Cruella. La novela: Narrativa

by Elizabeth Rudnick, Marta García Madera (Translator)

Estella es una inteligente e ingeniosa estafadora decidida a hacerse famosa por sus diseños en la escena punk-rock londinense de los años 70. De joven, entabla amistad con un par de ladrones y, juntos, forman un trío capaz de ganarse la vida en las calles de Londres. Pero Estella no se conforma con robar para llegar a duras penas a final de mes. Un día, el talento de Estella capta la atención de la baronesa Von Hellman, una diseñadora que es toda una leyenda en lo suyo. La relación entre ambas desencadenará una serie de eventos que hacen que Estella saque a relucir su lado malvado y se convierta en la estridente, estilosa y vengativa Cruella.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Fantasy, Action, Retellings, Middle Grade

248 pages, Paperback

Published May 12, 2021

About the author

his is the part I'm always the worst at—talking about myself! So as you've figured out, my name is Elizabeth Rudnick and I'm a young adult author. I'm also a Senior Editor at Disney Press in New York City. I've edited books based on movies like Pirates of the Caribbean and Prince of Persia as well as Miley Cyrus's memoir, Miles to Go, which was a New York Times bestseller (imagine if Tweet Heart was too!) and a total blast to work on.

When I'm not working, I live in Connecticut with a big mutt named Jack Dyson (because he has the ability to suck up anything in his way) and have a habit of watching hours of mindless television. I like to think of it as research!

Reviews

[Теодор Панов · Rating 4 out of 5]

”Cruella De Vil wasn’t born. She was made.”

Един от най-колоритните злодей на Дисни – Круела Де Вил, познат ни от филма „101 далматинци“, базиран на книгата на Доуди Смит, оживява в напълно нов облик в новата екранизация, където самата тя е главното действащо лице.

Историята сега проследява живота ѝ от ранните детски години до превръщането ѝ в знаменитата Круела Де Вил. А в началото тя е просто Естела. Странно и талантливо дете, което в един момент е застигнато от злощастни обстоятелства, майка ѝ загива трагично, а тя се оказва бездомна. И така съдбата я среща с Хорас и Джаспър и тримата стават един великолепен екип от джебчии. И през цялото това време Естела не спира да мечтае да стане прочут моден дизайнер. Докато един ден късметът почти ѝ се усмихва… 😏

Изненадващо Дисни успяват да придадат на Круела един изцяло нов, логичен и човешки образ, който дава обяснения за много неща.

Но специално новелизацията на „Круела“ не успя да ми се открои достатъчно силно. Филмът е много по-ярък и за съжаление книгата не е успяла да го пресъздаде със същата наситеност. Уникалното превъплъщение на Ема Стоун просто няма как да бъде повторено само със сухо адаптиран текст. Но все пак сюжетът на филма е достатъчно силен, за да гарантира на новелизацията, че няма да е пълна катастрофа и загуба на време за читателите.

[ash · Rating 5 out of 5]

**this is going to be a movie review, NOT the novelization review**

Wow. I'm... blown away. Okay, umm.... That movie was... it was... I don't have any words for it.



I adored Cruella. Her dynamic personality made me squeal in terror and delight. She appeared to be simple and yet... she was so so so so SO complex. I think what made me attracted to her and this movie the most was that every single villain has a backstory. They aren't inherently evil. I've always loved basing essays and papers about that archetype; that villains aren't inherently evil. They have some sort of reasoning. And the fact that anyone could turn out to be a "villain". But it's all about point of view. Okay, I'm rambling now. Cruella's viciousness was so appealing to, not only me, but the audience. And her tenderness [at times] towards Jasper. I loved Cruella so much- I can't. I loved her craziness, her daringness, her badassery, her complexity, everything about her was amazing. UGH. She could stab me in the back and I'd thank her.



