The Cinderella Society

Sixteen-year-old Jess Parker is a good girl—not that that's gotten her anywhere socially. She's low on status at her new school, until she's plucked from oblivion by the Cindys, a secret society of girls who right social wrongs committed by the popular crowd. Unconfident Jess is shocked by this unexpected attention, but thrilled, too. This debut novel's resemblance to the Cinderella fairy tale ends with Jess's style makeover. It's mostly about an ongoing war between good and evil, mounted by the Cindys against the Wickeds, who “gain power by manipulating and dominating other kids,” as each group “battl[es] for the souls of the Reggies” (the Regular kids). With a largely black-and-white world view and rituals that sound like Sunday mass (talk of commandments, saving, and sacrifice is commonplace), the Cindys and their conflict with the Wickeds come across as a thinly disguised version of Christian spiritual warfare. Cassidy's novel reads like a mashup of a self-help manual for building girls' self-esteem and a conversion tool for a particular set of moral behaviors, with some nods to goddess spirituality. Ages 12–up. (Apr.)