If the Shoe Fits: The Graphic Novel

Whatever After Graphic Novels #2

by Bethany Crandall (Illustrator), Sarah Mlynowski

Think Baby-sitters Little Sister Graphix... with a fairy tale twist! The beloved New York Times and USA Today bestselling Whatever After series rolls on in graphic novel format, with an enchanting Book 2 that takes us into the story of Cinderella!

Abby and her little brother, Jonah, are ordinary kids...except for one little thing. They have a magic mirror in their basement that sends them into different fairy tales. This time, when the mirror slurps them up, they're taken to the story of Cinderella. And they're determined NOT to mess anything up!



But then Cinderella breaks her foot and her glass slipper won't fit. How is her prince charming supposed to know she's meant for him? And how will Cinderella get her happily ever after?



In order to save the day, Abby and Jonah will have to find Cinderella a job, stay out of jail, and make sure true love finds a way, all before the clock strikes midnight and the chance for a happily ever after is gone...forever!

Genres: Graphic Novels, Middle Grade, Fantasy, Childrens, Cinderella, Comics, Fairy Tales

160 pages, Hardcover

First published November 4, 2025

Reviews

[sarah سارة ꫂ᭪]

currently coping with the ending of the original series (and my childhood at that)
but I honestly didn't really like this adaptation as much as the first one
it was a little bland and vague, and I like the art style on the first one better

[Arisha (Free Palestine 🇵🇸)]

this was so adorable!!

I’m loving these graphic novel adaptations so much but they made me realize how much I’d love to have a tv show made based on these books. They also made me realize why I usually don’t enjoy graphic novels, a lot has to be cut out which kind of messes up the pacing and in turn the character development.

[B.D]

3.5🌟
This was good but I didn’t enjoy it as much as the first graphic novel.

[CookieCat]

Ooooooo. Tysm Sarah Mlynowski for having Whatever After live on through GNs!! 💗❤️🫶

Edit: I BOUGHT IT WITH THE FIRST ONE TOO!!!! YAY. I THINK I'M OFFICIALLY IN MY GRAPHIC NOVEL ERA!!!!! 🥳

[Shelina]

Nice alternate ending to the Cinderella story.

[Geiosh A]

super cute I love seeing them help Cinderella try to save enough money to get her own place and I love that the sister apologize to her by the way she treated her

[AJ Thomas]

This was a really good graphic novel. When I was a young teenager, I loved the regular books. I found that they made graphic novel versions and need to read more books for my challege I decided to read it and it was really good.

[Ms. Yingling]

Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

Abby and Jonah have just come back from the story of Snow White, and don't really believe that the fairy Maryrose will transport them through the mirror again, but want to try. Abby even stays in her pajamas, hoping that this will make sure they travel somewhere exciting! She's right, and the two end up in the kingdom of Floom at the ball thrown by Queen Clarissa for Prince Jordan. They quickly figure out that this is the story of Cinderella, and follow her out of the castle at midnight. They think that things are okay, and just want to go home, but none of the mirrors in the castle worked. They ask Cinderella is they can try the mirrors in her house, but she is afraid that her stepmother, Betty, or her evil stepsisters, Kayla and Beatrice, will be angry. There's the typical drama about the prince wanting to marry someone, and a series of mishaps results in Cinderella's foot swelling up AND the remaining glass slipper being broken, so she dispairs of getting Prince Jordan to marry her. The three call on her fairy godmother, Farrah, who isn't willing to help! Farrah doesn't think that Cinderella should put all of her hopes on marrying, but should instead learn self-reliance. She agrees to help only if Cinderella can show she can stand on her own two feet and take care of herself, so that she can be an equal partner in marriage. Abby and Jonah help her make dinner for her family and introduce her to brownies, suggesting that maybe Cinderella can sell these at the market. Sales take off, and Cinderella meets Farrah's criteria for getting help, but Betty steals Farrah's wand and turns everyone into mice just as the prince is about to come to the house. She makes it so that Beatrice foot fits the slipper, and the prince asks her to marry him. Luckily, the spell is broken, and everything is explained. Jordan asks Cinderella to marry him, but she decides she likes being on her own, so Kayla agrees to marry him instead. Happy with how things have turned out, Farrah helps send Abby and Jonah back home to await further adventures with Maryrose.

Since I was never too happy with the Cinderella story myself (the version I told my daughters ended with Cinderella attending graduate school instead of marrying the prince), I loved this twist on the tale that includes a lesson in self-reliance. It was great that Abby and Jonah looked up apartment lists in Floom and used that as a basis for how much money Cinderella needed to make to move out on her own. I didn't feel bad at all that Kayla wanted to marry the prince, since the two did seem to share a connection, and Kayla had recently seen the error of her ways in being mean to Cinderella.

Crandall's illustrations are quite fun, and have a tiny bit of an anime feel around the character's eyes. Some of the jokes make more sense with illustrations; we can see that Abby's pajamas match the flag of Floom, and we can see everyone turned into very Disney-esque mice! They also are reminiscent of the covers of the original novels.

Fractured fairy tales that include a modern twist are always popular, and since the Whatever After series just recently wrapped up with volume 17, Mirror Mirror, these graphic novel adaptations are a good way to get a new generation of readers interested. Hand this to fans of E.D. Baker's The Frog Princess or Gail Carson Levine's Cinderellis and the Glass Hill.

[Kryssy]

Only the second book and they’re already a new illustrator. Is it supposed to resemble that the original movies were different style so they’re being drawn to resemble each fairytale?

I love graphic novel adaptations! A bit of a money grab, but they’re so cool to see!

