Cruel Heart by Maureen Johnson is an original take on the villain Cruella De Vil that is set in London. Johnson does an incredible job making the reader interested and intrigued by the character and what happens to her along the way as well as how people treat her makes the reader feel empathy for the main character.

Something Johnson did extremely well was flashbacks, as she made sure there was no confusion when the rader was supposed to be reading a flashback as it was marked by a simple symbol that marked both the start and the end of a flashback or when something different was happening than what was previously stated.

As someone who typically doesn’t enjoy ending with open interpretation and Johnson added just enough freedom for the reader to visualize what may happen in the while still providing enough closure for the reader to feel as if that is the end of the book and feel as if the book has a closed ending while still leaving room for speculation.