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Disney Chills #4
Be Careful What You Wish Fur
Be Careful What You Wish Fur , the fourth book in the spook-tacular Disney Chills series, combines all the creepy-crawly feels of Goosebumps with all the wicked wit of one of Disney’s most infamous villains, Cruella de Vil. The dreams that you FEAR will come true.
Thirteen-year-old Delia loves fashion. She loves beauty products. She spends hours in her room attempting to take the perfect selfie. All she wants is to be as cool and trendy as the other girls in her school. Unfortunately, Delia’s family is not exactly flush with cash, so keeping up with the latest styles is next to impossible. But when Delia finds a near flawless faux fur coat at her local thrift store, she discovers that when she wears it, she’s transformed. Literally. Delia becomes prettier, more confident, and―as a result―more popular, whenever she wears the coat. She’s racking up the likes both virtually and IRL. Finally, everything is perfect.
That is until the original owner of the coat decides that she wants it back. Enter Cruella De Vil―a woman who will stop at nothing to reclaim her most prized possession. And when Delia tries to make a deal with the De Vil, she’ll learn that beauty is not worth the price.
Grab your nightlight, dear reader, and prepare to be CHILL-ed!
Thirteen-year-old Delia loves fashion. She loves beauty products. She spends hours in her room attempting to take the perfect selfie. All she wants is to be as cool and trendy as the other girls in her school. Unfortunately, Delia’s family is not exactly flush with cash, so keeping up with the latest styles is next to impossible. But when Delia finds a near flawless faux fur coat at her local thrift store, she discovers that when she wears it, she’s transformed. Literally. Delia becomes prettier, more confident, and―as a result―more popular, whenever she wears the coat. She’s racking up the likes both virtually and IRL. Finally, everything is perfect.
That is until the original owner of the coat decides that she wants it back. Enter Cruella De Vil―a woman who will stop at nothing to reclaim her most prized possession. And when Delia tries to make a deal with the De Vil, she’ll learn that beauty is not worth the price.
Grab your nightlight, dear reader, and prepare to be CHILL-ed!
256 pages, Paperback
First published April 6, 2021
55 people are currently reading
775 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
November 17, 2022
As always, I think Vera Strange finds fun and unique ways to craft this world of hers. She ties in the Disney lore perfectly in a new way that still sends chills. This one was a little slow to get into it but once the ball was rolling it went fast. As always, the cover has great clues to what's about to unravel within. Creepy and chilling for sure, younger readers will delight in this Disney Goosebumps-esque series.
October 25, 2021
The repetition in this series is so annoying. At the beginning the name of the school was said WAY too often; EIGHT times in four back to back pages!!! Why on EARTH isn’t the editor doing a better job!? I do not understand and it’s driving me nuts. As well as just the general “she has to be on the top of PicPerfect” all the time. I swear these books could be half as long as they are if the constant repetition was taken out. I don’t know if these books are aimed at kids younger than I thought, but I feel like they don’t need to be constantly hit over the head with this kind of information to continue moving the story forward. But what do I know.
Also, this book now had a HUGE continuity error that I also don’t understand was missed by everyone who goes through books before they are available to the public. 😤 At one point Delia jumps out of bed and goes downstairs to the kitchen and living room. Then, on the same page in the very next paragraph, she is back in bed and gets up and goes through a whole scene before coming downstairs, again. 😐 How do you make that error and how did no one catch it and fix it!?
Onto the actual story:
I liked Delia well enough, and definitely felt for her in being forced to do stuff / suffer because her mom thought it was best without even asking her if it’s what she wanted. That’s so unfair to put on kids.
Grant was super sweet, and I thought the nods to 101 Dalmatians were pretty subtle in a good way. What truly did not make sense though was the ending. Why is this random fancy coat magic? Why does it turn people into mannequins? I know this series is meant to be like Goosebumps but Disney and have that scary twist ending but it’s hard to do with characters that already exist and don’t have powers, like Cruella or Captain Hook. Ursula and Facilier do have powers, so their endings are more believable. I’m assuming it’ll be the same as Hades, seeing as he’s a god. 😅
But this didn’t wrap up nicely. Delia is left frozen with Grant saying he’ll come back with help and then on the next page it’s been months and she’s just a mannequin now. Why? What happened? Why wasn’t there a scene of her family and police and stuff coming to look for her and not finding her due her blending in with all the mannequins in the old factory? It feels like a huge scene was missed between these two things that makes the story abruptly stop and then it’s over. It’s like the author had a word count she strictly couldn’t go over and had to wrap it up in a flash. But then I feel that way about the constant repetition; there’s a word count to be met and that’s why it’s so much of the same. Who knows!!!
This series is annoying me, but I keep on reading it.
Also, this book now had a HUGE continuity error that I also don’t understand was missed by everyone who goes through books before they are available to the public. 😤 At one point Delia jumps out of bed and goes downstairs to the kitchen and living room. Then, on the same page in the very next paragraph, she is back in bed and gets up and goes through a whole scene before coming downstairs, again. 😐 How do you make that error and how did no one catch it and fix it!?
Onto the actual story:
I liked Delia well enough, and definitely felt for her in being forced to do stuff / suffer because her mom thought it was best without even asking her if it’s what she wanted. That’s so unfair to put on kids.
Grant was super sweet, and I thought the nods to 101 Dalmatians were pretty subtle in a good way. What truly did not make sense though was the ending. Why is this random fancy coat magic? Why does it turn people into mannequins? I know this series is meant to be like Goosebumps but Disney and have that scary twist ending but it’s hard to do with characters that already exist and don’t have powers, like Cruella or Captain Hook. Ursula and Facilier do have powers, so their endings are more believable. I’m assuming it’ll be the same as Hades, seeing as he’s a god. 😅
But this didn’t wrap up nicely. Delia is left frozen with Grant saying he’ll come back with help and then on the next page it’s been months and she’s just a mannequin now. Why? What happened? Why wasn’t there a scene of her family and police and stuff coming to look for her and not finding her due her blending in with all the mannequins in the old factory? It feels like a huge scene was missed between these two things that makes the story abruptly stop and then it’s over. It’s like the author had a word count she strictly couldn’t go over and had to wrap it up in a flash. But then I feel that way about the constant repetition; there’s a word count to be met and that’s why it’s so much of the same. Who knows!!!
This series is annoying me, but I keep on reading it.
October 31, 2024
Another quick easy read. The only thing that bugged me was the fact Delia kept saying her old friends weren’t real friends when she said they had messaged her but she hadn’t replied 🤷♀️🙄🤦🏼♀️
I think this one would be great for young readers of today especially as it centers around social media and the obsession of people posting fake, happy selfies to ganger likes from people online
I think this one would be great for young readers of today especially as it centers around social media and the obsession of people posting fake, happy selfies to ganger likes from people online
January 13, 2022
3.5 stars! Very predictable but I know I’m not the target audience. Love how each book discusses an issue (for example peer pressure/family & friends) and teaches a life lesson to the younger readers. This was my favorite from the series so far!
January 21, 2022
This was my favorite of the Disney Chills so far! It is truly creepy but also a lot of fun!
July 15, 2024
This was pretty creepy! I read this on Addi’s recommendation and it was really fun!!
September 28, 2021
3.5 Stars.
OK, real talk: For years now, I thought that Disney has been trying in vain to make Cruella "Happen". Between appearances in "The Descendants" trilogy, "Once Upon a Time" tv show, and the prequel movie, there was definite oversaturation with this character.... But she was utilized suprisingly well in this instance,IMO,
But I still feel that, while admittedly a well-known Disney villain, she will never be one of the true top-tier villians. (Realistically, she is foiled by PUPPIES in almost every outing.)
And that brings us to this installment of "Disney Chills", a series that I am only just beginning to warm up to... This series is decidely schizophrenic; it definitely seems to WANT to cater to the moralistic/"Disney-Ever-After"/optimistic nature of things in the beginning; the kids showcased in these all have their pre-teen crisises (Family issues, friendship issues, fitting-in issues, etc.), only to have the rug pulled out from under them in a fairly abrupt manner.... (This book particlarly emphasizes the importance of not subsuming yourself to peer pressure in trying to fit in.)
