Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this eARC in exchange for an honest review. I requested this because it’s a book by Maureen Johnson and I usually love Johnson’s books. Plus, Cruella? Sign me up.
I didn’t end up liking this as much as I thought I was going to. Cruella is actually named Estella. Her mom dies and she ends up all alone in London. She meets two boys that become her family. They survive by stealing. They steal food and money or whatever else they need to survive. I liked the relationship between these three. But I think we could have gotten more from it. I feel like I still know nothing about these two boys that are like brothers to Estella. I don’t know their history. I did like Estella’s backstory. Definitely enough to turn me into a villain.
I also just liked Estella, even when she was kind of being a jerk. She’s sixteen in this book and definitely still a bit naive. I saw the ending coming almost as soon as she made friends with Magda and Richard. Estella is swept up by the wealthy London scene and starts making clothes for everyone. And the whole time I was left thinking: why is she not asking anyone to pay for these clothes she’s hand making?
Overall, I had a tough time with this book. The ending felt rushed. I would have liked to see what her plans for her next steps were after reconciling with her brothers. I also had a hard time because of the eARC. There were weird images that I assume are going to be chapter designs that chopped up and even moved some paragraphs. It was manageable, but annoying enough to affect my reading experience. I will say that I think Johnson did a good job with the writing and the setting. She was consistent with the language used by the characters and while telling the story. London sounds like a blast during this period of time.

Hello Cruel Heart was full of heart. I really enjoyed seeing Cruella as a teenager and getting to know a bit more about what makes her so evil. This book really makes me like Cruella because she was written as a very relatable character. It was also nice to see how fashion inspires her. I liked seeing a little bit more of Horace and Jasper as well and learning to like them as we do not know much about them other than they are Cruellas sidekicks. Now, there were a few things about this book that somewhat bothered me. The first is that, honestly not a lot is going on and is sort of repetitive at times. However, I will counter that even though I say this, I still throughly enjoyed reading it but I couldn’t see the big picture until the end. Secondly, if you do not like fashion, I’m not sure you will like this book too much because it is fashion heavy. Which most people whom are familiar with Cruella should know this coming into the book, but just in case there’s your warning. Overall, this was a fun and interesting backstory that will make you empathize with one of the cruelest villains around!

This was a fast, enjoyable read. If you're even remotely interested in Cruella, I think you'll at least find the story interesting enough for a quick read.

Was this layered with a rich backstory and multi-faceted characters? Nah. In a nutshell, Cruella comes from nothing, creates a found family with Jasper & Horace, sells out to be friends with the rich kids and then that comes back to bite her in the ass. After all, we know she ends up with Jasper & Horace. We've seen 101 Dalmations. No spoilers here.

Things I liked:
- Estella's background as an underground fashion designer. I loved that she was becoming the "it" girl for new and inventive designs. Very easy to believe this same girl would think that skinning puppies would be a great idea.
- The beginning part with her mom. What happened?! I need to know more. Who did she run from? Why? Does the movie answer any of these questions?!
- The found family with Jasper & Horace. It was kind of endearing to think these two bad guys took Cruella under their wing.

Unfortunately, the fast pace left much to be desired but it felt like a surface-level story. I suppose that works for a Disney prequel story for a movie, but I was really hoping for more. We hear in 101 Dalmations how Cruella is an old friend of Anita's and I expected that to make an appearance in this book so I was kind of bummed when it didn't. I also think Cruella was kind of mad/insane and I didn't see a reason or catalyst for that wild behavior in this behavior. I guess it was supposed to be the Cruella takeover of Estella, but it just wasn't enough for me.

This was fine but a little disappointing. I think most people will enjoy it for what it is though - a quick, fun read about a famous Disney villain.

I was not expecting this at all. I liked the story of Cruella, aka Estella in this book, and how she came to be the villainess we know and love. This story takes place before 101 Dalmatians and I was living for it. I enjoyed learning more about this character. I could see Emma Stone on every page, and I’m looking forward to seeing the movie on Disney Plus.
Thank you to NetGalley, and Disney Publishing Worldwide/Disney Press for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is the story of Estella. (Don’t you mean Cruella?)
No Cruella. Well a little I guess.

This is the story about Estella and how the events in her life led her to give in to the Cruella inside her. I enjoyed several of the aspects of this villain origin story. It was nice to see how Cruella met Horace and Jasper and this story makes their relationship believable and valuable. It was also interesting to see her love of fashion and how it drove her into the choices she made.

I thought the book was good, but I’m more excited about how it will play into the upcoming movie about Cruella, if at all. It gives me hope that the movie will be pretty good.

I adore Disney, so I was excited to read this book.