The Plot

The plot was so utterly complex. It twisted and turned every second. Cruella's snap, it was relatable. I think that's what also made this movie appealing. The relatability, and yet, also the terrifying aspect of it. Because anyone can turn "evil". Again, it's just point of view. I know, I know, I'm rambling. I loved this movie so much I can't comprehend anything.

Me RN:

okay but like...

the FASHION IN THIS MOVIE- I LOVED IT SO MUCH IT WAS AMAZING THEY WERE WORKS OF ART AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA









The constant black and white theme was amazing and fucking genius. Because from that Cruella could play off of that and her obsession with fashion grew, and so did her obsession with dalmations.


okay BUT THE ENDING- SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME


WITH ANITA- OMG OGMIQHTIWQOTHWEPOITQWEH AND ROGERRRRRRRRR



*composes self* If there's not a Cruella 2, I'm suing.

Okay, I'm done ranting.

Now, let's talk casting. The casting was *Holy music starts playing* Emma Stone???? Her acting was *chefs kiss* I love her sm. And they cast Emma Thompson as well *dies*. Anyways-

Finally, I’d like to talk about the monologue at the end. It was a work of art, and I love how they portrayed Cruella’s inner beasts. Here’s the monologue:

So this is a confusing day.

My nemesis is my real mother and she killed my other mother.

I guess you were always scared, weren’t you, that I’d be a psycho like my real mum?

Hmm?

That explains all the “tone it down, try and fit in” stuff.

Love me into shape, I suppose, was the plan.

And I tried.

I really, I tried because I loved you.

But the thing is… I’m… not sweet Estella, try as I might.

I never was.

I’m Cruella, born brilliant, born bad and a little bit mad. (CHUCKLES)

I am not like her.

I’m better.

Anyway, must dash.

Much to avenge, revenge and destroy.

But I do love you.

Always. (CHUCKLES SADLY)



Thanketh for reading my rant and now GO WATCH CRUELLA!!

[Gabriel Mero · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cruella De Vil has always been my favorite Disney villain despite the fact that I love animals and she, well, has no qualms about killing them for fur. When I saw this book at my local Meijer I quickly snatched it up and couldn't resist starting it ASAP. I loved the Glenn Close portrayal of Cruella in the live action film of my childhood, but I also knew that my love for Emma Stone would make this my favorite portrayal of the iconic character.
The plot was engaging and fast moving. I was very anxious to see where the story would go next, and the surprise reveal toward the end left me with my jaw on the floor.
The writing itself was simplistic and not overly indepth, but that's to be expected in these types of novelizations. If you're expecting award winning writing you're going to be wholly disappointed.
I loved the inclusion of familiar beloved characters like Horace and Jasper, as well as the surprise appearances of Anita Darling. Having Anita and Estella know each other from school was an interesting touch that leaves me confused as to whether this is supposed to tie in to the 101 Dalmatians characters we know and love or if this is indeed a soft reboot. As far as origin stories go, it's a good one and it does a good job of redeeming the character of Cruella.
Based on this book, the movie is going to be great and I can't wait to see it.

[erin! ౨ৎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Izzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

[Bryan House · Rating 5 out of 5]

Guilty Pleasure. I loved it.
I love Cruella, I love these weird - one day soon will be out of print novelizations. I LOVE THEM. I can't get enough.

The changes that were made for the book (compared to the movie) are hilariously nonsensical at times, but it just add to the grubby novelization charm for me.

Cruella I love you.