For the most part, I think the 2 opposing philopsophies don't mesh that well in this series, since they can't generate enough of the requisite darkness to offset the "Disney Hero/ine" syndrome and make the endings truly meaningful and desperate, but that seems to be a function of the philopsophy of the parent company, which is unikely to change substansially. (The first book, with Ursula, was the weakest in that regard; the ones since at least TRY to combine "real-life" with the horror genre.)
But, to their credit, these are fast-paced, quick reads, so I (generally) have no regret in picking up and reading these.
OK, real talk: For years now, I thought that Disney has been trying in vain to make Cruella "Happen". Between appearances in "The Descendants" trilogy, "Once Upon a Time" tv show, and the prequel movie, there was definite oversaturation with this character.... But she was utilized suprisingly well in this instance,IMO,
But I still feel that, while admittedly a well-known Disney villain, she will never be one of the true top-tier villians. (Realistically, she is foiled by PUPPIES in almost every outing.)
And that brings us to this installment of "Disney Chills", a series that I am only just beginning to warm up to... This series is decidely schizophrenic; it definitely seems to WANT to cater to the moralistic/"Disney-Ever-After"/optimistic nature of things in the beginning; the kids showcased in these all have their pre-teen crisises (Family issues, friendship issues, fitting-in issues, etc.), only to have the rug pulled out from under them in a fairly abrupt manner.... (This book particlarly emphasizes the importance of not subsuming yourself to peer pressure in trying to fit in.)
For the most part, I think the 2 opposing philopsophies don't mesh that well in this series, since they can't generate enough of the requisite darkness to offset the "Disney Hero/ine" syndrome and make the endings truly meaningful and desperate, but that seems to be a function of the philopsophy of the parent company, which is unikely to change substansially. (The first book, with Ursula, was the weakest in that regard; the ones since at least TRY to combine "real-life" with the horror genre.)
But, to their credit, these are fast-paced, quick reads, so I (generally) have no regret in picking up and reading these.
August 14, 2021
My Summary:
All Delia wants is to be popular, look fashionable, and make friends. That is hard when she is a "charity case", a fish out of water, in her new school. She lives for fashion, and PicPerfect, an app that is like TikTok, for popularity. She never can get the perfect selfie. Everything stinks, especially he fake House of De Vil boots her mom got her from the thrift store.
The day she wears them, she is tormented nonstop, and keeps her head down, especially in front of the posse of mean girls. She meets this sweet boy named Grant, who is also at the school on a scholarship. The main mean girl posts a humiliating photo of Delia in the fake shoes. She agrees to take it down, IF she wears a real House of De Vil clothing item.
she sees a "free" House of De Vil coat. and it's REAL! She steals it and wears it to school. once putting on the coat, she became confident, and all her selfies came out amazing. She never takes it off, and eventually it overcomes her. She is starting to feel unlike herself, and she is changing....
My Review:
I don't know how this book is for kids, especially distributed by Disney. It was actually scary, and I never get scared (except for snakes and spiders) The ending had me SHOOK!
I only gave this book a 8.5/10 because I thought it was going to mainly be about Cruella, not Delia. Cruella only comes in the book toward the last 5 chapters. The story was amazing, and very clever, so props to that. I liked reading it, and it was a quick read.
The author's real name is Jennifer Brody (Vera Strange)
To read more from the author please visit:
https://www.jenniferbrody.com/
@JenniferBrody
All Delia wants is to be popular, look fashionable, and make friends. That is hard when she is a "charity case", a fish out of water, in her new school. She lives for fashion, and PicPerfect, an app that is like TikTok, for popularity. She never can get the perfect selfie. Everything stinks, especially he fake House of De Vil boots her mom got her from the thrift store.
The day she wears them, she is tormented nonstop, and keeps her head down, especially in front of the posse of mean girls. She meets this sweet boy named Grant, who is also at the school on a scholarship. The main mean girl posts a humiliating photo of Delia in the fake shoes. She agrees to take it down, IF she wears a real House of De Vil clothing item.
she sees a "free" House of De Vil coat. and it's REAL! She steals it and wears it to school. once putting on the coat, she became confident, and all her selfies came out amazing. She never takes it off, and eventually it overcomes her. She is starting to feel unlike herself, and she is changing....
My Review:
I don't know how this book is for kids, especially distributed by Disney. It was actually scary, and I never get scared (except for snakes and spiders) The ending had me SHOOK!
I only gave this book a 8.5/10 because I thought it was going to mainly be about Cruella, not Delia. Cruella only comes in the book toward the last 5 chapters. The story was amazing, and very clever, so props to that. I liked reading it, and it was a quick read.
The author's real name is Jennifer Brody (Vera Strange)
To read more from the author please visit:
https://www.jenniferbrody.com/
@JenniferBrody
August 16, 2022
Delia is heavily into posting the perfect selfie and having her best friends around her but when she is sent to a new school where she knows nobody her world is turned upside down. With Delia coming from a poor single parent family and all of those in her new school having money, looks and popularity she discovers that not owning the right clothes is a much bigger thing that she could ever have imagined. When she finds a coat that the others in the school could only dream of owning, it turns her from being cast aside to being the one to befriend but can a coat really change everything for the better with no consequences at all?
Vera Strange is the author behind the Disney Chills series of books and brings another great addition to the series which is once again brilliantly written, flows perfectly and has a story which makes sense rather than feeling like it is someone overreaching.
If you haven't checked out these books or this author then this is one which is a great place to start as each book is a standalone.
Vera Strange is the author behind the Disney Chills series of books and brings another great addition to the series which is once again brilliantly written, flows perfectly and has a story which makes sense rather than feeling like it is someone overreaching.
If you haven't checked out these books or this author then this is one which is a great place to start as each book is a standalone.
May 28, 2021
Cute, spooky story about the ghost of Cruella De Vil haunting a young girl through a fur coat! This book had an important lesson for young people..don’t change yourself to fit in. Real friends will like you for who are! That is Delia’s overall experience in this story when she wishes for a designer clothing item to fit in at her new school and boost her social media status!
That’s another important topic that this book addresses..the significance of social media in young people’s lives. Social media can have a very dangerous effect on young people and I liked that there was a character who countered social media!
The ending was a total surprise. It wasn’t a happy one! I enjoyed that actually! It was a refreshing change to read a story with a spooky ending! An enjoyable Cruella book in the spirit of the movie 🎥
That’s another important topic that this book addresses..the significance of social media in young people’s lives. Social media can have a very dangerous effect on young people and I liked that there was a character who countered social media!
The ending was a total surprise. It wasn’t a happy one! I enjoyed that actually! It was a refreshing change to read a story with a spooky ending! An enjoyable Cruella book in the spirit of the movie 🎥
April 4, 2022
I was trying to delete this from my "Owned books" and accidently deleted it from all my reviews lol.
From what I remembered I did not care for this book at all. I just cannot relate as a twenty-two year old woman to a twelve year old girls desire to be "perfect" on social media. I just don't care lmao. However, this factor is not weighed into my rating because I am not the target audience for this book in the first place. I think there are many great lessons for tweens in this book about the dangers of popularity and trying to fit in with the crowd. It is better to be yourself. This series is fantastic for those who have kids who love Disney and Goosebumps! :D
From what I remembered I did not care for this book at all. I just cannot relate as a twenty-two year old woman to a twelve year old girls desire to be "perfect" on social media. I just don't care lmao. However, this factor is not weighed into my rating because I am not the target audience for this book in the first place. I think there are many great lessons for tweens in this book about the dangers of popularity and trying to fit in with the crowd. It is better to be yourself. This series is fantastic for those who have kids who love Disney and Goosebumps! :D
August 10, 2022
The bitchy girls became a bit too much, but the trying to belong and eventually becoming fake and plastic is soooo good!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 2, 2023
J’aime beaucoup cette collection jeunesse un peu dans le style de Chair de Poule mais avec les méchants de Disney. Je suis une grande fan de Disney mais je dois avouer que les Méchants sont les meilleurs personnages au final. Leurs histoires sont tellement intéressantes et puis il faut bien avouer qu’ils dégagent tellement une aura incroyable qu’on est de suite fasciné par eux! Alors cette saga, je l’affectionne beaucoup. Déjà, je trouve que les couvertures sont magnifiques, elles donnent vraiment envie de se plonger dans la lecture du roman. Elles sont vraiment sublimes, j’ai remarqué que les couvertures françaises sont bien plus sobre que les originales. Les VO sont bien plus terrifiantes que ça et quand on pense que c’est une saga qui s’adresse aux plus jeunes, je préfère largement les couvertures françaises qui sont bien plus douces.