It was a quick read, but it wasn't quite what I expected. I figured there would be more backstory on Cruella, but instead, you discover she's the alter ego of Estella. I did find Estella to be a strong, independent character who knows what she wants and will do what's needed to get it, even if she doesn't always make the best decisions along the way.

I'd hoped this book would enhance the Cruella storyline from the movies, but I'm not sure it succeeded. I do still want to see the movie, and perhaps I'll appreciate things more in that format. You do learn why she feels the way she does about Dalmatians, but it doesn't necessarily make sense. I wasn't crazy about how she treated Horace and Jasper, but I wasn't surprised. I liked their characters, particularly that they weren't as dimwitted as they're portrayed in the movies. I think I liked them a bit better than Estella.

Overall, it fell a bit flat as an origin story. Many plot points, and twists, were predictable, but it may still be enjoyed by its target YA market.

I did enjoy being able to see Cruella as a teenager and see why became who she did. You get Jasper and Horace and how they became friends and overcome some challenges in their friendship. I liked being able to see how Cruella was once a soft (and at times moral) person but because how she was treated, it hardened her. Love that she had fashion and designing even in her teens and that it’s what keeps her grounded when everything around her goes into chaos.

I wish we got to see more of her life instead of just one summer (2 months) and few flashbacks. This is a cute story and I know many will love it!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Have you ever wondered how Cruella de Vil came to be the way she is? Was she always evil or once upon a time, was she just a normal average young girl with dreams of love, success, and happiness? Inspired by the upcoming Disney live action film, Cruella, Hello, Cruel Heart by Maureen Johnson sets out to explore that exact topic and provide a plausible origin story for this Disney villain extraordinaire.

The story is set in London in the late 60’s and follows 16-year-old Cruella, actually known as Estella here, on her quest to become a famous fashion designer. Orphaned at a young age, Estella has been basically homeless for years, living in an old bombed-out building with two boys, Jasper and Horace, who are in similar dire straits. They teach her how to pick pockets and shoplift, and thus the three of them muddle along, stealing enough to survive and forming a little makeshift family of their own. Estella dreams of bigger things for herself though. She aspires to become a famous fashion designer and often steals fabric and other items so that she can practice her craft. Sadly, much of her time is spent sewing disguises and costumes for their many heists rather than the high fashion clothing she dreams of creating.

Johnson does a wonderful job of making young Cruella/Estella very likeable and sympathetic. Who wouldn’t root for an orphan, who also happens to be a gifted fashion designer, to realize her dream? When Estella has a chance encounter with Richard and Magda, two of London’s most fashionable young people, and they invite her to join them, Estella wonders if this is the out from her old life she has been looking for, especially when they take such special interest in her designs. She hopes this friendship is the start of something big and is invited to one party after another and is inspired to create dress after dress for these events that are the envy of everyone she meets. She’s so happy doing what she loves and making friends and even meeting boys that I found myself cheering her on that she really would have a happy ending even though I knew it was impossible.

The only area where I struggled a bit to connect with the story was that Cruella was used almost as an alter ego whenever Estella did something bad, like a ‘It wasn’t me, it was Cruella” kind of thing. As Estella got a little older, Cruella then became a mean voice in her head telling her would never have friends or love. This Cruella alter ego didn’t turn up very often in the story, but each time she did, it just read awkwardly for me. There was an instance, for example, where she gets into a fight with Horace and Jasper and when she goes to apologize to them later, they’re all “We know it wasn’t you, it was Cruella.” The ending of the book was also somewhat awkward for me for similar reasons. I just couldn’t exactly tell what Cruella was supposed to be. At first I thought maybe mental illness but, by the end, I had more questions than answers. Hopefully the movie will bring some clarity.

Even with my Cruella issues though, I still enjoyed Hello, Cruel Heart overall. It’s a creative villain origin story that definitely made me feel sympathy for one of Disney’s most despicable villains, which is quite a feat in and of itself.

I love Maureen Johnson's books. Maybe it's because I'm very attached to Stevie Bell, but. I had a hard time connecting with any of these characters. I knew going in that this was the back story for Cruella a famous villainess, but wanted to sympathize or empathize with her more and I guess even where the story ended It feels like a leap from a broken hearted and screwed over girl to someone who makes coats out of puppy skins.

I did really enjoy Estella's foray into fashion design. This was the one really bright spot for me.

Otherwise, this one wasn't for me and may be better suited to those who like to sink into darker stories. I'll continue to devour everything Maureen writes and look forward to her novels with glee.

I have had so little use for Disney's live-action adaptations of its animated classics, and not much more use for prequels like Maleficent, which often don't add a lot to the story, especially since they're all headed for foregone conclusions. But something about the idea of a Cruella de Vil backstory did actually interest me, maybe because it has so much potential — Cruella isn't an evil witch or god or animal, she's an actual person who had to come from somewhere. So I requested the arc of Hello, Cruel Heart, which seems to be a prequel to the prequel movie Cruella, coming out in spring 2021.

