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Summary: The Best Book I've Ever Read
Review: My name is Ryan and I live in Macon, GA. I loved Gail Carson Levine's "Ella Enchanted" because the book never lets go of you. The plot keeps flowing. I would recommend it to any one who loves fairy tales for older children or young adults. It truly is the best book I've ever read.
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Summary: Cinderella the Way It Ought to Be
Review: This book is delightful! All my old questions about Cinderella were answered. Why would Cinderella put up with her bossy stepsisters? Because she was under a curse, of course. Why couldn't anyone recognize her? It was a masked ball, of course. Why wouldn't her shoes fit anyone else? You'll have to read the book for that one. Today's women don't really respect a Prince who falls for a girl because of her looks. And now we learn that that isn't the way it was at all. Ella and the Prince had known and corresponded with each other for years. Ella's personality is what enchanted the Prince, as well as the reader. This means giving up the desperate search for the owner of the shoe, as he knows where to go. But it's worth it. Adventures with ogres only add to the fun. This book leaves you with a satisfied feeling. I hope that this author writes more books soon!
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Summary: A Cinderalla for the modern reader.
Review: This rich and delightful retelling of Cinderella provides a saucy heroine, a rational explanation of her slavish ways with her wicked step-family and a fresh love story to boot. Lucinda, a foolish fairy, bestows the gift of obedience on Ella at birth, which turns out to be a terrible burden. All is more or less well until her mother unexpectedly dies, and Ella is shipped off to finishing school with her cruel and demanding step-sisters-to-be. Ella runs off to find Lucinda in hopes of lifting the curse and has many adventures, but the curse stays in place. Full of fairy tale elements, Ella, who is a linguistic genius, manages to do her best despite the peril she finds herself in as a result of uncompromising obedience. The romance between Ella and Char, the prince, is clever and endearing. As the traditional elements of the tale unfold, those readers who enjoyed original versions will adore this new and improved offering.
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Summary: BEST BOOK EVER
Review: I first read this book when I was in 5th grade and I am now in 11th grade and I still read this book. I have read it so many times that I lost count. Ella Enchanted is a story of a girl who is given the curse of obedience and struggles to overcome the spell that dictates everything she does. She must do every thing that anyone asks. It is a lot like Cinderella but at the same time so different and so much better. This book is so wonderful and I recommend it to anyone who loves a good adventure story with a dash of romance.
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Summary: Cinderella with a young adult twist
Review: The book Ella Enchanted is based on the classic story of Cinderella as told by Ella, spunky daughter to a loving mother and a greedy merchant, and recipient of a "gift" at birth from a foolish fairy, forcing her to do whatever she is commanded, "whether it was hopping on one foot for a day and a half, or chopping off my own head!". Her mother soon dies, leaving her father free to marry a revolting rich society woman and leave Ella with two equally horrible stepsisters. Along the way, Ella develops a close friendship with the prince. But what would her stepfamily say about such a relationship? I liked this book because of the creative way the author spins the fairy-tale story of Cinderella into a young adult novel and adds funny, moving, and occasionally serious or even sad details to the story, and also makes it easier for readers of this age group to relate to the heroine's feelings. Another thing i liked was that gnomes, fairies, and ogres can enter the story without anything really jumping out at you as out of the ordinary; they blend into the storylines. This would be a good book for anyone who enjoys fantasy, and anyone who liked the highly acclaimed Harry Potter series will definetly like this book.
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Summary: Ella Enchanted
Review: This book is an old favorite for me, and I have re-read it so many time that I cannot count. I hope this review will give you some idea of why I like it so much.
"That fool of a fairy Lucinda did not intend to lay a curse on me. She meant to bestow a gift." So begins the tale of Ella of Frell, a young lady who must obey any command given to her. Written by Gail Carson Levine Ella Enchanted answers the question, "Why did Cinderella obey her stepmother anyway?" with a delightful story of fairies, enchantments, and a host of adventures.
After a brief background story, the tale begins just after Ella's mother dies. Told by Ella herself, the narrative reveals her innermost feelings, exploring her emotions and describing her unending fight against her curse. As she goes from her old home to finishing school, a giant's wedding, and a home with her new stepmother Madam Olga, readers gain a window into how she grows and learns with each new experience.
One major aspect of this growth is her feelings for Prince Charmont, or "Char", whom she meets at her mother's funeral. They quickly become fast friends, and even after Char goes to the neighboring country of Ayortha for a year, their relationship not only remains, but begins to change to something deeper.
During his absence, Char and Ella write each other letters, smuggling them to each other via Mandy, the fairy cook, to avoid Madam Olga's notice. Soon, Char begins ending his letters by asking "Are you still to young to marry?" in reference to a comment that Ella made during an earlier adventure. Ella, unsure whether this is a serious question, responds each time with her usual sense of humor. "If not too young, I was too tired to marry or too wet or too cross or too hungry." Finally, however, Char reveals that he is serious, and asks flat out if she loves him. Though she has been realizing that she loves him in return, Ella also fears for what his enemies might order her to do to him. Therefor, she writes a letter, supposedly from her stepsister Hattie, explaining that Ella has gone off and married a rich old man just before that last letter arrived. The act breaks both the young peoples hearts, but Ella believes that Char is now safe from her.
Unfortunately, it isn't so. Desperate to see Prince Char once more, Ella disguises herself and attends a ball thrown in his honor when he returns from Ayortha. She is revealed, however, and Char promptly follows her home and asks her to marry him. "Marry me, Ella." he says, unaware of the curse. Her stepfamily also orders her to marry the prince, wanting to take advantage of her. With even her heart wanting to say yes, Ella is forced deep within herself in her struggle to defend her prince and her love by saying no. This final, desperate struggle finally breaks the curse, and by saying no, Ella frees herself to say yes, which she promptly does. As the storybooks say, "She lived happily ever after."
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Summary: #1 Fan!!!
Review: OK, I am aware that this book is aimed at an audience a bit younger than I am (16) but I can't help loving it...it's such a wonderful book. I first read it when I was younger, and then read it twice while on vacation a few years later. After the movie (that does not do it justice AT ALL) came out recently I remembered how much I loved it, so I bought it and have just finished reading it for the 4th time. It's definitely one of my favorite books. It's just perfect...there's humor, romance, action, a happy ending...and a heroine that's so real everyone can relate to her. Levine does such a good job with descriptions I feel like Ella's world really exists and I desperately want to enter that world. It makes me sad when I finish because I know it's all just make-believe. But you never know, right?
I highly, highly recommend this book to everyone!
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Summary: a true fairy tale with a deeper meaning
Review: Everyone knows the stpry of Ella Enchanted, especially since the movie has come out. But apart from the maigc and the fairies in the book, for me the sense in the book is the "fight" of a girl against obedience. A "virtue" installed in many girls still today, stopping them from doing or saying what they trully think and believe in. I recommend this book as good discussion material for a girl's book club to make reader's (girls) aware of this "virtue", which is not one anymore. Today, there is obedience in a negative way and obedience in being polite and well behaved and especially girls need to learn about that fine line between those two.
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