This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
“Sometimes when the magic of life overflows, one must write about it so others can see,” says Kristen Caven, who has swum in a castle pool, ridden a horse up a volcano, and waltzed at midnight through the fog.
She began writing The Souls of Her Feet as part of an opera called “Shoes, a Mirror, and a Big Pink Rose,” but it came to life as a musical, which was performed off-off-off Broadway in New York, and then the first novel in a series.
Kristen has also co-written parenting books such as The Bullying Antidote, and memoirs such as Perfectly Revolting. She teaches positive psychology and dancing. Her website is www.kristencaven.com.
Reviewed by Anne-Marie Reynolds for Readers' Favorite
The Souls of Her Feet by Kristen Baumgardner Caven is a humorous Cinderella-style story. Ashley St. Helens is seventeen years old. Her parents are dead and she has to put up with a wicked stepmother and two wicked stepsisters who are obsessed with fashion and make Ashley self-conscious about her large feet. The laundry is piling up, the dishes are unwashed and Jeff Prince has forgotten that Ashley even exists – a real-life Cinderella if ever there was one! She has some help though; a drag queen fairy godmother, father, whatever, who has just the right shoes for her. But will this all add up to the life that Ashley really wants or is she doomed to live a life of drudgery forever? It contains bonus material – essays written by the main characters and songs from the musical version.
The Souls of Her Feet by Kristen Baumgardner Caven has given us a post-modern, delightful tale of an insecure, teenage real-life Cinderella. I absolutely loved the characters, especially the fairy godfather; they are all so colorful, so loveable and incredibly relatable too. This is more than just a reimagined fairytale, though. This is about teenage girls overcoming insecurity, getting past the obstacles that life throws at them and teaching them that being different isn’t a bad thing – indeed, it gives them powers that no one else has. There are many takes on the story of Cinderella but this is different; this is fresh, exciting, and you will not want to put it down. The addition of the essays and the music were a nice touch in a great storyline. I thoroughly enjoyed this; a great story for anyone regardless of age or gender.
