Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Book Review: The Cinderella Theorem by Kristee Ravan

The Cinderella Theorem

Kristee Ravan

YA Fantasy
March 10, 2014

Amazon

Summary from Goodreads:

Fairy tales are naturally non-mathematical. That is a fact, and fifteen-year-old Lily Sparrow loves factual, mathematical logic. So when her mother confesses that Lily’s deceased father is (a) not dead, (b) coming to dinner, and (c) the ruler of a fairy tale kingdom accessible through the upstairs bathtub, Lily clings to her math to help her make sense of this new double life (1 life in the real world + 1 secret life in the fairy tale world = a double life).

Even though it’s not mathematical, Lily finds herself being pulled into a mystery involving an unhappy Cinderella, a greasy sycophant called Levi, and a slew of vanishing fairy tale characters. Racing against the clock, with a sound mathematical plan, Lily attempts to save her fairy tale friends while proving that normality = happiness.


My Review: I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

The Cinderella Theorem is a cute YA fantasy about a logic, math-oriented girl who learns her father is the king of a fairy tale kingdom. Though it's billed as a YA novel, I thought it read more like middle-grade and would appeal to younger YA readers. Warning: if you have a math aversion, you might want to avoid this book. Math is life to young Lily, and it can be found on every page.

I can't imagine what it would be like to be fifteen, see the world through a strictly logical mind, only to find out everything you thought fantasy to be fact. But main character Lily rises to the occasion to use her math skills to save the day. I liked Lily, it would be hard not to since she was a rather sweet girl-- however the overall voice grated on my nerves at times.

There was a whole slew of intriguing and fun secondary characters in this novel, not mention lots of funny scenes. Just the whole Dad emerging from the bathtub is enough to set the mood for craziness. I did not like the footnotes on the bottom of the pages. While they were very cute, they still drew me from the story which I found irritating. Take a look at the synopsis with the math symbols-- the book is written like this. It might appeal to some people, but it was another thing that kept me from becoming immersed in the story.

Overall I thought The Cinderella Theorem was a cute fantasy that would appeal to a young YA audience. There were lots of laughs, fun characters, and mayhem in a fast-paced plot.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Sorry, but the spammers are back. I'll need everyone to prove that they aren't a robot for a bit. Please don't let that stop you from commenting. I love your comments-- the spammers... not so much.

Thanks for stopping by! Your comments make my day. Really!!