Thursey's dad went to fight a war for the king and never returned, but nobody has ever been able to tell her his fate. Now Thursey is stuck doing all the labor at the inn he owned, while her stepmother and stepsisters mistreat her. She stays because she is afraid her father will return and she won't be there. Taught her letters by a traveling monk, she writes down and illustrates the Cinderella stories she hears in the inn at night, but she believes they are only stories. She meets the royal goatherd, Gillie. The two become friends and he encourages her to attend the royal ball. With the help of a kindly monk, she makes it to the ball where she learns that happily ever after can happen outside of a story.

This is a short chapter book, with occasional illustrations. Having "Cinderella" know her own story in advance adds an interesting twist, and a few slight changes to details (notably, the lack of impossibly tiny glass shoes, a pumpkin carriage or a midnight curfew) open up the story quite a bit. Letting her meet and become friends with the prince well before the ball was a welcome change as well.

I liked this book quite a bit and I suspect I would have adored it as a child. ( )