This was a re-read for me. I probably first read it in 1999, since I routinely read the Newbery Medal and Honor books every year. It immediately became one of my all-time favorite books. A couple days ago I was reminded of it. On looking it up I found that Amazon lists it as the first book in a series of four (not recognized by Goodreads). So I decided to read them all, and to begin with a re-read of Ella Enchanted.
I was delighted to find that it is as good as I remember. (By the way, do not allow the dreadful Anne Hathaway movie nominally based on this book to influence you. It is, in every important way, unrelated.) Ella Enchanted is the retelling of Cinderella that you didn't know you needed. Fairy tales, in their original versions, typically don't make a lot of sense. (The original of Cinderella is the Grimm Brothers's extraordinarily cruel and graphic Aschenputtel.) We expect fairy tales to be somewhat nonsensical moral lessons. Gail Carson Levine writes versions of fairy tales in which the weird stuff that happens makes sense.
Ella begins a bit slowly. Levine introduces us carefully to Ella and her curse, to her friend the cook Mandy, and to the Prince. The prince's name is Charmant, which is of course French for "Charming" . And he is -- charming, I mean. It is unfortunate that the word charming has been spoiled by its recent history, so that it is almost impossible to use it unironically as a simple compliment any more. So let me just say that Char (as he is called) is a nice guy that everyone likes, and who deserves to be liked. Ella is much more than this -- she is the coruscating spark upon whom the story is built. I will not declare that YOU will fall in love with her, but I certainly did. Levine describes how Ella and Char fall in love. That too is unironically charming, and also completely natural and believable. It reminded me of this passage in Persuasion:
"[Wentworth] was, at that time, a remarkably fine young man, with a great deal of intelligence, spirit, and brilliancy; and Anne an extremely pretty girl, with gentleness, modesty, taste, and feeling. Half the sum of attraction, on either side, might have been enough, ...; but the encounter of such lavish recommendations could not fail. They were gradually acquainted, and when acquainted, rapidly and deeply in love."
The only inaccuracy there is that one would not choose the words "an extremely pretty girl, with gentleness, modesty, taste, and feeling" describe a ball of fire like Ella .
Levine's careful preparation pays off when Ella's adventures begin, because we understand her and her difficulties. The story is engaging and delightful. And if Levine's goal was to write a version of Cinderella that makes sense, she succeeded. I am not saying that Ella's actions are always sensible. She is a 16-year-old girl in love. For her to be coldly dispassionate and rational in her every act would be unnatural. But she is always a real, believable girl.
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Popular Highlights in this book
By the way, you are a month older than the last time I saw you. Are you still too young to marry?Highlighted by 761 Kindle readers- Char was too precious to hurt, too precious to lose, too precious to betray, too precious to marry, too precious to kill, too precious to obey.Highlighted by 747 Kindle readers
- I like to be surprised, but if I could supply your answers with confidence, I might miss you less.Highlighted by 602 Kindle readers
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Reviews with images
UPDATED Great book but it arrived damaged
Update: I went to return the damaged book and not only did I receive a new copy the next day, I didn’t even have to return the damaged copy. The book still arrived in bag packaging, but it wasn’t damaged this time. The bag packaging is still a concern tho because books can be easily damaged in transit. Wonderful customer service. I’ve changed my rating from a 2 to a 4.Old review: I absolutely loved this book as a kid so I bought it for my niece’s birthday. It arrived in a bag-type package, not a box, and so when I received it it had been damaged. The cover is bent and folded and some pages inside are warped and bent. I’m very frustrated about this.The book itself is great though, so if that’s why you’re looking at reviews then go ahead and buy the book for your kid. But maybe buy it from an actual book store in-person so you don’t risk getting a damaged copy.
Top reviews from other countries
miki
This is the first Newbery Book my kid loves
Reviewed in Singapore on October 29, 2022