I imagine being in high school and reading this book. It would have completely changed and inspired me lol

[Christopher · Rating 2 out of 5]

I saw the recent Cruella film twice and enjoyed it so much that I wanted to experience it yet again, but I had already gone to the movies to see it twice and wasn't about to pay $30 for Premier Access on Disney+ to watch it, so I opted to read Elizabeth Rudnick's novelization of the film. I sadly did not much enjoy it, which surprised me because I have read other novelizations that Rudnick has written such as A Frozen Heart (a novelization of Frozen) and Maleficent, and I especially enjoyed A Frozen Heart, which I thought was very beautifully written. Cruella, however, is, for the most part, very blandly written without much description. (You, in fact, really need to have seen the film to properly visualize much of anything.) Although this changes at times, there overall isn't a whole lot of insight offered regarding characters' inner thoughts, and in fact, I think that Rudnick does a better job revealing the Baroness Von Hellman's psyche than she does Cruella's, and that doesn't make much sense to me because the title of the movie/book is Cruella. Rudnick also overuses the word said to describe dialogue. Rarely does anyone ever whisper, mutter, scold, cry, argue, etc.; instead, they simply say things, which makes for, as I said, very bland writing. I was also looking forward to reading the novelization for an explanation of the robe that Cruella wears in the movie to which she sets fire, causing it to simply disintegrate and disappear, but there isn't one. There is a rather weak description of that scene as it happens, but there is absolutely no insight offered as to how Cruella managed to pull that off, an example of what I mean when I say that very little insight about the characters' mindsets (especially Cruella's) is offered. What is especially frustrating about this novelization, however, is the very minor changes that Rudnick makes to the plot which are not only wholly unnecessary but also, most of the time, problematic because they create inconsistencies and plot-holes that are not present in the film. The first major one that I noticed happens right near the beginning of the book - a change that creates a completely unnecessary plot-hole that is later addressed by very lazily being swept under the rug. Another inconsistency is when Cruella does not seem to recognize Anita Darling at the Black-and-White Ball but then soon after knows exactly who she is when she visits her at her worksite. One final example that I will offer is one that I will actually quote directly: "As he [Jasper] watched, Horace put one hand over his eye and looked back at a new dog and owner as they sauntered past as if that might give him a new perspective" (Rudnick 170). I don't want to give too much away in case anyone reading this hasn't seen the movie or read this novelization, but that is not why Horace put one hand over his eye, and Jasper knew that that wasn't why. It's a completely unnecessary change that takes away from that scene because the real reason why Horace did that is actually supposed to be funny, and I - to be perfectly honest - was tempted to stop reading at that point, but I didn't because I was already more than halfway through, so it seemed silly to stop at that point. There is another Cruella novel that takes place in this universe titled Hello, Cruel Heart. Written by Maureen Johnson, it is an original story that, to the best of my knowledge (although I could be wrong), delves into a time period that is skipped over in the film - Cruella's teen years. I am looking forward to reading that, hoping that it is better than this. (If, by any chance, you are reading this, Ms. Rudnick, I apologize for my harsh words, but, as I said, having read and adored A Frozen Heart, I know that you're more capable than this.)

[Sarah Jabr · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book inspired me to follow my dream!! (Serial killer)

[Karla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most days I'll tell you that the book was much better than the film. Today, I'll say that the film Cruella was much more entertaining than the book, which is an adaptation of the first.

If you haven't, please watch the stylish, pet-friendly, and devilishly fun new take on Cruella De Vil. You'll have fun, trust me.

[Mikah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cruella De Vil is my absolute favourite Disney villain, I love her, I’m so obsessed . She is the most rocking and wickedness villain I know from Disney. She is the best villain. I grew up loving her, and I still do. I remember once at school we had a task to draw a wanted poster of your favourite villain, and I obviously did Cruella! So, I love this book, and I completely adore the movie!

