Independent Reading Level: 3rd-5th Grade
Awards: Newbery Medal Nominee (1998), Mythopoeic Fantasy Award Nominee for Children's Literature (1999), Grand Canyon Reader Award for Teen Book (1999), Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award for Grade 6-9 (2000), Vermont Golden Dome Book Award (1999), Iowa Teen Award (2000), California Young Readers Medal for Middle School/Junior High (2000), Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award (2000)

3.5/5

I wish my mom read this to me when I was a kid!!!! Ella is so badass. ( )

That fool of a fairy Lucinda did not intend to lay a curse on me. She meant to bestow a gift. When I cried inconsolably through my first hour of life, my tears were her inspiration. Shaking her head sympathetically at Mother, the fairy touched my nose. "My gift is obedience. Ella will always be obedient. Now stop crying child."So begins this richly entertaining story of Ella of Frell who wants nothing more than to be free of Lucinda's gift and feel that she belongs to herself. For how can she truly belong to herself if she knows that at any time, anyone can order her to hop on one foot, 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 spirited account of her quest to break the curse is a funny, poignant, and enchanting tale about an unforgettable heroine who is determined to be herself.

I've watched the film adaptation of Ella Enchanted many, many times. For years, I've been wanting to read this book but had never managed to find it in my book search. Then, one day, I managed to pick this book up at a charity event! It was an exciting day for me!

What I discovered as I read this book was that the movie and the book are WILDLY different. Seriously, it's like night and day.

Because of that little fact, I was disappointed in this book. I found that I wasn't interested in this plot (but this book was written for middle grade and young YA, so it's not FOR me).

This book seems to be an adaptation of Cinderella - a young, little potential princess who's mother has passed and she's stuck with her Dad. Her Dad isn't the best parental figure to begin with, but then marries a wicked step-mother and along come the wicked step-sisters. To spice things up, Ella has to be obedient due to some crazy fairy who gave her a gift (it kind of reminds me of Disney's Sleeping Beauty). As she gets older, Ella meets a Prince (because this is a fairy tale and that's super important).

This is where I am convinced the movie out does the book - Hugh Dancy is definitely a way better Prince visually than what was described. That is not a hit against the book, but... come on, Hugh Dancy.

Anywho, back to the book - Prince Char is romantic, charming and the ideal Prince, especially for a sassy and headstrong girl like Ella! The two mesh very well, and seem like the ideal pair. Throughout the book, Ella is determined to meet the fairy who gave her this awful gift that forces her to do anything people tell her to, and she will find a way to be normal one way or another.

This book screams strong women and I am totally here for it. I think it's nice to see a fairy tale where the girl doesn't necessarily need the boy to win. There were times my heart hurt for Ella - the cruelty of forcing her to do something... - but the end justified the rest. I also totally enjoyed how smart Ella is - she knows languages so well and seems like a self-sufficient lead. As a re-telling of Cinderella, I think this one hits well.

I did find it a little boring and slow, but I'm convinced it's due to two reasons: I was expecting the book and the movie to be similar (my bad!) and it's not written with me in mind.

I'd recommend reading this book if you love fairy tale adaptations (with a cool twist!), are enjoying middle grade and younger YA reads or just want a sweet, fast tale in your life.

Three out of five stars. ( )

This seems to be one of those Young Adult books that doesn't really work once you are no longer young. A major pet peeve: the use of exotic languages was overdone; instead of writing things in Gnomic or Elvish and then translating, it would have been a much easier read if it was just "XXXXXXX" Slannen said in Elvish. I had to do some heavy skimming to make it through the book, and even with that it felt like a waste of time. ( )