Wonderful, Dream-like, Get ready to be pulled in! | Ella Enchanted

Ella Enchanted--Audiobook Review | Ella Enchanted | Gail Carson Levine

books:


	• Ella Enchanted Gail Carson Levine HarperCollins, 1997 - 240 pages average customer review:based on 1162 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Ella Enchanted: A true fairy tale

The fact that 12 years after reading this book at the age of 9, I have recently named my new dog Ella should be an indication as to how much I adored this book as a child. When I was a fourth grader, I read this book three times I loved it so much, and it holds a special place in my heart the same way reading Jane Eyre did when I was 18. It was *the* childhood novel that inspired me to become an avid historical romance reader (Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters) today. I highly recommend this book to any little girl who is even remotely interested in fairies, princesses, classic fairy tales, or the Renaissance Festival :D Its story flowed naturally, and was entirely appropriate for my reading level at that time. I was completely absorbed in the characters and the world of "Frell" that Gail Carson Levine created, and my imagination was along for the ride and could vividly picture each description and fantasy she incorporated. Not to mention, it had an excellent moral lesson on a traditional simplistic fairy tale; the Cinderella of this story isn't waiting to be rescued, she refuses to marry the prince in order to save *his* life and has to find the power and strength within herself to overcome her greatest obstacle.

As an aside in comment to the film, I know Gail Carson Levine liked it, but when I saw it I was horrified. It was nothing like how I imagined Ella Enchanted, far too modern and corny. When I saw Ever After as a child, a year after reading Ella Enchanted it was much more the beauty and loveliness that I imagined should be Ella Enchanted. So if you have a little girl reading Ella Enchanted, let her watch Ever After! I'm sure she would enjoy it.

Also, if you can, I would get the original cover art of the novel. It is the version I still have, and I would stare at the little castle in the background for hours imagining that world. The illustration completely influenced how I imagined the novel, and the newer ones don't compare. (Original cover is a painting/drawing of girl in a green dress, castle shown through the window, with the Newberry Honor award)

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Wonderful, Dream-like, Get ready to be pulled in!

This book is much more than just a Cinderella retelling.Unlike the adapted movie, this is something that is classical yet with a quirky twist.
Ella, the main character, has a blessing bestowed by the fairy Lucinda. The blessing is the wonderful gift of obedience. When her mother dies, her father sends her to finishing school with two horrid girls. Ella's father ends up marring the two girl's mother, making them Ella's stepsister. Mum-Olga,Ella's stepmother, makes her work. Ella sneaks to the three balls held by the royal family. Ella has been friends with the prince.( That's a big difference) And, of course, you know the last phrase.....
.....And they all live happily ever after. And they do!This book is wonderful. I have no other way of describing it. I have read it 9 times!

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Ella Enchanted--Audiobook Review

Overall: B for Adults/A+ for young adults

Geared towards young readers, this is a wonderful reinvention of Cinderella--complete with glass slippers, fairy godmothers and a prince. That being said, Ella is far from the meek Cinderella. At birth, she is afflicted with a curse that keeps her constantly obedient to anyone's demands. Despite this, she manages to fight ogres, befriend a prince and keep her evil stepsisters at bay. I loved that Ella is an updated role model for young girls; she presents an independent personality and the ending emphasizes how believing in and being yourself is incredibly valuable.

This was a quick read (GoodReads says 240 pages in paperback) and it felt like the proper length. Since the intended audience is fairly young (I'd say 9-12 though GoodReads puts it at 9-14), the text is uncomplicated but not too simplistic.

Audiobook Details:

The reader, Eden Riegel, sounds quite young but does an above average job with the reading. She does voice intonation, though the different voices are not as clearly identifiable as other readers and some even sound quite similar to each other. The reading contains some background music in parts and this is probably my least favorite feature since it reminded me of midi music from the mid-90's. The first few times the music played, I kept looking around the room to see if one of my kids' toys was going off.

Run time--5 hours, 34 minutes

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Different cover than shown

I really like this book, and encourage everyone to read it. It is much better than the movie that stemmed from it. As a result of liking the book more than the movie I searched for a book with the older cover. I ordered from this person for that reason. I was very disappointed when I found it had the movie cover instead. Other than that misleading fact the service was great.

Ella enchanted - me!

She really did. This is one of my absolute favorite books. I first read it as a kid when it came out, and fell in love, completely and totally. Re-reading it today brought back so many memories. I felt an even deeper appreciation for the depth of the character development and plot twists. This is definitely one of my top ten recommended books. However, there is one nagging plot gap that's bothering me today: why doesn't Ella have someone order her not to follow anymore orders? I know the story wouldn't exist if if were that easy, but I just felt that should have been addressed somewhere. Other than that, this is the perfect childhood book that can be re-read for years to come.

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How can a fairy's
blessing be such a curse?

At her birth, Ella of Frell was the unfortunate recipient of a foolish fairy's gift--the "gift' of obedience. Ella must obey any order given to her, whether it's hopping on one foot for a day and a half, or chopping off her own head! But strong-willed Ella does not tamely accept her fate. Against a bold backdrop of princes, ogres, giants, wicked stepsisters, and fairy godmothers, Ella goes on a quest to break the curse--once and for all.

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.

00 Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book Award, 99-00 Black-Eyed Susan Award (Gr 6-9 Cat), 00 CA Young Reader Medal (Mid. School/Jr. High Cat.), 01 Blue Spruce Award Masterlist (YA Cat.), and 00 Indiana Young Hoosier Book Award (Grades 6-8 Cat.)

2000 List of Popular Paperbacks for YA and 00 Judy Lopez Memorial Award Honor Book

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