What do you think?
Rate this book
Once Upon a Dream
At Midnight: A Novel Based on Cinderella
Ella once led an enchanted life—until the death of her father pushed her to the brink of despair. She is left alone with a cruel stepmother and two cruel stepsisters. Then Ella hears of a prince from a faraway land who has come to her town looking for a bride. A novel based on Cinderella, where wishes really do come true.
Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
105 people want to read
About the author
Jennifer Baker
23 books12 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 8, 2024
Rounded up from 3.5 stars.
Since I found a copy of the only other book in this Scholastic Once Upon A Dream romance series written by Jennifer Baker called The Rose...I figured I would give this one a go as well.
The Rose was based on Beauty and The Beast and I didn't like it very much to be honest. It isn't hard to do a fairy tale reimagining for a more modern teen audience but it also depends how "magical" you plan to go in the fantasy aspect.
At Midnight is a Cinderella retelling and it starts very grounded. Ella Browning's father is getting remarried after being a widower for a long while since Ella's mom died when she was a little girl.
Her stepmother Lucinda is very attractive on the outside but very superficial yet she has never seen her dad so happy. Ella also has two new stepsisters, Staci and Drew, who are spoiled and don't even like each other...much less Ella who of course is prettier and nicer.
Not long after tying the knot, Ella's father has a heart attack while serving the family breakfast and it is fatal.
After the funeral, Lucinda takes full advantage of having her late husband's money to redecorate the comfortable home Ella grew up in for modern furniture and entertaining guests. Ella has to give up her room to one of her stepsisters and move to the attic as well as now do all of the chores.
Lucinda makes it known that she thinks Ella has been spoiled and gotten everything easy because of her looks while Lucinda had to work hard for her first husband only to leave her for someone younger. My honest opinion is that the other woman was probably nicer...
Ella can't even go out with her friends anymore and her bestie Steph starts to hang out more with a girl named Jane. Ella has known Steph all her life so it is as if everything has been taken away and Ella's kindness pays the price.
Lucinda has her move all of her father's old clothes to the attic so Ella gives them to an old woman who comes around for donations around Christmas. Lucinda finds out and decides to make Ella give away her own clothes out of just sheer hate and meanness.
On the other side we have our prince and yeah...he is an actual prince.
William de Montroig Frederic Henri Windmere Villacampo aka Will. He goes to a private school and plays on the lacrosse team to have a normal life but he still has to go to royal functions with girls as his dates from suitable families where he might just find a future queen.
His two friends, Kenny and Chris, envy him for different reasons involving girls. Kenny is a little heavier and shy talking to girls while Chris is good looking but not a princely guy...looks mean everything and he goes through girls like crazy.
Will attends school but he has a bodyguard and he can't even go out with Chris or Kenny without the paparazzi following his every move. When Will informs his buds that he has to spend the Christmas holiday with a bunch of spoiled girls, Chris suggests they have a party and invite girls from not just their school but all over town to see if Will can connect with a normal girl.
Everybody gets to go except Ella but when it seems that she is about to abandon any hope, the charity lady named Fay brings her a little magic...
It is the only time the story leaves reality but it all comes back around to being grounded and believable. There isn't anything new that hasn't been brought to retelling Cinderella a dozen times before but is still enjoyable.
Even though I am big into horror, I also like romance and At Midnight is innocent romance. Simple and to the point with likeable lead characters, a very awful stepmother and stepsisters but also giving the friends of the prince some spotlight.
May not be everyone's genre go-to but it is still a good read.
Since I found a copy of the only other book in this Scholastic Once Upon A Dream romance series written by Jennifer Baker called The Rose...I figured I would give this one a go as well.
The Rose was based on Beauty and The Beast and I didn't like it very much to be honest. It isn't hard to do a fairy tale reimagining for a more modern teen audience but it also depends how "magical" you plan to go in the fantasy aspect.
At Midnight is a Cinderella retelling and it starts very grounded. Ella Browning's father is getting remarried after being a widower for a long while since Ella's mom died when she was a little girl.
Her stepmother Lucinda is very attractive on the outside but very superficial yet she has never seen her dad so happy. Ella also has two new stepsisters, Staci and Drew, who are spoiled and don't even like each other...much less Ella who of course is prettier and nicer.
Not long after tying the knot, Ella's father has a heart attack while serving the family breakfast and it is fatal.
After the funeral, Lucinda takes full advantage of having her late husband's money to redecorate the comfortable home Ella grew up in for modern furniture and entertaining guests. Ella has to give up her room to one of her stepsisters and move to the attic as well as now do all of the chores.
Lucinda makes it known that she thinks Ella has been spoiled and gotten everything easy because of her looks while Lucinda had to work hard for her first husband only to leave her for someone younger. My honest opinion is that the other woman was probably nicer...
Ella can't even go out with her friends anymore and her bestie Steph starts to hang out more with a girl named Jane. Ella has known Steph all her life so it is as if everything has been taken away and Ella's kindness pays the price.
Lucinda has her move all of her father's old clothes to the attic so Ella gives them to an old woman who comes around for donations around Christmas. Lucinda finds out and decides to make Ella give away her own clothes out of just sheer hate and meanness.
On the other side we have our prince and yeah...he is an actual prince.
William de Montroig Frederic Henri Windmere Villacampo aka Will. He goes to a private school and plays on the lacrosse team to have a normal life but he still has to go to royal functions with girls as his dates from suitable families where he might just find a future queen.
His two friends, Kenny and Chris, envy him for different reasons involving girls. Kenny is a little heavier and shy talking to girls while Chris is good looking but not a princely guy...looks mean everything and he goes through girls like crazy.
Will attends school but he has a bodyguard and he can't even go out with Chris or Kenny without the paparazzi following his every move. When Will informs his buds that he has to spend the Christmas holiday with a bunch of spoiled girls, Chris suggests they have a party and invite girls from not just their school but all over town to see if Will can connect with a normal girl.
Everybody gets to go except Ella but when it seems that she is about to abandon any hope, the charity lady named Fay brings her a little magic...
It is the only time the story leaves reality but it all comes back around to being grounded and believable. There isn't anything new that hasn't been brought to retelling Cinderella a dozen times before but is still enjoyable.
Even though I am big into horror, I also like romance and At Midnight is innocent romance. Simple and to the point with likeable lead characters, a very awful stepmother and stepsisters but also giving the friends of the prince some spotlight.
May not be everyone's genre go-to but it is still a good read.
February 5, 2021
Read this years ago, probably elementary school or high school. It was a cute read. Typical retelling of Cinderella.
April 26, 2016
Read this about... grade 6? Wow, now I feel old having to figure out what year (approx.) that would have been.
Don't remember a lot - this is a realistic version of the story - no magic. Kind of a YA harlequin, fast, fun & mostly fluff. I liked it though, and wouldn't be surprised if I'd read it a few times back then.
Don't remember a lot - this is a realistic version of the story - no magic. Kind of a YA harlequin, fast, fun & mostly fluff. I liked it though, and wouldn't be surprised if I'd read it a few times back then.
June 13, 2013
I'm sure if I read this as an adult I would cringe? Maybe...but I LOVED this book as a teenager. It was always checked out to me at the library, and I just might have to get it again. I loved loved loved it!
May 26, 2022
I remember rereading and loving this retelling of the Cinderella story; loved the characters of Ella and Will, overall a good and fun story!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews