After watching the movie trailer this weekend, I had to read this title ASAP. Following around Estella, I was hoping the book would explore more of the inner Estella/Cruella’s inner conflict. Learned a few life and love lessons from Estella the hard way, but not sure if I felt this book embodied the dog-loving (or should I say hating) Disney villain in this title. Probably should have been titled “Estella: Hello, Cruel Heart”. Maybe it will make more sense after I see the movie.

Once upon a time Cruella Devil was not a villanelle! She was just 16 years old orphan girl who tries to survive by stealing things at Swinging London in sixties! And her name is Estella who has been taught the crafts of being a skillful thief by her two accomplices Horace and Jasper who also share their squatters abode with her.

She’s truly passionate about fashion and she has real talent and quite exquisite taste about it. When her path crosses with two rich twins Magda and Richard, she’s directly introduced to posh,privileged life style of London socialite. She gets attracted of charming musician Peter who also gets fascinated by her talents about fashion and made his band wear the clothes she’s designed!

Everything seems going great with her life and she has hopes about her blooming fashion career, she’s happy to hang out with hipsters, discarding Horace and Jasper from her life but are new friends are right for her?

As a fan of Truly Devious series I was truly hopeful about this story and it was great to get an arc copy at the same day the trailer of the movie goes viral ! ( but as far as I see Emma Stone is nothing near to Ms. Johnson’s Estella portrait we can easily sympathize with! )

I enjoyed swinging London premise and I loved to see bright sides of Estella ( we already saw dark side Glen Close showed us on the big screen and we truly enjoyed it) the art, the fashion, entertainment, vivid description of London society were enjoyable and well described!

Only thing I didn’t like was haphazard ending with too many unanswered questions which made me think a sequel would come sooner. I hope it comes because I’d enjoy this easy to read and riveting, fast pacing, well developed journey! As a big fan of author’s writing style, I hope we may get more books of the series sooner. I think this is fresh, interesting, unique approach to one of the unconventional Disney villanelles!
I’m rounding up 3.5 stars to 4 a delightful back story of one of my favorite villanelles before she meets with 101 Dalmatians stars!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Disney Publishing Worldwide/ Disney Press for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

The origin story of Cruella deVil except, her name is Estella and she is a thief/designer just trying to make it. The story is set up as a sort of connection to the upcoming live action film ( which surprisingly I just saw the trailer for the other day and it definitely makes sense). Estella is an orphan who makes a living by stealing, one day on one of her fabric stealing runs she runs into two rich teens, Magda and Richard, who take her into their rich lifestyle. Soon she finds herself invited to parties, meeting a cute musician named Peter, and being recognized for her designing talents. Yet, as with all good things, something is bound to go wrong, and soon she finds that maybe her new friends arent as great and maybe the boy she’s fallen in love with isn’t as honest as she thought. It was definitely an interesting take on the origin story of Cruella, and they have “Cruella” be sort of a another personality/voice in the back of Estella’s head that she has to constantly keep in check from coming out. It was a fun read and I can see how it was inspired by the live action that is going to be coming out.

*Thanks Netgalley and Disney Publishing Worldwide for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Cruella is such an interesting character and I feel like with the recent attempts at her origin story no one has ever quite managed to hit the mark on what makes her so great.

“Hello, Cruel Heart” follows Estella as she navigates her world as a simple thief who stumbles upon a pair of rich new friends and finds a life outside of the lair filled with money, designer fashion and attractive musicians but the summer just come to an end and when it does the fallout is messy.

To call this a Cruella DeVil story is almost laughable because the name itself is given to an almost imaginary friend/other personality that exists in the back of Estella’s mind and only shows itself when she has reached the end of her rope so for the majority of this book she is absent. That alone makes me question the entirety of the sell of this book as an origin because we never see her fully commit to the Cruella we all know and love instead we see a shadow.

The pacing itself too is a rather odd with the crash coming fast, which I enjoyed as it seemed like the most realistic thing that happened in the book, but then the payoff for it is maybe 3 pages before the acknowledgments and the overall mood fell flat. I think the idea of showing her the world she wants was nice but I don’t think the loss the way it happened was enough to push her to the point that we have seen in her final form.

Not quite sure what to think of this one the more I write my review the less I like it but I don’t know it feels like this should have been Act 1 of a larger story but instead it’s all we have which is a shame.

**special thanks to the publisher and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**

This was a rather decent read even if I’m really not the audience. It was a book to give some context to the forthcoming Cruella movie and it did such. I got a solid little read about 60s London. It was heavy in atmosphere which helped the book get over the hump of being a very familiar story. We know she’s going to get her heart broken. We know there’s going to be pain. But it’s all executed so well. 3/5 #DisneyCruellaHelloCruelHeart #NetGalley

I thought the story was exciting although predictable. "Cruella" did not seem to fit into the story.

DNF after the first five chapters. The writing was fine but the premise just wasn't grabbing me. I think readers who really enjoy villain origin stories would probably be more into this one than I.

