. Everyone at the event is confused. Manford says that henceforth, there will be an annual cotillion in addition to the annual ball, and any girl not immediately chosen will be forfeit. The girls who were chosen at the recent ball can leave, and the rest mingle. Sophia stabs Manford, but he doesn’t bleed or die. Guards take her to a dungeon, where she speaks to another prisoner, Emile, who is friends with Constance. The king “drains” the prisoners to sustain his youth, which is what he did to Cinderella and what Sophia saw in her vision. Sophia uses her hairpin to pick the lock of her cell, but it breaks before she can free the other prisoners. She finds Cinderella’s old bedroom and diary, which reveals that Manford slowly drained her to punish her for not loving him. Sophia finds more prisoners, including Luke. She knocks out a guard, takes his keys, and frees them. Manford tries to drain Sophia, but Constance intervenes. Amina reveals she’s Charming’s mother and is bound to him because she performed a necromancy spell to revive him. She lunges toward Sophia, holding Cinderella’s dagger (as she plans to die by Constance’s hand). However, Constance stabs Amina like in her vision, killing her and leaving Sophia with the dagger.

Manford tries to drain Sophia, so she grasps Cinderella’s dagger, and he is engulfed in light before crumbling to ash. The palace catches fire, so Sophia runs to free the other prisoners. At the last cell, she passes out, but Constance saves her. Sophia addresses a crowd, explaining that the king is dead and things can be different. Most people are happy, but some protest. Sophia’s parents reunite with her and meet Constance, and for once, the future seems bright.

The final chapter is the new “people’s-approved” version of “Cinderella,” authored by Sophia. After the rebellion, Constance took over as ruler, as the last living kin of Cinderella. Some men rebelled, but Emile chased them away beyond the Forbidden Lands, where they could live as they please. Sophia tells the reader to stand up against oppression, let their voice be heard, and “be a light in the dark” (385).