In this inventive Cinderella retelling, theres a ball and a prince, sure. But this heroine wants to earn her freedomand create her own fairy-tale ending. A New York Times Bestseller Nicolette's awful stepsisters call her Mechanica to demean her, but the nickname fits: she learned to be an inventor at her mother's knee. Her mom is gone now, though, and the Steps have pushed her into a life of dreary servitude. When she discovers a secret workshop in the cellar on her sixteenth birthday-and befriends Jules, a tiny magical metal horse-Nicolette starts to imagine a new life for herself. And the timing may be perfect: There's a technological exposition and a royal ballon the horizon. Determined to invent her own happily-ever-after, Mechanica seeks to wow the prince and eager entrepreneurs alike. | Mechanica by Betsy Cornwell, Paperback | Indigo Chapters