Dans cette histoire, on va suivre le personnage de Delia, une jeune fille de treize ans. Elle passe son temps sur le réseau social Vies2Reves, un réseau où il faut constamment poster des selfies si vous voulez rester dans les comptes les plus populaires.. Il faut constamment faire attention à son apparence, se prendre en selfie dans les plus belles tenues possibles. Comme toutes les filles de son nouveau collège. Malheureusement pour elle, Delia vit avec sa mère célibataire qui a tout juste les moyens de lui offrir une place de boursière dans cette école huppé. Les rôles finissent par s’inverser lorsqu’elle découvre un manteau qui rend tout le monde jaloux! Ses selfies sont désormais impeccable, plus besoin de filtre ni de retouches! Mais est ce que garder ce manteau est une bonne idée? Surtout qu’il semble désormais ne plus vouloir la quitter.. Elle devrait plutôt le rendre à sa créatrice, une certaine Cruella D’enfer..
L’histoire de ce roman m’a vraiment beaucoup plu. Parfois elle m’a tout de même un peu effrayé avec son côté assez creepy. Je veux dire, et sans vouloir spoiler, le coup des mannequins ça m’a mis mal à l’aise et ça plus d’une fois! J’ai vraiment apprécié ce que j’ai lu. L’histoire est basé sur l’apparence, la popularité, le regard des autres. Les personnages sont obsédés par cette appli où il faut posté quotidiennement sinon vous retombez au plus bas du classement. Et si vous n’êtes pas dans le top cela veut dire que vous n’en valez pas la peine. Je trouve ça tellement dommage de penser comme ça.. Délia est constamment jugé sur sa façon de s’habiller. N’ayant pas les mêmes moyens que les pestes de son école, elle s’habille principalement de seconde main et elle est don jugée sur ça. Elle se fait même humilier par les autres. Malheureusement c’est encore un thème d’actualité sauf que notre façon de s’habiller ne définit en aucun cas qui nous sommes vraiment.
Malgré le fait que j’ai adoré ma lecture, j’ai eu vraiment énormément de mal avec le personnage de Delia. Elle m’a vraiment exaspéré tout le long du roman et m’a vraiment pas mal énervée même. Elle est constamment obsédé par son apparence et l’image qu’elle renvoie à travers son application et ses selfies. Je la trouve même ingrate avec sa mère, elle sait qu’elle fait tout pour subvenir à ses besoins, elle travaille dans un cabinet la journée et le soir prend des cours en ligne pour devenir avocate. Et malgré tout ça, elle continue de faire ses manières et chipote pour ses bottes. Vraiment son comportement m’a vraiment énervé. Elle finit d’ailleurs par en payer les conséquences et elle se rend compte de ses actes mais bien sûr il est trop tard, le mal est déjà fait. Son obsession constante pour les bottes de la Maison d’Enfer m’a vraiment fait lever les yeux un nombre incalculable de foi. en fait, je ne comprends pas ce genre de comportement, que ce soit dans un roman ou encore dans la vie réelle. C’est tellement superficiel et c’est bien dommage. Par contre, j’ai beaucoup aimer le personnage de Grant, c’est juste dommage qu’on ne le voit que si peu parce que c’est un personnage vraiment intéressant! Bon je ne parle même pas de Harper et sa cloque qui sont détestables au plus haut point. Toutes plus superficielles les unes que les autres!
J’aime beaucoup toutes les petites références au 101 dalmatiens. Certes, l’histoire tourne autour de Cruella D’enfer mais en plus de ça on a quelques références. On a par exemple les chiots qui sont chez Delia, on a également le fait que les fameux manteaux Cruella sont sorti à seulement 101 exemplaires. Toutes ces petites choses m’ont fait sourire durant ma lecture. Cette première lecture de 2022 fut vraiment très plaisante à lire. J’ai vraiment adoré ce roman, il se lit extrêmement vite et clairement il se dévore. La plume de Vera est très plaisante et j’aime la retrouver à chaque fois. Ce que j’aime particulièrement dans cette collection c’est que non seulement elle traite des méchants de Disney mais en plus ce sont toujours eux qui gagnent à la fin. Et ça, je trouve ça original et absolument génial. Il me reste deux tomes à lire dans les Disney Chills et il me tarde vraiment de découvrir tout ça!
Dans cette histoire, on va suivre le personnage de Delia, une jeune fille de treize ans. Elle passe son temps sur le réseau social Vies2Reves, un réseau où il faut constamment poster des selfies si vous voulez rester dans les comptes les plus populaires.. Il faut constamment faire attention à son apparence, se prendre en selfie dans les plus belles tenues possibles. Comme toutes les filles de son nouveau collège. Malheureusement pour elle, Delia vit avec sa mère célibataire qui a tout juste les moyens de lui offrir une place de boursière dans cette école huppé. Les rôles finissent par s’inverser lorsqu’elle découvre un manteau qui rend tout le monde jaloux! Ses selfies sont désormais impeccable, plus besoin de filtre ni de retouches! Mais est ce que garder ce manteau est une bonne idée? Surtout qu’il semble désormais ne plus vouloir la quitter.. Elle devrait plutôt le rendre à sa créatrice, une certaine Cruella D’enfer..
L’histoire de ce roman m’a vraiment beaucoup plu. Parfois elle m’a tout de même un peu effrayé avec son côté assez creepy. Je veux dire, et sans vouloir spoiler, le coup des mannequins ça m’a mis mal à l’aise et ça plus d’une fois! J’ai vraiment apprécié ce que j’ai lu. L’histoire est basé sur l’apparence, la popularité, le regard des autres. Les personnages sont obsédés par cette appli où il faut posté quotidiennement sinon vous retombez au plus bas du classement. Et si vous n’êtes pas dans le top cela veut dire que vous n’en valez pas la peine. Je trouve ça tellement dommage de penser comme ça.. Délia est constamment jugé sur sa façon de s’habiller. N’ayant pas les mêmes moyens que les pestes de son école, elle s’habille principalement de seconde main et elle est don jugée sur ça. Elle se fait même humilier par les autres. Malheureusement c’est encore un thème d’actualité sauf que notre façon de s’habiller ne définit en aucun cas qui nous sommes vraiment.
Malgré le fait que j’ai adoré ma lecture, j’ai eu vraiment énormément de mal avec le personnage de Delia. Elle m’a vraiment exaspéré tout le long du roman et m’a vraiment pas mal énervée même. Elle est constamment obsédé par son apparence et l’image qu’elle renvoie à travers son application et ses selfies. Je la trouve même ingrate avec sa mère, elle sait qu’elle fait tout pour subvenir à ses besoins, elle travaille dans un cabinet la journée et le soir prend des cours en ligne pour devenir avocate. Et malgré tout ça, elle continue de faire ses manières et chipote pour ses bottes. Vraiment son comportement m’a vraiment énervé. Elle finit d’ailleurs par en payer les conséquences et elle se rend compte de ses actes mais bien sûr il est trop tard, le mal est déjà fait. Son obsession constante pour les bottes de la Maison d’Enfer m’a vraiment fait lever les yeux un nombre incalculable de foi. en fait, je ne comprends pas ce genre de comportement, que ce soit dans un roman ou encore dans la vie réelle. C’est tellement superficiel et c’est bien dommage. Par contre, j’ai beaucoup aimer le personnage de Grant, c’est juste dommage qu’on ne le voit que si peu parce que c’est un personnage vraiment intéressant! Bon je ne parle même pas de Harper et sa cloque qui sont détestables au plus haut point. Toutes plus superficielles les unes que les autres!
