Bella at Midnight
by Diane Stanley, Bagram Ibatoulline (Illustrator)

4 out of 5 stars

Bella has grown up with a poor but kind family, befriending the young prince Julian who visits his old nanny. When Bella discovers that she is actually the daughter of a nobleman, she is sent to live with her cold and haughty father and his new wife. Bella is torn from all her former friends, including her childhood friend, the prince. Three years later, a terrible plot against the kingdom forces Bella to seek out Prince Julian once more, hoping to avert a disastrous war.

I really enjoyed this retelling of Cinderella, since it reimagines the whole story in such a new way! The plot takes a lot of twists and turns, and the war looming over everything makes the story much more serious than just a fancy ball.

Bella ends up sleeping in the kitchen and working as a servant, because she has grown up with peasants and feels more comfortable in the kitchen. Plus her noble family look down on her as being uncouth and dirty, since she has never been taught the polished court manners of the rich. But Prince Julian knows her true worth.

I loved the sweet romance between Prince Julian and Bella, because they are just friends first, and they know each other really well. Prince Julian is an especially wonderful character, because he is so humble and has a high sense of integrity, but his position as prince becomes a temptation for him to be prideful. His character development was really interesting as he takes a truthful look at his own personality and realizes that he needs to be more humble.

Bella is such a fantastic character, because she is utterly pure of heart. She’s so patient and kind with everyone, even when they are horrible to her. I was really inspired by her cleverness and courage!

I really liked that the characters of this country have a devout faith in God. Everyone talks about morality in the context of God’s blessings and God delivering them from war. There is a prophecy that God’s chosen knight will miraculously intervene and stop the war. People are also very superstitious, and there is some magic, but I really enjoyed the spiritual aspects of the worldbuilding.

The writing is wonderful, and the story structure is somewhat unique. The story is told from a dozen different perspectives, each labeled in a different chapter. Sometimes from Bella’s perspective or Prince Julian’s, and sometimes from side characters like Bella’s godmother Maud, her adopted brother Will, her adopted mother Beatrice, her stepmother Matilda, her stepsisters Marianne and Alice, or Prince Julian’s friend Geoffrey. We get to hear the backstory and inner thoughts of all these side characters, which makes for very rich storytelling. Typically, I do not care for head-hopping, but it’s very well delineated and very well written, so I liked it okay.

To see sensitive content in this book, check it out on the Screen It First website! https://screenitfirst.com/book/bella-at-midnight-1051886