The Cinderella Society Vol 1 - Kay Cassidy

Title: The Cinderella Society
Author: Kay Cassidy
Format: E-Book
Rating: 1 Star

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When the Prom Queen becomes your fairy godmother…

Sixteen year old outsider, Jess Parker, gets the chance of a lifetime: an invitation to join a secret society of popular girls dedicated to defeating the mean girls of the world. The Cinderella Society guides all new recruits through its top secret ultimate life makeover. It’s all part of preparing them to face down the Wickeds and win. Determined not to let the Cindys down, Jess dives in with a passion. Finally, a chance to belong and show the world what she’s made of.

… be careful what you wish for.

Jess’s transformation wins her the heart of her dream crush and a shot at uber-popularity. Until the Wickeds–led by Jess’s arch enemy–begin targeting innocent girls in their war against the Cindys, and Jess discovers the real force behind her exclusive society. It’s a high stakes battle of good vs. evil, and the Cindys in power need Jess on special assignment. When the mission threatens to destroy her dream life come true, Jess is forced to choose between living a fairy tale and honoring the Sisterhood… and herself.

What’s a girl to do when the glass slipper fits, but she doesn’t want to wear it anymore?

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The Cinderella Society definitely falls into the "Thank God I got this book for free" category.  I started reading it thinking it was going to be a cute yet fluffy read, and by the end, my eyes hurt from all the rolling.

The book stars with our main character - Jess - bemoaning the fact that she's not popular, has zero friends, and gets treated like crap by former cheerleader and nemesis Lexy.  Jess is the new girl at her school. When she moved there, she tried out for the cheerleading team - and SURPRISE - she is SO good that she displaces now former member Lexy and gets a spot on the team. 

I am certainly not saying that Lexy has any excuse to bully Jess - there's no good reason to bully someone.  BUT, I do understand why Lexy would be upset. 

Also, I find it hard to believe that in Jess's first try at a new school the cheerleader squad would be so happy to displace a veteran cheerleader for a new girl they know nothing about.  Next - I find it hard to believe that they would choose Jess to join their squad then ignore her the entire year, THEN, on the last day of school, decide to send her an invitation to join a secret society dedicated to eradicating bad in the world.

When Jess accepts the invitation and joins the Cinderella society, she falls into a hole of a world where she learns that:

*The Cinderella Society makes all the girls go through makeovers to discover their "signature style," because, as we all know, looks are the only thing that matter.
*Lexy is part of a counter group called The Wickeds - yes they actually have a secret society dedicated to bullying people. 
*Regular kids who don't fit with The Wickeds or The Cindy's are called Reggies, and the Cindy's entire mission is to put good out and save the reggies from the Wickeds.

Now, please don't misunderstand me - if people like to dress up and wear certain clothes, and do their makeup that is fantastic. More power to you!  I think it's important to wear clothes you are comfortable in that make you feel good. But I don't like the idea that these girls have to try and change each other. It just felt like that was *all* they cared about.  Their focus was too much on appearance and not enough on being a good person.

Another thing that was completely implausible to me was that the coffee shop they frequent is not only run by a world famous model, but also has a secret entrance at the back of the shop that leads downstairs to a large underground lair that nobody except the Cindy's know about.

Also, Jess, a shy rather timid young lady, towards the end of the book is picked to be the leader the following academic year due to her great leadership skills. However, the only thing I ever saw her do that would qualify as good leadership was standing up to Lexy when Lexy was bullying a "reggie."  That ONLY THING!  Jess does nothing else throughout the book that would suggest she is deserving of being in a leadership position yet. 

The writing was mediocre at best, and the characters were not well developed at all.  They were mostly stagnant through the entire story, and what little development did occur revolved around either trying to look prettier or be meaner to people. 

Overall, this is not a story I would recommend to anyone.  Save your time and skip it.