J’aime beaucoup toutes les petites références au 101 dalmatiens. Certes, l’histoire tourne autour de Cruella D’enfer mais en plus de ça on a quelques références. On a par exemple les chiots qui sont chez Delia, on a également le fait que les fameux manteaux Cruella sont sorti à seulement 101 exemplaires. Toutes ces petites choses m’ont fait sourire durant ma lecture. Cette première lecture de 2022 fut vraiment très plaisante à lire. J’ai vraiment adoré ce roman, il se lit extrêmement vite et clairement il se dévore. La plume de Vera est très plaisante et j’aime la retrouver à chaque fois. Ce que j’aime particulièrement dans cette collection c’est que non seulement elle traite des méchants de Disney mais en plus ce sont toujours eux qui gagnent à la fin. Et ça, je trouve ça original et absolument génial. Il me reste deux tomes à lire dans les Disney Chills et il me tarde vraiment de découvrir tout ça!
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January 4, 2026Be Careful What You Wish Fur
Delia is trying to take the perfect selfie for an app called PicPerfect. Only no matter what she does its not coming out right and the forming zit on her nose isn’t helping. Delia, Aaliyah and Zoe were the most popular kids at her old school (which meant they had the highest ranking). you didn’t keep posting selfies and getting comments, then your ranking would plummet. The goal was to collect the pink heart emojis, and avoid the dreaded red devil faces. Users clicked one if they liked your selfie and the other if they didn’t. The more hearts, the more views you got, and the more popular your account became.
Aaliyah and Zoe pop up on the app, sense her insecurity, and encourage her on her first day at her new private school (Gilded Crest Academy). We get some background. Delia and her mom live in a town house in Chicago which they share with an elderly landlady (Mrs. Smith). Also, Delia’s father abandoned her when she was a baby. (He wasn’t ready for a kid). Her mother has a new job as a lawyer and goes to night school. Delia is entering 7th grade and is 13. It’s important to do well in her new school so she can get into honors classes in high school and eventually go on to college (which will lead to a better life).
Still, she’ll miss her old friends and old school. An add pops up just as she’s getting off for a pair of faux fur listed boots from the house of De Vil. The boots are black and white with zebra stripes. Black and white faux fur poke out of the tops. Delia thinks they’re absolutely perfect and can see herself in them snapping selfies. But they cost 250.00. Delia decides she NEEDS these boots and she’ll beg her mother. After all, one of her favorite sayings is first impressions count!
Mrs. Smith has taken in 15 Dalmatians puppies. Mrs. Smith had a habit of taking in unwanted things. Her mother looks at the price of the shoes and says she just can’t afford them-not with the tuition to the new school-. Delia starts to cry and says she’s never asked what *she* wants. Then she confesses its her friends she’ll miss. Her mother softens and says she’ll “see what she can do”. Of course, all the girls are wearing the boots and look like they’ve stepped out of a fashion magazine. (Even the boys). It doesn’t take long for Delia to see she definitely doesn’t belong here. Nervously, she checked her appearance. She felt like she’d looked good when she posted her selfie this morning, but now her hair looked frizzier than ever. Her clothes looked dumpy and old. That pimple had bloomed into a full-blown whitehead right on the tip of her nose.
Still, she takes her friends advice and introduces herself to three girls (Harper, Charlotte, and Ella). They just dismiss her as “on a scholarship” and asks her what makes her think she can be their friend. In class she meets a edgier (nicer) boy named Grant that’s also on a (music) scholarship. He lets her hear some of his music and she’s surprised to find out he’s not into social media (and doesn’t know about PicPerfect). Grant just doesn’t care about the opinions of random people (even though Delia says he can easily be an influencer). He does care about what she thinks because he says they’re going to be friends in real life. They shake on it and make it official. Delia and “the Glam Crew” come in and comment on the scholarship kid and the artsy weirdo belonging together. Delia can’t take the whispers and flees to the bathroom.
While she’s in the bathroom having a panic account, a notification pops up about submitting a post. She closes the app and then sees # HouseofDeVil was number one. She clicks on it and sees pictures of Harper, Ella, and Charlotte posing in their boots. They have the highest rated account at Gilded Crest. Cruella -who started the line back in the day- is featured on the page. Delia had always thought it was weird that there were never any pictures that showed Cruella’s face. Some people didn’t believe that Cruella had ever existed. They thought she was an urban legend, or perhaps just a character invented to market the brand and give it cachet. But Delia wasn’t sure what to believe.
She took a screenshot of the House of De Vil boots and tagged it—#wishlist #HouseofDeVil #fauxfurboots #fairygodmother.Then she hit POST. Someone DM’s her from an account called Fashion Alert. Each image in the account showed a creepy-looking mannequin posed in different House of De Vil outfits, like something out of a storefront window. They were all black-and-white, the fashion line’s iconic color palette. Under the mannequin’s profile pic, there was a short bio posted: My friend wanted to be perfect. #HouseofDeVil #RememberHer There’s a short messae that says “Be careful what you wish for.” Delia types back “What do you mean?” The reponse says “Beware of the Devil Woman. This is what she did to my best friend.”
Red devil icons followed, one after the other, filling the DM page and making her phone ping nonstop. She sends a text to her mother begging for the boots again and includes the link. Ms. Smith gets a call from someone wanting to buy the puppies but she hangs up on them. She’ll only adopt them out to loving families. Delia’s mom comes home with a box and inside are the boots. She found them at the thrift store and they’re *used*. Delia says they’re knock off and she can never wear them to school. Her mom says she’ll wear them and that’s final. Delia says she wishes she can get something new. Her mom says new things are a waste of money and one day she’ll understand when she has to work.
To make things worse she has a bunch of devil comments on her app from Haper and her friends. Delia has a nightmare that she’s been chased at school and locks herself into the bathroom. She’s being taunted about her boots and she tries to pull them off, but she can’t remove them. A shadow of a woman with wild hair raises up behind her with wild hair. She says “Your not fashionable enough to fit in here.” She’s almost convinced herself that the boots aren’t so bad and maybe no one will notice, but when she gets to school Harper notices immediately and post a picture of Delia running away from her and circled the boots. with a virtual red marker. The caption read:
#PHONY #KNOCKOFF #FAUXBOOTS #CHARITYCASE #GOBACK #PUBLICSCHOOL Everyone at the school is liking the post, then her old classmates at her old school. Then Aaliyah and Zoe’s name’s pop up. There’s a DM message that says “Keep your faux boots. Trust me.” Later that day, she passes the House of Devil store and swears the mannequins are turning their heads on their own. Harper and her friends come out of the store. They taunt her some more and Delia tries to cover and say her mom just got the wrong brand. Harper tells her to show up the next day in something from House of Devil and she’ll take the picture down.
Delia runs into Grant who says he thinks the boots are cool. He says if he were on the app he’d give her a like or a thumbs up for wearing them. Even tho she tries to explain their knockoffs, he says they look like nice boots (good tractiom, warm). He says all the stuff on Madison is over priced and no one should care what Harper thinks. She’s basic. He likes Delia because she’s herself (imperfections and all). Delia visits “Replay Vintage” and finds a coat. It’s ugly and puffy but under the amount of the gift card her mom gave her. Hanging on a mannequin in the alley behind House of Devil’s she sees what looks just like Cruella’s iconic coat. Somehow she knows this is Cruella’s coat. She tries it on and it fits her perfectly. She knows she should put it back but… It *is* abandoned. So, she swaps the two coats.
There’s a cackling laugh behind her and its coming from the mannequin. It laughs and laughs and she flees. The coat has some weird effects. It makes her mouth off to her mother, she notices its soft like Radar’s fur (one of Mrs. Smith’s dalmations, and also feels a sense of belonging and all her selfies come out looking perfect. Delia has a dream that the puppies go missing and a faceless mannequin demands the coat back. A shadow appears behind the mannequin and says “Darling don’t you know the coat belongs to me?” She remembers a cruel, wicked, smile and then it all goes black. After waking she decides in a day or two she’ll return the coat.
The next morning, she posts a collection of perfect photos to PicPerfect. Even her mother seems to agree that the coat suits her today. She finds out from Harper (at school) that her post went viral and this puts her in influencer status. Harper apologizes and admits she didn’t think she could pull it off. The “Glam Possess” barrage her with questions and say you can’t even order that one (the color blocked one). They want to know where she got it but she says shr promised she wouldn’t tell. They accept her into the “Glam Posse”. Everything’s perfect but she sees Grant and he says he thought she was different and wishes her luck. He tells her they aren’t her friends they’re just using her. Then he walks off.
