Palmer, Robin. Cindy Ella. Penguin Group, 2008. ISBN 9780142403921. $7.99. 264 p.
Reviewer: Larysa Bordner
Reading Level: Young adult
Rating: Dependable
Genre: Contemporary realistic fiction;
Subject: Proms--Juvenile fiction; Interpersonal relations--Juvenile fiction; Individuality--Juvenile fiction; Books--Reviews;
Cindy Ella Gold is not like the other people who attend her high school. She may be rich and pretty, but she does not care about designer clothes, fancy cars, or having the perfect look. But the one thing that separates her from her peers the most is her disdain for prom. She believes the whole thing should be done away with because it is a superficial tradition, and she lets everyone know this when she writes a letter to the school paper. Her letter brings up a great deal of controversy, and in some unexpected ways, it goes to show Cindy that things are not always what they seem, and modern day fairy tales really do exist.
Palmer explores some of society’s shallow traditions through the eyes of one teenage girl with a quirky sense of humor. She talks about issues dealing with weight, popularity, love, sexual orientation, and other aspects of being a teenager in today’s society. Cindy Ella is dramatic, mainly because it is told from the perspective of a teenage girl, but it is entertaining and leaves the reader with warm fuzzies knowing that although things do not always end as planned, life and this story have an unexpected way of ending right.
Volume 28, no. 6 (July/August 2008)
