Robin Redbreast

Robin Redbreast
Birds can represent the fluttering, darting thoughts of intuition. This is why little birds helped Cinderella help herself.

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Cinderella #277: A Cinderella Story (Based on the Hit Movie Starring Hilary Duff!)


Cinderella #277: A Cinderella Story (Based on the Hit Movie Starring Hilary Duff!)
Lilacs at Descanso Garden,
Pasadena, CA
Once upon a time, in L.A., there lived "a beautiful little girl, and her widowed father." Her name was Sam, and she grew up feeling like part of the greatest team around, just her and her dad. He "owned Hal's Diner, the coziest, tastiest restaurant in the valley. " (San Fernando, that is.) Life was going great right up until Sam's 8th birthday. That's when two things happened at once: she made a birthday wish that "her life would stay exactly as it was", and her new stepmother barged into her life. Sam didn't know it that night, as her dad met the woman, but she would soon discover that Fiona (for that was the lady's name) had two dreadful daughters.  Twins! From her fifth marriage. Their names were Brianna and Gabriella, and "they hardly qualified as human" as far as Sam was concerned.  That's how bad they were.  Her perfect life with her dad was over. She drudged on as best she could in her odd new life. One of her stepmother's first decisions was that Sam should stay home from school every day and work in the diner. They could save money, that way, she said. And her dad agreed. It was true that Sam loved the diner, but she did miss school. The years passed, and then, one day, tragedy struck. Sam's dad died, and she "was on her own with her stepfamily, working in her dad's old diner to earn her keep." Her only friend was  a guy named Carter. By the time she old enough to attend North Valley High School, they were buddies. And when they were both seniors, they went as friends to the Valley Royale Hotel, for a very special dance. "A panel of ...esteemed teachers" were going to choose "a Prince and Princess of the Dance". To find out whether Sam was chosen as Princess, and who the hunky Austin really was, you will have to find this book and read it! 
From: A Cinderella Story (2004) Adapted by Lasserman, R. from a screenplay by Dunlap, L.
New York: Scholastic