http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9780688162955-5
Cinder Edna by Ellen Jackson is a book that shows the lives of two parallel Cinderella’s that are neighbors and go through the same hardships, yet approach their situations differently. Edna is strong and self-willed, while Cinderella relies on her godmother for her happy ending. Although Cinderella wins the prince’s affection, Edna is happier overall. Should more fairytales focus on empowering women or do the classic Cinderella stories also teach young females positive morals?
Archive of Twice Told Tales Class, Fall 2010 
I think that it is more inspiring when the “Cinderella” has a lot of confidence and does things for herself. When we see her being passive and relying so much on her fairy godmother and others, her happiness in the end might not show us all that we need to fight for what we want. It is so much more fulfilling to get something that you want when you really have to work hard to get it. When you get a reward for something that was very hard or time consuming, you always end up more happy in the end!
I think that most of the classic Cinderella stories come off showing young females that in the end everything will work out. However, this is often represented by portraying the heroine as passive and not always taking the initiative to go after things herself. The classic stories display the fact that no matter how much suffering and pain the heroine goes through, things will one day get better. I feel that this is a good message, yet it would be nice if the heroine was portrayed as being more aggressive and self sufficient at times. If Cinderella is to be a good role model for young females, then she should be more assertive to teach girls that they need to go after their goals themselves and be independent. Like Sheila said, you get a much greater reward out of something you know you did yourself, knowing the effort put into attaining that specific goal. I think this message is important and should be expressed more throughout fairy tales in order to empower young females.
I think this is a really interesting twist on the classic Cinderella story, and I would say it’s definitely a change for the better. From the brief description provided, it sounds like Edna is a much more reasonable, logical and realistic character than Cinderella. I think it’s important that this story provides two different outcomes: one in which love and marriage dominates, and another in which the woman remains independent. I think this is a great message that should be readily applied to modern fairy tales. Allowing girls to see that independence can still lead to happiness is, in my opinion, a crucial idea that most Cinderella stories do not promote.