Review
An e-ARC of the book has been provided by, Acacia Moon Publishing, in exchange for an honest review.
Cinder the Fireplace Boy is nothing out of the extraordinary; however, it succeeded in what it wanted to achieve and that is what makes it special.
It diverges itself with a variety of modern gender roles that provides inclusivity to people of our modern times. Rallying people that cannot find themselves within the classic fairy tales, the book delivered in giving us the representation that we have been looking for.
In its core, the book followed the stories almost directly. Staying faithful with the tone and model of fairy tale — whimsical, childish, and has that cliche happy ending with a moral lesson. Albeit dark and gruesome for most of the part, I can see how this can still be something to read for a kid. Regardless of their face value, the principle at the heart of each story is a true beauty.
Within the small alteration of the stories, Ana Mardoll gave us something to diversify these short stories and paved a way for great representation.
Overall, Cinder the Fireplace Boy is a gorgeous collection of stories that I am looking into revisiting and to share to friends. A fantastical story given more life by the colourful representation of modern gender themes.
