5. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

ELLA ENCHANTED by Gail Carson Levine (HarperCollins, 1997)

GENRE: Fantasy / Fairy Tale

HONORS: ABC Children’s Booksellers Choices Award, Arizona Young Readers’ Award, Black-Eyed Susan Book Award, California Young Reader Medal, Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children’s Book Award, Emphasis on Reading, Golden Sower Award Honor, Iowa Teen Award, John Newbery Medal Honor, Maine Student Book Award, Massachusetts Children’s Book Award, Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children’s Literature Finalist, Rebecca Caudill Young Readers’ Book Award, Voice of Youth Award Second Place, Young Hoosier Book Award, ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, ALA Booklist Editors’ Choice, Publishers Weekly Best Book

REVIEW:

Just after Ella’s birth, a fairy named Lucinda blessed her with the gift of obedience, making her obedient to any command.  In this retelling of Cinderella, Ella is able to keep her curse a secret with the help of her mother and family cook/fairy godmother, but when her mother passes away and her father remarries, one of her stepsisters figures out the secret, using it to her advantage.  When Ella sets out to find Lucinda and convince her to remove the curse, she runs into Prince Charmont and a romance begins between the two.  Although she finds Lucinda, the fairy’s resistance to her gift being anything but just that leaves Ella with no other option but to return home where she is commanded to live and work among the servants.  When Ella learns that Charmont loves her, she fears that her curse will bring him harm and denies her love for him.  If only she could find a way to remove the curse…

OPINION:

Having watched the film version when it was released seven years ago, I was interested in reading the novel.  I thoroughly enjoyed the book and I was hooked from the beginning.  Contrary to other Cinderella stories, Ella struggles to rebel against expectations—and succeeds in some cases—but it is the curse that puts her in danger.  Whereas some other Cinderellas are weak and subservient, Ella is a strong character that stands up for herself and even helps save the prince rather than waiting on him to save her.  Tweens will enjoy seeing the connections within the novel to traditional Cinderella tales of glass slippers, fairy godmothers, and taking a pumpkin coach to the ball, as well as the humorous encounters, new takes on the courtship between Ella and Prince Charmont, and Ella’s spunky attitude.

IDEAS:

This novel would go well in a library display of Newbery Honor Books, as well as a display for updated fairy tales.