In the bathroom while taking selfies, Delia sees something in the mirror. Then her reflection starts to frown. It mouths a word at her. Thief. She knows she should take it back but when she touches the coat a possession feeling comes off and she decides its hers and she’s keeping it. Monday is school picture day. Over the weekend, Delia slept with the coat on. er limbs felt tingly and stiff, almost like they didn’t want to bend. She snaps some selfies and gets hearts pour in. When the photographer tries to take the pictures, but when she views the picture her face looks blank and expressionless (frozen). She runs out of the school and now the coat feels heavy. A blue car comes barreling straight at her and then the driver says she’s not worthy of her coutour. Delia can’t run and the car comes at her. Grant pushes her out of the way. The car speeds off and vanishes.
elia spotted the name of the car model on the back of the trunk: Panther DeVille. It felt like the coat was holding her prisoner preventing her from jumping out of the way. He noticed she looked upset after she got her picture taken and decided to follow her. She doesn’t want to involve Grant in this so she tells him she has to go and thanks him. While at the train station, Delia gets another notification to update her profile. So, she snaps another perfect pic. Only her hair in the photo turns white on one side and black on the other. She keeps refreshing it but all that happens is her lips turn red and her eyes start to look like there’s a yellow light in them.
Then she’s flooded with devil emojis. She gets a DM from –“The Devil Woman”. The profile picture shows a red devil face. There’s a message “Having fun with my coat darling?” Then there’s a cackling laugh coming from the train. So, Delia returns the coat with a message. “Sorry I took the coat”. But then the car comes at her again. Delia is frozen even without the coat but then there’s silence. She opens her eyes and the car is gone and the alley is dark, When she gets back, Mrs. Smith is holding up her coat and says it was on her bed. She fusses at her for going out without her coat. Delia takes the coat outside and throws it in the garbage can. When she comes back in her room, the coat is on her bed.
Delia goes back and unblocks the account from Fashion Adict. She sends a message asking who she is and what happened to her friend. There’s no response. Delia has another nightmare that the puppies are yipping for help. They’re gone again and there are footprints. Claws reach out and snatch her up. The shadows eyes light up with yellow light. A voice says “You let thoe filthy mongrels crawl all over my coat. How dare you?”
The next morning she gets a message from Fashion Addict. It says Once upon a time, my best friend just wanted to be fashionable and popular. All she wanted in the world was a House of De Vil coat. I still don’t know how my friend got the Cruella Coat. She would never tell me. She said it was a big secret. At first, it was great. She loved the coat and almost never took it off. She even slept in it. Her skin started to look perfect. All her selfies came out flawless. Her ranking on PicPerfect soared…but then the coat started to change her. Her skin looked plastic. Her limbs would barely move. They became stiff and rigid, so it was hard for her to walk. It got to the point where I could barely recognize my friend anymore. Eventually, she couldn’t even leave her house.Then one day she vanished—along with the coat. The police searched for her, but all they found were muddy boot prints leading through her front door. I started messaging PicPerfect accounts that follow House of De Vil to warn them! Stay away from the Devil Woman! Her fashion line is cursed!
At school, “The Glam Posse” act like they don’t know her. When they do recognize her they tell her she looks different. She tells them about the coat and that she thinks its cursed and has to get rid of it. They think this is a joke and laugh at her. She realizes Grant was right. Harper says maybe she’s just not cool enough for the coat. So, she gets an idea and tells Harper she can have the coat. Only the coat won’t come off her.
When she looks at her reflection in the mirror in the bathroom, she looks like a mannequin and the coat is still holding her hostage. She rushes to find Grant. At Grant’s apartment, Delia tells him everything. By the seconds its getting worse and she’s becoming more plastic. Grant looks into House of Deville and finds out people that got coats way back when started to disappear. The factories shut down, but years ago the factories started to open back up. No one knows whose opened them back up. The Cruella coats were said to be destroyed (the unsold ones) but the designer (Cruella) is always shown wearing one. Grant says he’ll do more research. He promises they’ll fix it. When Delia gets home, she finds out someone stole the puppies.
Delia gets a DM from “The Devil Woman” those filthy mongrels belong to me. It says bring her coat in exchange for the puppies. Then her account just vanishes. Grant says the next day, he’s found address for the original factory. The factory seems abandoned but then Delia hears a yipping. The follow the sound and find a design room with sketches -weirdly of all the women who bought the Cruella coat and the dates the disappeared-. Then they hear the factories machines start up. They then hear a voice that says “Darling you bought my coat.” Grant is able to release the puppies but its too late for Delia. She turns completely to plastic.
Harper and her crew see the Cruella coat on display at the House of DeVille and snap a selfie of it. They talk about the girl who had one and how she kind of just disappeared. They decide the coat was probably a fake like her boots. After all she was a “scholarship kid”. Little do they know she’s still watching from inside the display case. She’s always watching!
My Thoughts:
This was aunique plot. Unlike the other books about Cruella “Evil Things” and “Cruel Truth” Cruella isn’t the main focus of the story. Which is why I was a little confused when I started the book and saw it was about a girl named Delia who was into taking selfies and posting them on an app. I was thinking is this supposed to be a modern adaption of Cruella? This had a very “Goosebumps” feel to it and I think in a description I read it said as such. It was interesting to use Cruella as this unknown legendary character that no one’s ever really seen the face of. Turning her into something of a ghost was cool. It works here. So does creating “The House of DeVille” (which really wasn’t apart of the movies) and using it to hide the puppies in the abandoned factory and using it to be the location of the “Cruella Coat”. The end definitely reminded me of one of the GB stories in one of the last books I read where there’s a boy that’s given a special bat by an old man and told to return the bat right after the game. Only he decides he can’t live without it. So, the man lets him keep it only he’s turned into one of the display statues in his sports museum.
Rating: 7 Nice cover and I wasn’t disappointed with the story.
Delia is trying to take the perfect selfie for an app called PicPerfect. Only no matter what she does its not coming out right and the forming zit on her nose isn’t helping. Delia, Aaliyah and Zoe were the most popular kids at her old school (which meant they had the highest ranking). you didn’t keep posting selfies and getting comments, then your ranking would plummet. The goal was to collect the pink heart emojis, and avoid the dreaded red devil faces. Users clicked one if they liked your selfie and the other if they didn’t. The more hearts, the more views you got, and the more popular your account became.
Aaliyah and Zoe pop up on the app, sense her insecurity, and encourage her on her first day at her new private school (Gilded Crest Academy). We get some background. Delia and her mom live in a town house in Chicago which they share with an elderly landlady (Mrs. Smith). Also, Delia’s father abandoned her when she was a baby. (He wasn’t ready for a kid). Her mother has a new job as a lawyer and goes to night school. Delia is entering 7th grade and is 13. It’s important to do well in her new school so she can get into honors classes in high school and eventually go on to college (which will lead to a better life).
Still, she’ll miss her old friends and old school. An add pops up just as she’s getting off for a pair of faux fur listed boots from the house of De Vil. The boots are black and white with zebra stripes. Black and white faux fur poke out of the tops. Delia thinks they’re absolutely perfect and can see herself in them snapping selfies. But they cost 250.00. Delia decides she NEEDS these boots and she’ll beg her mother. After all, one of her favorite sayings is first impressions count!
Mrs. Smith has taken in 15 Dalmatians puppies. Mrs. Smith had a habit of taking in unwanted things. Her mother looks at the price of the shoes and says she just can’t afford them-not with the tuition to the new school-. Delia starts to cry and says she’s never asked what *she* wants. Then she confesses its her friends she’ll miss. Her mother softens and says she’ll “see what she can do”. Of course, all the girls are wearing the boots and look like they’ve stepped out of a fashion magazine. (Even the boys). It doesn’t take long for Delia to see she definitely doesn’t belong here. Nervously, she checked her appearance. She felt like she’d looked good when she posted her selfie this morning, but now her hair looked frizzier than ever. Her clothes looked dumpy and old. That pimple had bloomed into a full-blown whitehead right on the tip of her nose.