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 🖤🌟🤍

I had only recently found out that Disney occasionally turns their prized screenplays into novels, a reverse book to movie if you will, and while they are not readily available, it is only obvious I would attempt to acquire my favorites. Ofcourse, Cruella would be one of the few on the top of that list. The movie remains one of my most loved (and I think reflective of myself), as since loving Miss De Vil from the first moment I watched her barge into the Darlings' house in the original animated film as a child, I've made it a mission to consume just about any and all original Cruella De Vil content. So, based on that alone, it's only natural I would rate this book five stars. This novelization was a fabulous accompaniment to the film that expands into some interesting and intimate details that were not shared in the motion picture. The story itself is obviously genius, - much like Cruella herself - I remember being worried the live-action adaption would tarnish one of my most beloved stories but quite the opposite, I remember leaving the theater so inspired, and I think to this day Cruella remains one of Disneys most successful live-action adaptions. I could really go on forever about it and its significance - especially to myself. Now this is one of those rare instances that the movie does excel over the novel, but that's just due to it being made to be seen as a movie first which makes the structure of the novel a little more simple. Beyond that, there's really nothing else quite say other than it simply being bold, brilliant, and a little bit mad.

[Momo · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Cruella De Vil wasn’t born.She was made."
--📖Cruella Live Action Novelization
ENJOYED THE NOVEL A LOT!
~Estella(Cruella)'s thoughts reflected a bit more here than the movie
Theme : Realisation & Revenge.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eben was auf dem Buch steht: ‚Das Buch zum Film‘ nicht mehr und nicht weniger. Die Erzählweise ist etwas einfacher. Eine oder zwei Szenen hätte man deutlich besser schreiben können, da ging die Magie etwas verloren.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

The movie is so good I love the fashion she's a bad girl but good

[James Hallock · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm TRYING to read this book, but its seriously a chore. I hope this isn't a reflection on the film. Book is about 300 pages, usually can knock this out in a day or two but I'm struggling to stay interested and its been going a couple of weeks.
It seems like the film will probably be more visual and spectacle and the author wasn't sure how to translate that to the book. The novel is VERY bland and choppy, sequences don't seem to naturally flow into one another and characters are very stiff and wooden. Sometimes motivations make no sense which I will explain next with a spoiler tag.




(SPOILERS)

Cruella sees her mother murdered in front of her by 3 Dalmatians owned by the Baroness at the beginning. She see's this happen on orders of the Baroness. As an adult, she hates Dalmatians because of this reason, but she idolizes the Baroness? It makes no sense and its frustrating to read. MAYBE the movie has it more clear she doesn't see the Baroness and just sees the Dalmatians, but its not quite as clear in the novel. It makes you think she saw the full event.
Its stuff like this that makes me put the book down and step away without much care for reading any more. I'm hoping the film is better, but once that comes out I'll probably set this book on the shelf and forget about it. Worst case scenario I'll donate the thing to goodwill, maybe someone else will get more enjoyment out of it than I have.

[Vania (Libroadictospe) · Rating 4 out of 5]

El libro llegó a mis manos antes que la película y debo decir que la historia ha sido una delicia maligna. 🔥

Cruella siempre fue una de mis villanas favoritas de Disney porque ¿quién puede ser una gran artista y al mismo tiempo ser tan desquiciada? Por esto, siempre quise saber más de esa mujer que me causaba miedo y admiración, y creo que el libro me ha dado todo lo que necesitaba.

Aquí no solo nos explican el origen de Cruella De Vil, nos enfatizan que ella fue creada por las circunstancias.

Conocemos a una pequeña Estella y su alter ego Cruella a la que trata de mantener a raya. También vemos su supervivencia al quedarse huérfana y lo camaleónica que puede ser para sobrevivir como una delincuente. Conocemos sus deseos y lo que es capaz de hacer para hacerlos realidad.

También tenemos a una antagonista que nos recuerda a una Cruella madura y que será la clave para el desarrollo de Estella.

Han cuidado todos los detalles, desde donde nace el nombre, el apellido, el cabello, la frase que le hace el guiño a la autora de los 101 dálmatas, la velocidad para bocetear, la locura inminente, la personalidad explosiva y el problema con los perros con manchas.

La historia ha fluido increíble y la moda estuvo presente desde el primer capítulo. Me estresé, indigné, emocioné, sorprendí y disfruté cada parte. No pude evitar sentir pena al ver el cambio de Estella, pero al mismo tiempo quería que paguen por todo lo que le hicieron.

