I enjoyed The Other Slipper by Kenechi Udogu because it took a classic fairy tale and put a spin on it that had me guessing throughout the book. I love that Jo was an onlooker at the ball and that she ended up with one of the glass slippers that I have read about my whole life. The magical elements of the story will appeal to those who like fantasy. I think kids between third and eighth grade will fall into this book if they like fairy tales, wizards, and mystery. The three main characters are all different, so readers will be able to relate to one or more of them. It is so fun to read a book based on a story you know so well and to have surprises along the way. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading another book by this author. ( )

NOTE: I received this book to review by the author.

At first, I thought that "The Other Slipper" would be a retelling of Cinderella. But it turned out that it was the story behind Cinderella's slippers. Which sort of surprised me a little, though I was glad I wasn't reading something I'd read so many times before.

So, this is the story of Jo, an ordinary girl living in an ordinary world, where nothing out of the ordinary happens. Until the night of the ball, when she finds herself in the middle of the road, this weird crystal slipper just a few feet away from her. This was seriously one of the funniest moments in this book, and there were several, where I honestly laughed out loud at Jo's reasoning. Anyway, the fairy godmother sends Jo on a mission to return the slippers to their rightful owner. Little does Jo know that her path to the mysterious Lady of Ould would be full of unanticipated adventures that would take her further away from home.

I mostly liked the voice of this story. It was slightly ironic, and quite funny in certain places. But sometimes it was much too irritating. The inner dialogues of the characters were sometimes ridiculous and way too unrealistic. Some things were repeated numerous times and if I wasn't interested in the development of the story itself, I might've just abandoned the book altogether.

About the characters: I can't say they were oh so deep and all consuming. Umm, no. Sometimes they were just plain dull and shallow. They did have their sparkly moments, but on the most part they weren't anything spectacular.

What I did like about them however,was that they developed over time. Jo became more considerate and understanding; Ron became sure of himself and quite reasonable; Locke turned into a caring guy, ready to offer his services.

All in all, I liked the story, so the three stars are a very reasonable rating. I'd recommend this book to you if you're into fairy tales and such. ( )

{ I was kindly provided a free Kindle edition of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review. Review originally posted on my blog, PidginPea's Book Nook. }

The Other Slipper is a fairy tale retelling based on a creative idea: what happened to Cinderella's other slipper? Jo works at the palace where the prince has just found his beloved, thanks to some magic glass slippers. On Jo's way home one night, she finds some curious items in the middle of the path, including one of the slippers. She decides to take these things home with her, which turns out to be a life-changing decision.

This is an interesting story based on a very imaginative idea. The Cinderella character is only in the story briefly as a rather minor character; Jo, the palace worker, is the heroine here. Udogu creates a world with magic and far-off mysterious lands that Jo and her traveling partners navigate to get to their ultimate destination, the Land of Ould, where the slippers need to be returned.

The Other Slipper kept me reading to find out where the story was going to go. However, the narration was a little distracting. The narrator seemed to be a bit too omniscient; we're taken into the head of every character, bouncing back and forth at times. Thoughts are shared even when they don't seem necessary to the plot. Also, Locke was a great character, but I couldn't quite tell whether he was intended to be Jo's romantic interest or not. It was like sometimes there seemed to be a little something between them, and sometimes that would fade into the background entirely. I kind of wish that something had happened between them, because it seemed to be slowly leading towards that, and I think the story would have been nicely spiced up with a little romance. I also wish that the meeting with the Lady of Ould had been a little more dramatic; we are told throughout the book how intimidating and powerful she is, and finding her is the ultimate destination on their journey, but when they finally do get there it's just a little anticlimactic.

Otherwise, I did enjoy The Other Slipper and I would read another book by Udogu, as she is clearly very creative and can weave an interesting story. A little editing would take The Other Slipper from good to great. ( )