Still, she takes her friends advice and introduces herself to three girls (Harper, Charlotte, and Ella). They just dismiss her as “on a scholarship” and asks her what makes her think she can be their friend. In class she meets a edgier (nicer) boy named Grant that’s also on a (music) scholarship. He lets her hear some of his music and she’s surprised to find out he’s not into social media (and doesn’t know about PicPerfect). Grant just doesn’t care about the opinions of random people (even though Delia says he can easily be an influencer). He does care about what she thinks because he says they’re going to be friends in real life. They shake on it and make it official. Delia and “the Glam Crew” come in and comment on the scholarship kid and the artsy weirdo belonging together. Delia can’t take the whispers and flees to the bathroom.
While she’s in the bathroom having a panic account, a notification pops up about submitting a post. She closes the app and then sees # HouseofDeVil was number one. She clicks on it and sees pictures of Harper, Ella, and Charlotte posing in their boots. They have the highest rated account at Gilded Crest. Cruella -who started the line back in the day- is featured on the page. Delia had always thought it was weird that there were never any pictures that showed Cruella’s face. Some people didn’t believe that Cruella had ever existed. They thought she was an urban legend, or perhaps just a character invented to market the brand and give it cachet. But Delia wasn’t sure what to believe.
She took a screenshot of the House of De Vil boots and tagged it—#wishlist #HouseofDeVil #fauxfurboots #fairygodmother.Then she hit POST. Someone DM’s her from an account called Fashion Alert. Each image in the account showed a creepy-looking mannequin posed in different House of De Vil outfits, like something out of a storefront window. They were all black-and-white, the fashion line’s iconic color palette. Under the mannequin’s profile pic, there was a short bio posted: My friend wanted to be perfect. #HouseofDeVil #RememberHer There’s a short messae that says “Be careful what you wish for.” Delia types back “What do you mean?” The reponse says “Beware of the Devil Woman. This is what she did to my best friend.”
Red devil icons followed, one after the other, filling the DM page and making her phone ping nonstop. She sends a text to her mother begging for the boots again and includes the link. Ms. Smith gets a call from someone wanting to buy the puppies but she hangs up on them. She’ll only adopt them out to loving families. Delia’s mom comes home with a box and inside are the boots. She found them at the thrift store and they’re *used*. Delia says they’re knock off and she can never wear them to school. Her mom says she’ll wear them and that’s final. Delia says she wishes she can get something new. Her mom says new things are a waste of money and one day she’ll understand when she has to work.
To make things worse she has a bunch of devil comments on her app from Haper and her friends. Delia has a nightmare that she’s been chased at school and locks herself into the bathroom. She’s being taunted about her boots and she tries to pull them off, but she can’t remove them. A shadow of a woman with wild hair raises up behind her with wild hair. She says “Your not fashionable enough to fit in here.” She’s almost convinced herself that the boots aren’t so bad and maybe no one will notice, but when she gets to school Harper notices immediately and post a picture of Delia running away from her and circled the boots. with a virtual red marker. The caption read:
#PHONY #KNOCKOFF #FAUXBOOTS #CHARITYCASE #GOBACK #PUBLICSCHOOL Everyone at the school is liking the post, then her old classmates at her old school. Then Aaliyah and Zoe’s name’s pop up. There’s a DM message that says “Keep your faux boots. Trust me.” Later that day, she passes the House of Devil store and swears the mannequins are turning their heads on their own. Harper and her friends come out of the store. They taunt her some more and Delia tries to cover and say her mom just got the wrong brand. Harper tells her to show up the next day in something from House of Devil and she’ll take the picture down.
Delia runs into Grant who says he thinks the boots are cool. He says if he were on the app he’d give her a like or a thumbs up for wearing them. Even tho she tries to explain their knockoffs, he says they look like nice boots (good tractiom, warm). He says all the stuff on Madison is over priced and no one should care what Harper thinks. She’s basic. He likes Delia because she’s herself (imperfections and all). Delia visits “Replay Vintage” and finds a coat. It’s ugly and puffy but under the amount of the gift card her mom gave her. Hanging on a mannequin in the alley behind House of Devil’s she sees what looks just like Cruella’s iconic coat. Somehow she knows this is Cruella’s coat. She tries it on and it fits her perfectly. She knows she should put it back but… It *is* abandoned. So, she swaps the two coats.
There’s a cackling laugh behind her and its coming from the mannequin. It laughs and laughs and she flees. The coat has some weird effects. It makes her mouth off to her mother, she notices its soft like Radar’s fur (one of Mrs. Smith’s dalmations, and also feels a sense of belonging and all her selfies come out looking perfect. Delia has a dream that the puppies go missing and a faceless mannequin demands the coat back. A shadow appears behind the mannequin and says “Darling don’t you know the coat belongs to me?” She remembers a cruel, wicked, smile and then it all goes black. After waking she decides in a day or two she’ll return the coat.
The next morning, she posts a collection of perfect photos to PicPerfect. Even her mother seems to agree that the coat suits her today. She finds out from Harper (at school) that her post went viral and this puts her in influencer status. Harper apologizes and admits she didn’t think she could pull it off. The “Glam Possess” barrage her with questions and say you can’t even order that one (the color blocked one). They want to know where she got it but she says shr promised she wouldn’t tell. They accept her into the “Glam Posse”. Everything’s perfect but she sees Grant and he says he thought she was different and wishes her luck. He tells her they aren’t her friends they’re just using her. Then he walks off.
In the bathroom while taking selfies, Delia sees something in the mirror. Then her reflection starts to frown. It mouths a word at her. Thief. She knows she should take it back but when she touches the coat a possession feeling comes off and she decides its hers and she’s keeping it. Monday is school picture day. Over the weekend, Delia slept with the coat on. er limbs felt tingly and stiff, almost like they didn’t want to bend. She snaps some selfies and gets hearts pour in. When the photographer tries to take the pictures, but when she views the picture her face looks blank and expressionless (frozen). She runs out of the school and now the coat feels heavy. A blue car comes barreling straight at her and then the driver says she’s not worthy of her coutour. Delia can’t run and the car comes at her. Grant pushes her out of the way. The car speeds off and vanishes.
elia spotted the name of the car model on the back of the trunk: Panther DeVille. It felt like the coat was holding her prisoner preventing her from jumping out of the way. He noticed she looked upset after she got her picture taken and decided to follow her. She doesn’t want to involve Grant in this so she tells him she has to go and thanks him. While at the train station, Delia gets another notification to update her profile. So, she snaps another perfect pic. Only her hair in the photo turns white on one side and black on the other. She keeps refreshing it but all that happens is her lips turn red and her eyes start to look like there’s a yellow light in them.
Then she’s flooded with devil emojis. She gets a DM from –“The Devil Woman”. The profile picture shows a red devil face. There’s a message “Having fun with my coat darling?” Then there’s a cackling laugh coming from the train. So, Delia returns the coat with a message. “Sorry I took the coat”. But then the car comes at her again. Delia is frozen even without the coat but then there’s silence. She opens her eyes and the car is gone and the alley is dark, When she gets back, Mrs. Smith is holding up her coat and says it was on her bed. She fusses at her for going out without her coat. Delia takes the coat outside and throws it in the garbage can. When she comes back in her room, the coat is on her bed.
Delia goes back and unblocks the account from Fashion Adict. She sends a message asking who she is and what happened to her friend. There’s no response. Delia has another nightmare that the puppies are yipping for help. They’re gone again and there are footprints. Claws reach out and snatch her up. The shadows eyes light up with yellow light. A voice says “You let thoe filthy mongrels crawl all over my coat. How dare you?”
The next morning she gets a message from Fashion Addict. It says Once upon a time, my best friend just wanted to be fashionable and popular. All she wanted in the world was a House of De Vil coat. I still don’t know how my friend got the Cruella Coat. She would never tell me. She said it was a big secret. At first, it was great. She loved the coat and almost never took it off. She even slept in it. Her skin started to look perfect. All her selfies came out flawless. Her ranking on PicPerfect soared…but then the coat started to change her. Her skin looked plastic. Her limbs would barely move. They became stiff and rigid, so it was hard for her to walk. It got to the point where I could barely recognize my friend anymore. Eventually, she couldn’t even leave her house.Then one day she vanished—along with the coat. The police searched for her, but all they found were muddy boot prints leading through her front door. I started messaging PicPerfect accounts that follow House of De Vil to warn them! Stay away from the Devil Woman! Her fashion line is cursed!