Esta vez Disney ha apostado por un mensaje potente: No reprimas lo que te hace diferente para encajar con el resto. Lleva eso que te hace única como bandera, sé tú misma y lucha por tus sueños. Un mensaje bastante importante y acertado para las nuevas generaciones.

[Wanda Larraquy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me gusto muchísimo. Próximamente reseña.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, this was an okay read. 101 Dalmatians has always been one of my favorite Disney movies and I love a good origin story, especially when it shows villains in a new light. This take on her story was very interesting and I knew what to expect when I picked it up. It was just a fun simple read.

[Isabella · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am absolutely so glad they made a novel of the movie Cruella! As the movie and Emma stone quickly became my favorite things to look at, (maybe a bit to much).. but there are some things to cover on this book.

Firstly, I found the beginning quite bland and that could be because they published this book before the movie or because I watched the movie one to many times. However I think, with words the author could’ve added some more spunk to the book. Secondly, I noticed towards the end it became quite rushed, there were some small details they could’ve added to the book that would’ve made it less rushed, but all of this could be due to the fact Disney didn’t want any spoilers for the movie, but this book could’ve been slightly better.

Besides those two things I really enjoyed this book! I needed some more Cruella in my life besides just the movie and the book did just that for me.

[soff · Rating 2 out of 5]

el libro me llegó en el momento equivocado, igual, considero que es lo suficiente bueno. No me gustó mucho en su parte porque sentí que había momentos del libro que necesitaban ciertas palabras para hacer que todo cuadre, tipo conectores. También aunque sea un libro corto de páginas se me hizo poco llevadero, los capítulos duraban demasiado y la historia no me enganchaba.
Ahora, si me pongo a hablar de los personajes no me para nadie posta muy buenos, muy linda historia.
La trama está muy buena también, tal vez yo no me enganché mucho pero es un libro con mucho que dar así que diez puntos por ese lado.

Creo que si me veo la película me va a gustar más y poder comparar si el libro es una buena adaptación de la película pero por ahora lo dejo así.

[Layla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay I'm not here to review the movie (though my review for the movie would be the exact same as the book lol) but I watched Cruella purely because I believe that watching every Emma Stone movie will make you a queen. Just the facts. I do enjoy Elizabeth's writing styl but I rushed through this book just because I had already watched the movie so it was kinda just pointless tbh but I do like how Rudnick portrayed Cruella and her arch. I've always loved Cruella but this Emma Stone Cruella era really got me hooked. Now watching 101 dalmations I feel like a physcho for rooting for Cruella.

[Jonathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Much like Disney has done with Maleficient, making a sympathetic origin story for a classic villain can be a challenge. Being a novelization of a film, this book reads almost like a screenplay, including scenes that were obviously written to be more visual than narrative. As with all of these types of books, you're likely better off with the movie in this case. Despite Rudnick turning this story into something readable, the story does drag on and wraps up a little bit too neatly.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely love this movie! I have fun every time I watch it. When I saw that it had a novelization, I had to read it to see how it would be presented. I'm happy to say that I'm not disappointed!

While "One Hundred and One Dalmatians" isn't my all-time favorite Disney movie, I've always thought Cruella was an interesting antagonist. Seriously, who could forget the look on her face driving her car during the climax of that animated film? It's the look of absolute insanity. This movie, however, gave me a whole new view on the villain. She wasn't necessarily a villain for villainy's sake. She also doesn't want to murder dogs just for the heck of it. That change alone, while still keeping the Dalmatian spotted coat a theme, made her much more interesting and complex as a character. Emma Stone did a wonderful job portraying her, and this book did a great job turning her character onscreen into a character you meet within the pages of a book. All the other characters were written perfectly to match the movie as well. It's hard to believe that the Baroness was so despicable that you actually wanted Cruella, a known antagonist in the past, to win! Her constant victories against the Baroness were so much fun to experience.

