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Cinderella has been dead for two hundred years, and the fairy tale is over. In a kingdom where women are viewed as objects, a girl will defy everything and everyone to have the choice to love freely and decide her own destiny.
Two centuries after Cinderella found her Prince Charming, magic seems to have abandoned the kingdom of Mersailles. Cinderella and the Fairy Godmother are nothing more than legends, and the kingdom has been under the control of tyrannical kings for decades. Upon turning sixteen, all young women are forced to participate in the Annual Ball, where the men of the kingdom come to choose young wives. Not being chosen is a sentence of ruin for both the girl and her family.
Sophia is preparing for her first ball, but what she really wants is to marry Erin, her best friend. On the day of the ball, Sophia makes the desperate decision to run away, ending up in Cinderella's tomb. There, she will find an unexpected ally, someone with answers to the mysteries surrounding the legends surrounding the mythical story of Cinderella. Together, they will face the oppressive tyranny of the king and a patriarchal society that prevents people from being free.
Cinderella Is Dead is a modern, feminist take on the classic fairy tale. Featuring a Black, LGBTQ+ protagonist, it will make readers question the stories they know so well and root for the girls who have the courage and strength to break the barriers of a world that insists on telling them who they should be and who they should love.
“Absolutely original and captivating.” -Brigid Kemmerer, New York Times bestselling author of The Dark and Lonely Curse .
“Byron's deconstruction of the classic fairy tale is ambitious, replacing happily ever after with a sham legacy and imposing a feminist and defiant tone.” - Publishers Weekly
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