TITLE: Ella EnchantedAUTHOR: Gail Carson Levine
STARTED: July 31, 2009
FINISHED: August 2, 2009
PAGES: 238
GENRE: Juvenile
FIRST SENTENCE: That fool of a fairy Lucinda did not intend to lay a curse on me.
SUMMARY: [From barnesandnoble.com] In this incredible debut novel comes the richly entertaining story of Ella of Frell, who at birth was given the gift of obedience by a fairy. Ella soon realizes that this gift is little better than a curse, for how can she truly be herself if at anytime anyone can order her to hop on one foot, or cut off her hand, or betray her kingdom and she'll have to obey? Against a bold tapestry of princes, ogres, giants, wicked stepsisters, and fairy godmothers, Ella's quest to break the curse once and for all and discover who she really is is as sharply funny as Catherine, Called Birdy and as richly poignant as Beauty, and has all the marks of a classic in the making.
THOUGHTS: It took me longer than I care to admit to realize this was a retelling of Cinderella. I figured it out... but it took more than half of the book. D'oh!
I cannot wait to talk about this book with my book club next week. There's just something about reading juvenile literature (with female heroines!) that brings out the best of our group. Moving on!
I really enjoyed Carson's take on this classic story. The magic and surreal parts of the story blended well with the human actions and emotions. Any little girl reading this could find a character or part of a character to relate to. Ella comes across as thirteen going on thirty, but it works. She is neither too childlike nor too mature. I appreciate how, even though she must be obedient, her need to be self-assertive is ever present. Carson makes Ella an incredibly strong character which is a feature seriously lacking in literature (juvenile or otherwise). I particularly enjoyed how Ella is given no easy outs. She gets herself into trouble and she has to find her way out again. She has help along the way, but Ella is shown time and again to be a resourceful character.
Another feature of this book I enjoyed was how even the antagonistic characters had redeeming qualities. Ella's main antagonizer , Hattie (her step-sister), suffers mainly from vanity and lack of self-esteem rather than pure badness. Sure you dislike the baddies, but the reader also feels pity for them.
Ella Enchanted is rounded out with a fantastic mix of secondary characters with doses of whimsy, wit, and humor mixed in.
RATING: 8/10 [Terrific]
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