Now, why not five stars? This may seem kind of strange to hear (or, in this case, read), but the reason I took off a star is actually something I liked about both the novel and the movie. That reason is Jasper. Horace matched his original movie counterpart perfectly, and Cruella, while different, was still very in-character and made sense for the story. Jasper seemed like a totally different person, though. He didn't match who he was in the original Disney movie. While I liked him a lot in both the movie and this novel, I also was judgmental because he didn't match the character he was supposed to be. I get it; he had to be the voice of reason because Estella/Cruella needed someone to be the good angel on her shoulder while the devil whispered in her ear. We know Jasper to be a bumbling, goofy imbecile from the original film, though, so making him that voice of reason felt weird. Making a new character that was part of her life in her younger years or even making that person her friend Art rather than Jasper would have made much more sense. Like I said, I actually DO like Jasper in this movie/book; I just felt like it didn't make sense for his character.

If you're a Disney fan in any way, shape, or form, watch this movie and read this novelization! It's a story you won't forget.

[Tibwalovesstory · Rating 4 out of 5]

« Promettre d’être sage ? Quelle idée saugrenue (… ) Je suis Cruella. Je suis née brillante, née méchante, et peut-être un peu démente.»

Ce mercredi 9 juin 2021, j’ai commencé ma journée par la lecture irrésistiblement fun de Cruella, le roman du film de Disney qui envahit les écrans de cinéma ce printemps.
Continuant sur leur lancée de revisiter les grands classiques qui ont fait leur gloire, les studios Disney proposent aujourd’hui la genèse de la plus stylée et timbrée de leurs célèbres méchantes. Impossible de parler de l’histoire sans faire de spoilers. Alors nous dirons juste qu’à la mort prématurée de sa mère, l’adolescente Estella se retrouve seule à Londres et se trouve une nouvelle famille composée de deux joyeux lurons à l’avenir prometteur, qui se présentent à elle comme de brillants entrepreneurs (comprenez : des voleurs). Estella devient rousse, apprend les ficelles du métier à leurs côtés, mais ses talents de couturière lui permettent, quelques années plus tard, de trouver une place de styliste chez la Baronne, une figure incontournable du monde de la mode, qui a marqué son enfance. Et quand des souvenirs douloureux commencent à lui revenir par flashes, réveillant une colère longtemps contenue, Estella laisse peu à peu libre cours à Cruella, sa part sombre, violente et assoiffée de vengeance qu’elle tenait jadis en laisse. Celle qui, dès l’école primaire, était qualifiée d’étrange à cause de sa chevelure naturelle noire et blanche, délaisse sa chevelure rousse passe-partout et est enfin prête à laisser exploser sa bizarrerie à la face du monde. Et elle vous promet une aventure d’Enfer !

Dans ce roman, on retrouve tous les personnages du dessin animé original, à l’aube de leur réalisation. On apprécie ces clins d’œil qui échappent à une certaine facilité, et on comprend la haine de Cruella pour les dalmatiens, même si cette haine ne justifiera jamais ses actes futurs. Et c’est de cela qu’il s’agit d’ailleurs, dans ce nouveau Disney : la fin est connue. Avait-on besoin d’une genèse sur le mythique personnage de Cruella ? Bien sûr que non. Mais la souris aux grandes oreilles a au moins eu l’intelligence de ne pas justifier à tort et à raison la démence de ce personnage. Elle est méchante, elle l’assume, et son entourage n’aura qu’à s’endurcir sous peine d’être chassé de sa vie. Hail to the Queen of Hell.
Ne reste plus qu’à voir le film.

[Sofia Zalazar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reseña:

Estella, una astuta y creativa estafadora, tiene la determinación de darse a conocer por sus diseños en pleno auge de la revolución punk londinense de los años setenta. Desde niña entabló amistad con un par de jóvenes ladrones afectos a las fechorías y juntos han logrado hacerse de una vida en las calles, pero ella anhela algo más que robar para llegar a fin de mes.