Fans of 101 Dalmations will enjoy Cruella De'Ville's origin story as told in Hello, Cruel Heart. Cruella, who was actually named Estella, was not always cruel. She had a mother, hopes, dreams, and passions like everyone else. So, what happened? Go back to the free-wheeling 60's to explore the hipster scene in London and discover how Estella became Cruella.

Pleasantly surprised but this one, though I shouldn’t have been knowing the author and her style. Full review on goodreads.

Was Cruella always so evil? Was there ever any good in her life? This story tells of her life as a teen and her "family" situation. A quick read for younger fans of Disney

I'm not a Cruella De Vil fan, but I am a Maureen Johnson reader so I decided to skim this book. Once I started, I couldn't put it down, I was instantly enthralled and couldn't care less that I was reading a 101 Dalmations backstory. The story was fast-paced and intriguing and the characters were interesting and charismatic. I loved the late 1960s setting and references and I could just picture the vivid fashions jumping off the page. With all the nods to great bands, I should have read it with a soundtrack playing in the background. So much fun!

I am a HUGE Disney fan and I so wanted to love this book, but I didn't. It was very difficult to "get into" and just was not holding my attention. Also there were a LOT of typos. For some reason, every word that had a double-f was missing the letters! For example, "off" would just show up as an "o". In one sentence, "Their feet were adorned with extortionary slippers and platform boots", I would assume that extortionary should have been extraordinary.

Hello, Cruel Heart is an imaginative interpretation of the catalysts that slowly breathe actual life into the inner voice (Cruella) of a girl named Estella. I truly "saw" swinging 60's London in my minds eye as I read Johnson's descriptions of the clothes, locations, and dialog as portrayed in the story I honestly want to read more about Estella's journey and would thoroughly enjoy it if this were at least a duology.

I read 101 Dalmatians at least 20 times growing up so learning that this was an origin story of Cruella had me hooked right away. It wasn't as enthralling as the original Dodie Smith book, but it was a good story nonetheless enlivened by Johnson's always entertaining writing. Watching Estrella scratch out a living and finding hope as she managed to rise above mere survival was great. I kept reminding myself that I shouldn't get too attached to her because I know she's going to be a villain before the book is over, but the reminders didn't work. I could easily see the path she was taking and how it was not going to work out in the end and it made me sad to see how she was let down. Although I loved the "Swinging London" setting, I question whether that will draw my students in or put them off the book since the time period is so foreign to them. Other than that, a thoroughly enjoyable read.

Cute story about Cruella's teenage years. This one does NOT go along with the "Evil Thing" book that came out last year (they are two very different stories and both are good). Still, it's fun story that shows us her relationship with Jasper and Horace in 1967 London

What a fun, fast ride through 1960's London, full of color and adventure. A look into friendship, family and how Estella became Cruella. I'm not usually one to root for the villain, but Maureen Johnson, does such a great job at making the reader feel empathy for Estella. With a peek into homelessness along with the shakers and movers of society. Estella learns what true friendship and loyalty mean.

Johnson's new novel is an addicting and rollicking tale of a spunky 16 year old surviving on her own in 1967 London. Orphaned, Estella arrives in London adrift, but is taken in by two young thieves, Horace and Jasper, who teach her their craft and share their squatters abode with her. Estella is obsessed with fashion design, and also very talented at it, so when she befriends two very wealthy twins who appreciate their talents, she is quick to take advantage of their hospitality and largesse. In her new social scene her talent is quickly recognized and exploited, and her new boyfriend's band is happy to wear her new designs. Along the way she alienates herself from Horace and Jasper and their lifestyle, reveling in being a part of the London swinging summer. The character of Estella was very vividly portrayed and likeable, with lively dialog throughout. It's not clear to me if this is the first of a series, but the ending felt unsatisfactory, and it seems that there are loose ends that could be pursued, such as what really happened to Estella's mother, will Estella and her pals get away with their capers, and will Estella's career take off.

I love Maureen Johnson's writing and Hello, Cruel Heart does not disappoint on that front. I am not sure how I felt about the plot, but the story is wonderful. I think for most the idea of Cruella being something before 101 Dalmatians will be hard to over come for some. This is for a different generation and I hope it does well.

The story did not live up to the original films, it's a challenge to make the connection from this young Cruella to the adult Cruella we all know. This adaptation added nothing to the 101 Dalmations or Cruella universe and we could've done without it.

This book was received as an ARC from Disney Publishing Worldwide - Disney Press in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

Being a fan of 101 Dalmatians and a fan of the work of Maureen Johnson, I knew I was in for a treat with Hello, Cruel Heart and I was surely not disappointed. I absolutely loved the new direction Maureen Johnson took with this book focusing on Estella and the heists she took with you guessed it, Jasper and Horace and how she is achieving her dream as a fashion designer in high society with an extremely unique out of the box way. There were moments in the book where I was in disbelief and my jaw dropped open but Maureen Johnson brilliantly constructed a new and different adaptation to a Disney Classic Tale. I can't wait to share this title and hear the opinions from our library community and I know our teen book club will have enticing conversations too.

We will consider adding this title to our YA collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.