It's a brisk but enjoyable read. The setting alone is a winner: 1960s Swinging London, amid the rise of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, with the British Invasion going on over in America, and an energetic youth culture taking over fashion and culture in England. Estella is an orphaned London teenager who lives in an abandoned building that was never remodeled after the Blitz, and she steals to survive alongside her friends Jasper and Horace. (If there's anything that bothers me about this prequel, it's the idea that these three all used to be equals, friends, and roommates, given that by the time of 101 Dalmatians, the two men are so clearly from a different class, and Jasper at least is a sharp, savvy kid who grows up to be such a lummox.) "Cruella" is more of a voice in her head, the least charitable and angriest part of herself, who leads her to constantly question herself and to doubt other people.

But Estella is a brilliant savant about design and fashion, and she makes her own clothes, which leads her to an accidental run-in with London's trust-fund kids. One of my favorite parts of the book was the culture shock she experiences when she realizes how the idle rich live, and how much they take for granted, compared to how she and her friends get by. The setting is sketched pretty simply compared to what it would be in a book aimed more at an adult audience, but it's still pretty evocative, feeding a fantasy of luxury while making it clear what the cost of that luxury is for the shallow, spoiled people enjoying it — and making it clear how appealing it is to something who comes from nothing.

The ending is inevitable, not just because this is a prequel, but because there's barely any other way for a story like this to go, as a poor girl falls in among the rich and learns that her fantasies aren't all they're cracked up to be. But the getting there is entertaining, whether it's focusing on the details of Estrella's latest fashion project, or the design of her posh new friends' favorite café, or the convoluted process involved in accessing her bombed-out home.

The one place that isn't really detailed enough at all is the passage where Estrella loses her mother, which is so vague that it must be leaving room either for a sequel that follows up on what happened there, or for the movie, which seems to deal with the same people involved in what happened there. Regardless, I'd read an actual series about the adventures of Estrella in London if it came to that — she's a decently compelling character all on her own, even without a classic-film tie-in ahead of her.

I loved the cover of this book and am a huge Disney fan, so this was a major draw for me in reading this book.

It was a cute story and easy read for me, I know that students of mine will enjoy it and the characters as well. The conversation flows well and you do wonder at times who are Estella's real friends are. It was a good backstory for Cruella and how life was before she became the villain. The character shows decent development in learning life lessons along the way about who she can trust and also how people can let you down.

I am a huge Disney fan, but I’ve never been all that interested in Cruella DeVil or the 101 Dalmatians movie(s). I’m not a big animal person (except for my pupper, of course), and I think the premise scared me as a child, so I never really returned to the film. I have seen the Glenn Close version a few times, however, and though she was fantastic in the role, the movie isn’t one I return to often. All that being said, Emma Stone is picking up the torch for the prequel/origin story Cruella that is coming out later this year, and this book, Hello, Cruel Heart by Maureen Johnson is the prequel to that movie. It’s all a bit convoluted, but it was honestly Johnson’s name as the author that attracted me to this book, more than the protagonist. 13 Little Blue Envelopes is one of those books that has stayed with me, and though I haven’t read many books from her expansive list, I perk up every time I see her name.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this story. As previously mentioned, I’m not a big Cruella DeVil fan, and I dragged my heels a little at diving into this story, but once I got invested in Estella’s story, I was curious to see where it went.

Estella’s origin story here is interesting and believable. You learn how Jasper and Horace come into her life, how into fashion she is and why she became so cruel. She truly was a girl who thought she was going places: She had made new friends, found love and was an in-demand designer, only to have everything taken away from her in one fell swoop. Her alter-ego, Cruella, is a little bit of a stretch, but I see what they were trying to do: It’s not like anyone would actually name their child Cruella.

I wish there was a connection to puppies or dogs somewhere along the line. I may be missing something from my vague memory of the movies, but Estella has a puppy that she loves in the book, and I really wish something had happened to her (along with everything else) that made her have no remorse for wanting to skin dogs later in life, because “just for the fashion” is not enough for me.

Maureen Johnson continues to impress with Hello, Cruel Heart. It’s nicely paced, the characters are fully developed and full of life, and Disney fans (or even fans of historical YA fiction) will really enjoy this story. I’m interested to see how it all plays out in the movie later this year, and I’m glad I was able to read this book first to get the whole picture.

4 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Disney Press for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was just ok for me. I felt like there was something that didn’t quite flow as smoothly as I would have liked.