Un día, su talento para la moda atrapa la atención de la Baronesa Von Hellman, una leyenda del diseño, quien es terroríficamente chic y glamorosa.

Sin embargo, la relación entre ambas desencadena un hilo de eventos y revelaciones que provocarán que Estella acepte su lado más sombrío para convertirse en la caótica, fashionista y vengativa Cruella.

opinión

La adaptación de la película de Disney con el mismo nombre. Si, te estoy recomendando un libro basado en una película, pero espera...Te juro que vale la pena

Me considero particularmente fan de Cruella, y de algunos villanos de Disney.

Qué buena decisión fue.

Lamentablemente este libro llego a mis manos luego de haber visto la película,

Obviamente la historia es una precuela de 101 dalmatas donde te cuentan dónde se formó la excéntrica jefa de Annita Darling, Cruella Devil, y les juro que conocer la historia fue algo increíble. Sus orígenes están plagados de drama, sufrimiento, asesinatos, misterio y mucha, mucha, mucha moda. Ella es una verdadera genio, y todos lo genios tienen algo de locura, lo cual vuelve esta historia una pizca más divertida. Tiene dos o tres plot twist excelentes y la historia encaja perfecto con 101 dalmatas. Fue un mimo al alma.

Además, cuando lo acabes vas a poder deleitarte con una adaptación cinematográfica EXPLENDIDA.

Ahora, si ya viste la película tengo sentimientos encontrados, dado que el libro me encanto.
Y como contraposición al pensamiento de que si no lo arrancaba ese mismo día pienso que me hubiera gustado leerlo con algo más de tiempo de distancia de la película dado que algunos hechos se me mezclaban. Igual, esto es algo que me pasa con la mayoría de los libros que fueron adaptados.

Ahora en cuanto a contenido, el libro está muy bueno, obviamente tiene escenas y explica cosas que en la película no quedan tan claras. El desarrollo de la protagonista es muy bueno y el acceder su mente resulta muy interesante.

Puntuación: 4/5

[Lily]

I read the novelization of Cruella, a young adult fiction fantasy book, written by Elizabeth Rudnick. This book was published in April of 2021. If you are a fan of the original 101 Dalmatians, you’re going to love getting to know the backstory of the villain, Cruella.

Cruella is a brilliant young designer, with a tragic early life. After surviving a traumatic event at a young age, she moves to London and finds a new-found family with orphans, Jasper and Horace. After working for the most powerful fashionista in the city, the Baroness; she realizes her boss played a major role in her tragic past and now Cruella is out for revenge. She strains the relationship of her ”family” with her lust for that revenge. She captivates the city with her punk rock fashion style and turns heads upside down in the local fashion scene.

Cruella uses her heightened fashion sense to elude newspapers and infuriate the Baroness. With the help of Jasper and Horace, they create costumes and confusion to execute many “grifts.” These grifts help them to pull off many elaborate heists. By the end of the story, you will be falling in love with Cruella.

Being a person who doesn’t enjoy writing or reading, I found this book was able to keep my attention, even with my very short attention span. The flow and pace were perfect and the characters were intriguing. The Baroness’ narcissism, Cruella intensity, and Jasper's good heart all create a impeccable cast of characters in a roller coaster of a plot, in a good way. The conflict between Cruella and the Baroness is fun to read and their intensity is so similar to each other, you’d think they were related.

Cruella isn’t Shakespeare, but the story is very enticing, a real page-turner. The characters are all likable (except the Baroness.) The setting is unique, the tone is dark, but not grimdark. It wont be the next Great Gatsby or The Grapes of Wrath, but its a fun ride with a great twist. The novelization is a great book in my opinion, and is absolutely worth the read. Or you could just watch the movie, I don’t care.

[Courtney-Louise · Rating 2 out of 5]

Devil by design, disaster by novelisation.