At school, “The Glam Posse” act like they don’t know her. When they do recognize her they tell her she looks different. She tells them about the coat and that she thinks its cursed and has to get rid of it. They think this is a joke and laugh at her. She realizes Grant was right. Harper says maybe she’s just not cool enough for the coat. So, she gets an idea and tells Harper she can have the coat. Only the coat won’t come off her.
When she looks at her reflection in the mirror in the bathroom, she looks like a mannequin and the coat is still holding her hostage. She rushes to find Grant. At Grant’s apartment, Delia tells him everything. By the seconds its getting worse and she’s becoming more plastic. Grant looks into House of Deville and finds out people that got coats way back when started to disappear. The factories shut down, but years ago the factories started to open back up. No one knows whose opened them back up. The Cruella coats were said to be destroyed (the unsold ones) but the designer (Cruella) is always shown wearing one. Grant says he’ll do more research. He promises they’ll fix it. When Delia gets home, she finds out someone stole the puppies.
Delia gets a DM from “The Devil Woman” those filthy mongrels belong to me. It says bring her coat in exchange for the puppies. Then her account just vanishes. Grant says the next day, he’s found address for the original factory. The factory seems abandoned but then Delia hears a yipping. The follow the sound and find a design room with sketches -weirdly of all the women who bought the Cruella coat and the dates the disappeared-. Then they hear the factories machines start up. They then hear a voice that says “Darling you bought my coat.” Grant is able to release the puppies but its too late for Delia. She turns completely to plastic.
Harper and her crew see the Cruella coat on display at the House of DeVille and snap a selfie of it. They talk about the girl who had one and how she kind of just disappeared. They decide the coat was probably a fake like her boots. After all she was a “scholarship kid”. Little do they know she’s still watching from inside the display case. She’s always watching!
My Thoughts:
This was aunique plot. Unlike the other books about Cruella “Evil Things” and “Cruel Truth” Cruella isn’t the main focus of the story. Which is why I was a little confused when I started the book and saw it was about a girl named Delia who was into taking selfies and posting them on an app. I was thinking is this supposed to be a modern adaption of Cruella? This had a very “Goosebumps” feel to it and I think in a description I read it said as such. It was interesting to use Cruella as this unknown legendary character that no one’s ever really seen the face of. Turning her into something of a ghost was cool. It works here. So does creating “The House of DeVille” (which really wasn’t apart of the movies) and using it to hide the puppies in the abandoned factory and using it to be the location of the “Cruella Coat”. The end definitely reminded me of one of the GB stories in one of the last books I read where there’s a boy that’s given a special bat by an old man and told to return the bat right after the game. Only he decides he can’t live without it. So, the man lets him keep it only he’s turned into one of the display statues in his sports museum.
Rating: 7 Nice cover and I wasn’t disappointed with the story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 4, 2022
I like the concept of the Disney Chills but they never have enough of the villain they are supposed to be about in them. Cruella only showed up in the last couple chapters but still didn’t seem like her villainy self. Being a huge Disney Villains fan, these are kind of a let down.
May 19, 2021
Mean Girls meets The Haunted Mask
I’ll admit I wasn’t too excited for this one but it was a pleasant surprise.
I’ll admit I wasn’t too excited for this one but it was a pleasant surprise.
July 5, 2021
Disney is synonymous with happily ever afters, except when it comes to the Disney Chills series. The middle-grade anthology series offers a dark twist on classic Disney villains who come out victorious to the misfortune of the young protagonists. The first three books featured bone-chilling tales of children who succumb to the villainous acts of Ursula, Dr. Facilier, and Captain Hook, and the fourth book, which was released in April, is a devilishly good time. READ MORE: https://yourmoneygeek.com/review-disn...
Cruella de Vil is having a moment this year. Between Disney’s Cruella live-action film, Hello, Cruel Heart, and the graphic novel of Sera Valentino’s Evil Thing, it should be no surprise that Cruella was included in the Disney Chills series, but it is also her most sinister interpretation.
The Disney Chills anthology has become my favorite middle-grade series since I was a middle grader voraciously consuming each installment of Goosebumps, Zack Files, and Cracked Classics. As a lover of psychological horror, the collection of stories is precisely my type of cautionary tale. Be Careful What You Wish For is perhaps the most relatable story in a digital age where we’ve been reduced to mannequins clambering for likes online.
Thirteen-year-old Delia has been dealt a bad hand when her mother enrolls her in a fancy prep school, pulling her away from her friends in public school, but things get so much worse when she becomes obsessed with garnering the attention of the popular kids at school. Everyone wants to be the most beautiful, most popular, and best-dressed student at the prep school, all of which is fueled by an Instagram-like app called PicPerfect that demands constant engagement to be viewed as “popular.”
Delia is enthralled by an ad on PicPerfect for a couture brand called House of De Vil, leading her down a disastrous path that puts her right into the reckless path of Cruella De Vil’s antique red automobile.
Vera Strange does a brilliant job interweaving aspects of 101 Dalmatians into her story, just as she has artfully done with the past Disney Chills stories. In the book, Delia and her mother live with the kindly Mrs. Smith who happens to be fostering fifteen dalmatian puppies. It is a delight to see how each new chilling tale borrows from the happily ever afters to deliver a marvelously grim outcome.
Cruella de Vil is having a moment this year. Between Disney’s Cruella live-action film, Hello, Cruel Heart, and the graphic novel of Sera Valentino’s Evil Thing, it should be no surprise that Cruella was included in the Disney Chills series, but it is also her most sinister interpretation.
The Disney Chills anthology has become my favorite middle-grade series since I was a middle grader voraciously consuming each installment of Goosebumps, Zack Files, and Cracked Classics. As a lover of psychological horror, the collection of stories is precisely my type of cautionary tale. Be Careful What You Wish For is perhaps the most relatable story in a digital age where we’ve been reduced to mannequins clambering for likes online.
Thirteen-year-old Delia has been dealt a bad hand when her mother enrolls her in a fancy prep school, pulling her away from her friends in public school, but things get so much worse when she becomes obsessed with garnering the attention of the popular kids at school. Everyone wants to be the most beautiful, most popular, and best-dressed student at the prep school, all of which is fueled by an Instagram-like app called PicPerfect that demands constant engagement to be viewed as “popular.”
Delia is enthralled by an ad on PicPerfect for a couture brand called House of De Vil, leading her down a disastrous path that puts her right into the reckless path of Cruella De Vil’s antique red automobile.
Vera Strange does a brilliant job interweaving aspects of 101 Dalmatians into her story, just as she has artfully done with the past Disney Chills stories. In the book, Delia and her mother live with the kindly Mrs. Smith who happens to be fostering fifteen dalmatian puppies. It is a delight to see how each new chilling tale borrows from the happily ever afters to deliver a marvelously grim outcome.
June 9, 2021
Look, I saw the idea behind this series of books (Disney villains as modern day urban legends) and was so damn curious that I had to pick this up and see what they did with it. It reminded me of Goosebumps with the creepy twist at the end, and it just made me so happy. It brought back memories of reading Goosebumps in elementary school. I loved it.
The thing that impressed me the most about this is that the characters, especially the main, feel like real people. It captures teens, social media, and the toxic way the two interact with each other. The themes were captured well (though the ones around friendship -all of the sudden her old friends were as bad and mean as the mean girls at the school- were either done weird or proves her to be pro at an unreliable 3rd person narrator). I love that they don’t condemn her as shallow- there is a legitimate reason she feels she needs the social media to work, she needs the boots, etc.
Side note, I had to lol at the male manic pixie dream/ Not Like Other Kids BFF. For a lot of reasons, because mostly the fact that he starts the trope necessary ‘you’ve changed!’ and damn does he hit that phase quick.
My one issue is that the cover spoiled the big ‘twist’. It’s not that big of a deal, but it was a weird choice on the artist’s part.
The thing that impressed me the most about this is that the characters, especially the main, feel like real people. It captures teens, social media, and the toxic way the two interact with each other. The themes were captured well (though the ones around friendship -all of the sudden her old friends were as bad and mean as the mean girls at the school- were either done weird or proves her to be pro at an unreliable 3rd person narrator). I love that they don’t condemn her as shallow- there is a legitimate reason she feels she needs the social media to work, she needs the boots, etc.
