0
0
Cyber Cinderella is the story of Izobel Brannigan, an average girl who works for a public relations firm. Izobel is in a relationship with a guy who’s going nowhere, and he’s taking her there with him just as fast. Izobel’s life revolves around client parties and her friends. On one very average day in the midst of her doldrums, Izobel decides to Google herself. To her surprise, Izobel discovers an entire site devoted to her and her life—with one major exception: the site developer is enamored with who they believe Izobel to be instead of who she actually is.
The site describes Izobel as active, independent, and a lady about the town (a real celebrity). This new discovery becomes Izobel’s obsession. She reveals the site to her boyfriend, who is less than impressed. She shares the news of the site with her best friend, who warns her that this could be a stalker and she should be careful. And they develop a plan to find out who is behind the site. Of course, the girls start with a list of exes and, with shabby detective work, run into dead ends. Izobel recruits the help of an IT nerd from work, but after spending a little time with the IT guy, Izobel couldn’t be more confused about who could be behind the site.
Throughout her search for the site developer, Izobel begins to see her life for what it is. She decides that she has settled for a less than perfect relationship. She’s stuck in a career that bores her and gives her no sense of self-importance or satisfaction. The site, in a roundabout way, helps Izobel see herself through someone else’s eyes, and she likes what they see far better than her reality. She becomes determined to change the things about herself that don’t make her complete.
Izobel teaches us all a lesson in looking within ourselves to find what others see in us. Sometimes we are so critical of ourselves that we forget just how great we are and what potential we have. The ending may not be much of a surprise, but it ends just like you want it to.
Cyber Cinderella is a very entertaining read. Christina Hopkinson does a great job of building her characters. She pulls the reader in and keeps you there as you travel through Izobel’s life trials. This is a great short book to read on a stormy weekend.
