Not Cinderella’s Type by Jenni James

Contemporary/Retelling. 152 Pages. 3 Stars

Synopsis:

Indy Zimmerman has a new stalker who won’t leave her alone, no matter what she says to him. Never mind the fact that he’s one of the most popular guys at school—she’s positive Bryant Bailey is only trying to appease his own conscience after pretty much destroying her life. But when Bryant doesn’t back down and insists on having some sort of bizarre friendship with her, his magic works, and her walls slowly start to crumble. He’s not her type. She’s never been into guys like Bryant, but then again, she’s never really known anyone quite as stubborn, or caring, or who can get her to confess stuff she wouldn’t even tell her best friend.

My Review:

I saw the movie for this on Amazon prime a while back and decided to give it a shot. Turns out, I actually really enjoyed it. It was cute and definitely a new spin on Cinderella. I learned there was a book through the film credits and have finally gotten around to reading it.

So, Not Cinderella’s Type is a modern Cinderella retelling. The MCs are high school students and the story moves fairly quickly. It’s a fast paced story and at times feels a little surface level writing-wise. That was actually one of the things I found a little disappointing in the book. There were a few typos, but no major plot holes that I found. It follows a very classic girl being treated as inferior by a family that isn’t her own immediate family, prince charming (and one other love interest to round out the triangle) to fall in love with and who comes to the rescue, etc. The unique part was the focus of the story, the setting, and the best friend, Maxton.

I really liked Indy. She was very well-written in my opinion. I love that Mrs. James didn’t shy away from Indy’s pov. As the abused, she followed a very realistic line of thought, but I never felt bogged down by her perspective. I could understand it and relate to it. I could see Indy’s internal struggle and how she had to learn to see what was healthy and what wasn’t. That was one of my favorite parts of the book, and something we didn’t get a full look at in the film (since you can’t really get into characters’ heads in film as well as you can in a book). I also liked Maxon as the best friend. He was a little flat and had a pretty small role for a lot of the story, but when it came time for him to play his part, he was fun. I liked that Indy had him. Bryant is our modern Prince Charming, local popular boy in school and super “hot.” Truthfully, I liked him a lot better in the movie. In the book he came off as pretty one-sided and shallow. Sweet, but not very complex. The other characters (Dr. Bailey, Clarise, David, the cousins) were all pretty, well, basic. I mean, they kind of served their purpose and that was it. So, the character development wasn’t the greatest, in my opinion, but despite that I liked what little of them we did get.

I did get annoyed by all of the “hot”s. I could tell there was an attraction to something deeper between the characters, but we never really got to witness what that deeper was. For the most part, we were just kind of told they were kind or smart or whatever. I mean, I get that these are high school kids, but at a certain point, I really don’t care that much about how he looks if all I’m going to get is “hot” as a description.

There’s no swearing in the book, and only once does any potential violence come up (it never actually happens, but a character thinks it might). This is a romance. And there is a lot of kissing. It’s not very graphic kissing, but there are lots of kisses on noses and the tops of heads (which I actually thought were really sweet, personally) and there is a lot of “he’s hot” in the stereotypical high school kid fashion. Honestly, I’d be fine with giving this to a 14 or 15 year old.

My only concern would be the themes of abuse and covering those with the kids, though, truthfully, it’s all written at a bit of a distance. There isn’t a ton of in-your-face examples of the abuse. It’s made clear that Indy is being emotionally abused, but it’s also handled very tactfully and intentionally. This Cinderella story takes a very pointed look at emotional abuse, but it also shows the other side of that and addresses the healing that can be done once out of the situation. I actually really liked seeing how Indy’s story played out after she left her abusive family. It was a bit of a look at the way the system works, but without all of the nitty gritty of the laws, proceedures, etc.

I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve thought a film adaptation was better than a book (I can only think of one off the top of my head), but I think I have to admit that this is one of those times. Mrs. James had a great concept, and I truly enjoyed her story overall, but the rushed writing and surface-level characters really hurt the book for me.

There was so much potential here for this to be a truly deep and excellent book. But, perhaps she meant to keep it light and surface-level. If that was her goal, she met it! The book is a quick, sweet little read, and by no means horrible. It’s worth reading once, I think, but I don’t intend to reread it ever (though I fully intend to rewatch the film over and over again).

More:

Modern Fairy Tales Book 2 is Sleeping Beauty: Back to Reality

Book 3 is Beauty IS the Beast

I haven’t read or reviewed either of the sequels above, but you can click the link to find more info on Goodreads if you’re interested! I’m not sure if I will or won’t eventually get to them, but I doubt it will be anytime soon if I do. It is my understanding that these do not need to be read in order.