I really, desperately wanted to love this book as a huge Johnson fan, but it was not for me. Other people may really love it. It features a historical fiction plot, set in the United Kingdom in the middle of the 20th century. I felt the plot too heavily relied on the reader wanting to find out how she becomes Cruella without many hints along the way (other than her imaginary friend), rather than details or hints really driving it forward. I didn’t feel compelled in a "What will happen next!?", nor did I develop attachments to the character. You may love it a lot more if you’re a huge Cruella fan.

An origin story for Cruella de Vil.
You get to see the soft side of Cruella (aka Estella) as a child/teenager, and the exact moment when betrayal changes her heart.
I loved it!
I am now even more excited for Disney's new Cruella movie!
Much love to NetGalley & Disney Publishing Worldwide for my DRC.

This book was fine, I guess. It's very much a middle of road book and the definition of a three star book for me. It is a very quick and entertaining read. However, the characters were pretty one dimensional, the plot wasn't anything too exciting and the romance was absolutely terrible. I wasn't too invested in this either but I did have fun reading it. It also got me more excited about the Cruella movie that this is a companion to so I guess it also did its job. I don't have much more to say about this book though because it's just so 'meh'. I do think a younger audience might have a great time with this book.

A fun modern take on a childhood villain. I enjoyed reading it, it was a great introduction to Cruella.

2.5 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Hello, Cruel Heart is a sort of prequel/companion novel to the upcoming Cruella film, and one of the things I had to keep in mind was that both the film and book appeared to be reimagining Cruella’s narrative, including the time in which the story takes place, with the book being set in 1967 and the film in the 70s, while the original book came out in the 50s, and the original animated Disney movie in 1961.

That being said, I do think the book replicates the era fairly well, with its sense of the rock ‘n roll lifestyle in all its decadence.

I did struggle to really connect to the character though. Estella never really came alive to me. She has some of the basic hallmarks of the Cruella character, like a love for fashion and attempting to balance high-society connections with seedier associates. I just never really got to know her beyond that. I mean, it’s not shocking, as she’s hardly known as a villain with a lot of depth. But I also feel like this story would make a lot more sense in context with what Disney are trying to do with the film, instead of going in blind with nothing but the premise of the new film and prior knowledge of her as the one-note villain in the original.

This book is fun, and I’m open to revisiting the book once I know more about Cruella. I do think it would also be wise to wait to read until you’ve seen the film and are looking for more about her backstory.

This book was just so well written. I may have to check out some more books by this author. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I had started it thinking it would take me a couple days and was able to get through it in one. Loved how we learned a bit more about Stella. I am very excited to see how Stella and Cruella come to be one in the up coming movie. I will say that if you are looking for Cruella you won't see much of her in this book. But who doesn't love reading a villains origin story? I do feel like there may be a bit more to Stella's mothers death and would love to know more as to why or how she died.

Hello, Cruel Heart
By Maureen Johnson
Actual Rating: 4.5/5 stars
I received an eARC via NetGalley from Disney Publishing Worldwide: Disney Press in exchange for an honest review.

***Warning: mild spoilers ahead***

In Hello, Cruel Heart, we get to meet a 16-year-old Estella before she becomes the Cruella we all know from Disney’s 101 Dalmatians. We follow Estella as she lives during the summer of 1967 in a swinging London, England. She lives with Horace and Jasper, young thieves and her found family, in the ruins of a building which was bombed during World War II. They have made a way for themselves by pickpocketing and stealing other items they need to survive. While in the process of stealing fabric for one of her clothing designs, Estella meets Magda and Richard Moresby-Plum, twins from London high society. Subsequently, Magda and Richard sweep Estella away into their lavish lifestyles. While Estella sees this as the perfect opportunity to finally have her clothing designs noticed by the rich and famous, she has to decide what she might be willing to lose to get there.

I absolutely enjoyed this origin story for Cruella de Vil. Throughout the story, Estella is fighting against her inner Cruella. This inner Cruella is constantly trying to tell Estella that she doesn’t belong with her new high society friends. Estella is already a creative and talented clothing designer who just wants to be noticed for her work. While Horace and Jasper don’t entirely understand Estella’s creative genius, they are supportive. In fact, Estella makes the disguises the three of them use when they go out to steal.

Hello, Cruel Heart is such a fun story, and Maureen Johnson’s writing is fantastic. Following Estella as she has a whirlwind summer in London’s high society was exciting. Of course, it was also satisfying to see Estella learn that her supposed friends, Magda and Richard, don’t necessarily have her best interests at heart. I couldn’t help but smile when Estella finally embraces her inner Cruella and is welcomed back by her real friends, Horace and Jasper, at the end of the story.

I recommend Hello, Cruel Heart to readers who are Disney fans and who enjoy coming-of-age stories for strong female characters.