Side note, I had to lol at the male manic pixie dream/ Not Like Other Kids BFF. For a lot of reasons, because mostly the fact that he starts the trope necessary ‘you’ve changed!’ and damn does he hit that phase quick.
My one issue is that the cover spoiled the big ‘twist’. It’s not that big of a deal, but it was a weird choice on the artist’s part.
July 13, 2024
As far as entries in this series go, this might be my favorite by sheer virtue of the fact that the villain doesn't repeat the same single iconic line over and over that plagues the previous 3 books. While "darling" gets tossed around quite a bit, it's just such a natural part of all of Cruella's speech that it didn't really stand out in the same way.
Also, it was certainly an interesting entry, as it dealt a lot with social media trends and influence and the kind of obsession and addiction that can arise in being too into social media. I did genuinely enjoy seeing the character journey our MC went on in this one, heartbreaking as it was, because it did feel very raw and real. The B-plot with the puppies felt slightly forced in places, but I can roll with it for the most part. This one actually unsettled me a bit, and I loved that about it. Granted, some of it might be because Cruella always scared me as a kid, but the overall transformation and fate of the main character taps into something that is chilling and something I think most fellow "The Magnus Archives" fans would appreciate.
Also, it was certainly an interesting entry, as it dealt a lot with social media trends and influence and the kind of obsession and addiction that can arise in being too into social media. I did genuinely enjoy seeing the character journey our MC went on in this one, heartbreaking as it was, because it did feel very raw and real. The B-plot with the puppies felt slightly forced in places, but I can roll with it for the most part. This one actually unsettled me a bit, and I loved that about it. Granted, some of it might be because Cruella always scared me as a kid, but the overall transformation and fate of the main character taps into something that is chilling and something I think most fellow "The Magnus Archives" fans would appreciate.
November 13, 2022
DNF @ 46%
The first 3 books of this series was 5 stars for me. I wanted to enjoy this book sooooooo bad because I LOVE the movie. The other books didn’t drag the story like this one is doing. I get the fact that she wants the popular boots, but 77 pages in and it’s still no “action,” I just got bored. It’s a little obvious too in what’s going to happen next, who this mystery DM’er is but the “meat and potatoes” of the juicy stuff is taking too long to come. I LOVE Disney retellings, and wanted to enjoy this series in it’s entirety but I can’t read any more. I don’t finish a book just to finish a book. That time used to read a book I’m not enjoying can go towards a book I am enjoying. I plan to finish this series, and I’m ok with not knowing how this book ends.
The first 3 books of this series was 5 stars for me. I wanted to enjoy this book sooooooo bad because I LOVE the movie. The other books didn’t drag the story like this one is doing. I get the fact that she wants the popular boots, but 77 pages in and it’s still no “action,” I just got bored. It’s a little obvious too in what’s going to happen next, who this mystery DM’er is but the “meat and potatoes” of the juicy stuff is taking too long to come. I LOVE Disney retellings, and wanted to enjoy this series in it’s entirety but I can’t read any more. I don’t finish a book just to finish a book. That time used to read a book I’m not enjoying can go towards a book I am enjoying. I plan to finish this series, and I’m ok with not knowing how this book ends.
January 31, 2025
An interesting premise and cool cover art that made my husband and I so excited to read this to our son. That's probably the only good thing that I can say about this story. We were probably about 50-75% of the way done with the book when it finally started to get interesting. Unfortunately, we had to endure a lot of repetition along the way. The ending very much reminded me of something out of the Tales from the Crypt show from the late 80's/mid 90's, but it wasn't the campy, exciting journey to get to the finish line like I would've had with that show. We know we weren't the target audience for this story, but I feel like there are better middle reader writers out there than to waste any further time with this author.
October 29, 2025
Книгата има сюжет, до голяма степен идентичен с този на повестта To Be Beautiful от света на Five Nights at Freddy’s – за цената на повърхностното мислене, което цени дрехите и външния вид повече от характера. Вера Стрейндж обаче обогатява посланието, като включва жестока критика към псевдокултурата на социалните мрежи, която налага мнението на непознати хора, изразявано с реакции, да е по-ценно от това на истинските живи човешки същества, даващи ни автентично общуване. Първата половина на книгата е до голяма степен посветена на това и макар действието да страда, мисля, че жертвата си струва. Важно е да се говори на младите, че социалните мрежи не са действителността.
Цялото ми ревю може да прочетете в Цитаделата:
https://citadelata.com/be-careful-wha...
Цялото ми ревю може да прочетете в Цитаделата:
https://citadelata.com/be-careful-wha...
May 19, 2021
“Be Careful What You Wish Fur” was an absolutely amazing take on the Cruella De Vil we all know and love! The main thing that makes the “Disney Chills” books stand out for me is the way the author completely gives us a brand new story even after the villains are “dead”, been defeated, etc. In this book, Vera Strange incorporated the old story of the 101 Dalmatians while adding her own twist. If you have a teen obsessed with social media and popularity this tale is for them! I would recommend this to any middle school or high school student to read to show what popularity and the urge to be the most popular in school can do to you. Thank you for another amazing book Vera Strange!
November 13, 2024
Toujours un plaisir de lire ces petits bouquins ! J'adore l'ambiance glauque qui s'en dégage, et ce que j'apprécie particulièrement, c'est que, pour une fois, l'histoire ne se termine pas bien. Dans ce tome, on retrouve Cruella, même si on ne la voit presque pas. Malgré son absence physique, sa présence est bien palpable tout au long du livre. J'ai vraiment aimé ce tome, surtout parce qu'il met en lumière l'addiction aux réseaux sociaux et l'importance excessive qu'on accorde à l'apparence. Une lecture à la fois divertissante et pleine de réflexion !
August 24, 2021
Vera Strange is back!!!
I really disliked Second Star To The Fright, so I was skeptical going into this after reading other Disney series, hoping it wouldn’t meet the same fate of getting progressively worse - but the opposite has happened! This one is AWESOME and SCARY, and the endings are just as ‘chilling’ as ever.
Can’t wait to sink my teeth into the latest book!
I really disliked Second Star To The Fright, so I was skeptical going into this after reading other Disney series, hoping it wouldn’t meet the same fate of getting progressively worse - but the opposite has happened! This one is AWESOME and SCARY, and the endings are just as ‘chilling’ as ever.
Can’t wait to sink my teeth into the latest book!
April 11, 2022
This one had me on the edge of my seat. It got so intense. And the end wow dang. Definitely reminded me of a Goosebumps book.
This one is really good. The only thing I didn't like was that Deila keep talking about her insecurities. I know she is a teenager, but it was a lot at first. I love that she finally found put who her real friends are, but is it too late........
This one is really good. The only thing I didn't like was that Deila keep talking about her insecurities. I know she is a teenager, but it was a lot at first. I love that she finally found put who her real friends are, but is it too late........
June 22, 2022
When Delia moves to a new school and notices everyone has on House Of De Vil, she is determined to fit it with her peers.
This series is Disney Villains meets Goosebumps. It is meant for a much younger audience but I think they can be enjoyed by Amy age group. Each book tackles a new life lesson that I think children will enjoy.
This series is Disney Villains meets Goosebumps. It is meant for a much younger audience but I think they can be enjoyed by Amy age group. Each book tackles a new life lesson that I think children will enjoy.
January 5, 2025
I really enjoy reading this book . I felt bad for Delia throughout the hole book. The flawless fauz coat really changed Delia. Delia should have just stay at her old school. The book had a lot of action. Each chapter kept getting better !! I really like how this author tells the story. I feel like the Disney villains always find a way to win. Can't wait to read the next one.
March 23, 2022
This one is honestly scary lol, that ending was one unexpected. If kids are still as afraid of things as they used to be when I was one, then I don’t recommend this book for super young kids. Lol, it is a little frightening to say the least.
May 13, 2022
The Goosebump feel with the Disney twist is actually pretty enjoyable. I like that it gives me nostalgia. It keeps me interested even as an adult. And my daughter loves hearing me read the story to her.
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