- Abby asked to be shown how to do the laundry. She’s taking responsibility already!?
- Abby pajamas match the flag of the kingdom perfectly
- Another girl was having a good time with the prince. And he with her. Then almost like clockwork, cinderella walked in and he went to her
- Cinderella and the other step sister are both rude to the one that was talking to the prince. Like they’re treating her like garbage because she was cast aside
- dropped the other shoe heel straight to the foot
- Abby and jonah knew the stepmother was coming so they just stand right out in the open to have a conversation. And then drop the slipper anyway. Wtf
- Pretend to be newspaper delivery kids that felt back that cinderella got hurt so they’re helping her. Answer stepmother allowed it?? Wow
- Farrah the fairy godmother looks just as you g as cinderella
- She’s also the prince’s fairy godmother???
- All of abby’s ideas for self reliance seem good for her or as general ideas but not something that cinderella would be good at
- Settle on making ball gowns
- Abby and jonah did all the chores, cooked dinner, and found an ad for the perfect apartment. Only problem is that cinderella sucks at making clothes
- Forgot to make a dessert so they make brownies. A foreign concept to cinderella
- Had to make 3 batches
- Kayla (stepsister that was with the prince) comes for water and actually says thank you
- Think they only need to sell 100 to make the $100. Um… sure. Give away 6 for a ride to the farmer’s market. Mark price down to 50¢. And giving away samples to pull in business. I think they’ll lucky if they make $30. Before the cost of new supplies
- Kayla realizes she’s been unfair after being treated unfairly herself. Wants to help Cinderella
- Have a whole crowd waiting for them at the market
- Stepmother bursts in when farrah is there. Says she found out because they three of them weren’t quiet. Do they ever learn? Haha
- She demands $130 for ingredients. Only made $120. Kayla offers to pay but that wouldn’t be self reliant. Abby saved her brownie that cinderella saved for her. Asks kayla to BUY it for $130
- Stepmother steals farrah’s want. Turns everyone except other daughter into mice. And changes her foot so it will fit
- The prince finally mentions SOMETHING about the physical appearance. He says she’s taller. But nothing about hair color, possible eye color, entire face. She wasn’t wearing a mask…
- Farrah turned the one sister and stepmother into birds in a cage
- Cinderella wants to be independent. Only wanted prince to get away. She says he could be with kayla. And he wants to! But his decree requires the person to fit the slipper. With a little magic…
- Recognizes how hard her parents have been working to start their business. Go to figure out the laundry themselves

[Renee]

⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
Three and a half stars rounded up to four.

If the Shoe Fits (the graphic novel, Book 2 of the Whatever After series) follows siblings Abby and Jonah as they're sucked into Cinderella's fairy tale, only to find it derailed because Cinderella broke her foot, making the glass slipper impossible to fit. To fix the story and ensure her "happily ever after," they must help Cinderella become self-sufficient (learning chores, finding a job) while dealing with jail time and keeping the prince interested, all before midnight. It's a humorous, action-packed take on the classic, emphasizing girl power and finding your own way.

Since I have a problem with the joint in my right thumb and typing on my phone isn’t currently easy for me, I’m going to do somewhat less than I would normally do when writing a review. I’m just going to have to do this until my hand is better, for who knows how long…So what I am going to do is just talk about what I think the best thing about the book is and what I like least about the book is. I'll start with the best thing: I do really love the way the author turns these traditionally damsel in distress stories into stories where the princesses save themselves. The description says that it takes on the classic emphasising girl power and finding your own way. That is definitely a good way to put it. The main character princesses in these graphic novels work out that they can stand on their own two feet and solve their own problems. What a great message for kids reading this. Oh and there was a nice twist at the end!

What I liked the least: I do get annoyed at injustice, even in kids’ graphic novels. Cinderella to me is the epitome of injustice. So there was part of this that annoyed and frustrated me, but to be fair I knew this going into reading this because I knew what this was about. So that’s why I rounded up to four stars rather than down to three stars. There are also moments where Abby and Jonah are super irritating and make silly choices etc. Again though, to be fair, they are children. And my seven year old daughter loved this graphic novel.

[Becky B]

Abby and Jonah are sent into the Cinderella story by the magic mirror, and they start to realize that maybe the traditional ending isn't the best fit for everyone involved.

I liked this new twist on the Cinderella story. It includes a non-romantic happy ending for one person, and a more romantic ending for some others. And it emphasizes that a solid marriage should be built not on liking the other person's looks along, but more importantly for their character.

Notes on content:
Language: None
Sexual content: Nothing beyond a hug.
Violence: Some people are locked up but not for very long.
Ethnic diversity: The characters have a variety of skin tones.
LGBTQ+ content: None specified.
Other: None.

[Jeni Enjaian]

(Actual rating: 3.5 stars)
This second graphic novel adaptation in this series, did not really work for me. The characterization of Cinderella made Cinderella incredibly unlikable, and thus the plot became a chore to get through. If more novels are adapted, I likely will not read them.

[Mary T]

How fun to return this story after reading (and also listening to the audio) of the original Whatever After book. I read this one to my 3 year old son Chance, and he enjoyed it, too!

[Molly]

This was fun! We didn’t see the ending coming.

[Tori DeFazio]

Cuteeeeeee

[Phillips]

Great Mother-Daughter Bedtime Book

A fun and cute mother-daughter read! We picked it at random, so we’ll have to jump back for the first one and then keep going!

[Krystie Herndon]

I'm enjoying these Whatever After books in graphic novel form!

[Danielle Mccoy]

A fun graphic novel that changes up Cinderella's story a little bit.