Before I begin this review, I want to make it clear that this book has a reading age of 10+ but is really aimed at anyone who enjoyed the movie. I for one, adored the movie, hence the reason for buying this book. I didn’t, however, enjoy the novelisation.

Set in 1977, Cruella tells the story of a young girl named Estella as she battles with two sides of her personality, both as black and white as her hair. Desperate to be a fashion designer, Estella jumps at any opportunity that presents itself to give her a boost into the fashion world. But things start to go astray and Estella is forced to embrace her dark side and introduce the world to Cruella.

For an origin story, Cruella has a great plot with plenty of twists and turns, but this novelisation is painfully drab and filled with lacklustre character development. Even without googling, it’s painfully obvious that the author is unapologetically American as they’ve failed to consistently use ‘mum’ (instead Estella refers to her mother as ‘mom’ on several occasions), used American colloquialisms, and even forgotten the time period in which the story is set.

The entire book feels like a “this happened, then that happened, so this happened” kind of story. It’s like they watched the film and provided a literal play by play.

This isn’t a book I would recommend, unless someone was obsessed with the movie and wanted to get their fix without having the sit and watch it. Disney Press did a very poor job with this one.

[Blue · Rating 5 out of 5]

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Thank you Scholastic for this book in exchange for an honest review

Cruella is one of the greatest Disney Villains of all time and every this character comes to life she is still spectacular! I had to what to watch the movie before I read the book, I picked it up and was a chapter in before I knew that I had to watch Emma Stones performance first before reading the story of Cruella before the dalmatians were required as a coat.
Regardless if you are a fan of Cruella or not, this book will honestly have you entertained from start to finish. The plot is fast paced with constant moving situations and plot depths added as you go. I love the subtle introduction of Anita Darling and how she fits into Cruella’s life and their opinions of each other. Horace and Jasper were brilliantly written and you can see how their personalities tie into the 101 Dalmatian storyline that we all know well.
Rudnick did a great job of capturing the movie into written format that still contained critical points, everything was detailed fabulously and overall this was a wonderful read!

[Indi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved it! It is a complete copy of the movie with the deleted scenes included, so don't expect much new. However as a big fan of the movie, I liked seeing the scenes from a different angle. This book was written while the movie was shot, so the jokes, actions and quotes that came to the cast and crew on set aren't in the book. After seeing the movie multiple times and memorizing it quit well, that definitely bothered me at times. I know that rewriting scenes and printing takes lots of time and money. But after learning that they spend about a year editing the dogs into a finished movie, I wish they could have spent some of that time editing the book version to match the 'new' script. Or at least would have pushed back the release date for the book to edit the it. I get that this novel wasn't Disney's first priority, and that it is more of a nice extra... but still.

Overall I definitely recommend this book if you want a look inside the characters head's. If you want some nice extra details or just want to spent some more time with the story.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Esta es una crítica al libro y no a la peli, la verdad es que no vi esta última.
Siendo sincero tiene varios errores. La escritura no es la mejor y llega a ser redundante. Hay algunos fallos de coherencia, y aún así, el libro fue muy disfrutable.
Las ocurrencias para arruinar los desfiles de moda de la baronesa me parecieron ingeniosas e interesantes.
Pensé que al final Estella terminaría volviendo a su vida normal, viviendo feliz con Jasper y Horace como libro cliché. Eso hubiera sido lindo, pero demasiado típico.
Cruella se volvió en aquello que veia como malo, termino volviéndose despiadada. La sociedad la corrompio.

Estella ya no existe, y estoy triste porque Jasper y Horace la amaban, y fueron unos amigos más que buenos.

Ame a esos dos, como trataban a Estella era simplemente precioso.
Y se agradece que no hayan forzado un romance con alguno de ellos.
Si hubiera leído esto siendo un niño, seguro lo amaría aún más. Pero claramente la forma de escribirlo no está orientada a personas de mi edad.
En fin, que ame la historia, con sus aciertos y fallos.