I LOVE Ella Enchanted. Other than the American Girl books, it was the favorite book of my childhood. When I was home sick in elementary school, this is the book I made mom and dad read to me. When I wanted to find a costume for Halloween, I wanted to be Ella. When I grew up and got married, I wanted it to be to Prince Char. When Laura was making me crazy, I called her Hattie. When I wanted a book to make me happy and cheer me up, I reread Ella Enchanted.
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I had the same copy of Ella Enchanted since it was first published in paperback for the school market in 1998 when I was 8 and in 3rd grade and it finally suffered its last spine crease this summer and I was forced to buy a new copy. So I bought two! One for me and one to read to Ben’s little sister because I’ll be darned if she misses out on Gail Carson Levine’s literary greatness! If you are looking for an excellent book for the upper elementary school age girl in your life, look no further than Ella! And please, if you haven’t already, don’t watch the movie. ( )

Entertaining and funny at times, but in the end it was just ok. It has some fat phobia that seems to be common in old middle grade books for some reason. ( )

Be warned: This book is very different from the movie. Had many students "read" the book and then try to test on it and failed because they answered based on what they saw in the movie. Still a great read, though. I like the way the author takes old fairy tales and re-makes them. ( )

A Cinderella retelling in which Cinderella, Ella, is enchanted early in her life by a foolish fairy that she must be obedient. The smallest instruction must be followed by Ella. So by adolescence, she has figured out how to turn those requests back to the person who asked. Things change when she goes to finishing school with her step-sisters and she meets Prince Charmont who is besotted with her. She knows it isn't a good idea, but she decides to see him one last time at the ball. The story is then quite familiar to the classic fairy tale and Ella manages to break the curse at last!

For a week when I was eleven maybe, when adults would ask me what my favorite book was, I'd proudly announce, "Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine." I liked the author's name the most. I'd rattle on about the summary, not caring if the adult listened. Even back then, I recognized it as a Cinderella remake. When I was fifteen, I was four years into a semi-professional musical theater career that would last another four years until I aged out. A friend of mine had written a play at nineteen, and the theater was backing it. I, along with seven teen girls, was cast as a faery. We noticed right off that the play was "Ella Enchanted" fanfiction. It was super different than the book, but Lucinda the faery had given the human princess the gift-curse of obedience because a younger faery barged in and ruined the ceremony. It's complicated. So anyway, clearly fanfiction, but one that focused heavily on the faeries, even had a faery villain, the humans were just kinda there, and the curse was lifted because the younger faery gave up her immortality for a human man. As an adult, to that I say "...". As a teen, I thought it was a super-cool story, especially since they remained happily married until their deaths. Fast forward fifteen years, and it was against such background that I reread the original book.

I still think this was a clever Cinderella remake. Before I checked this book out from the library, I walked toward a table with new books, thinking, "I have to stop seeing (certain family dynamics) everywhere. I have to stop judging books clearly intended for children against my thoughts as an adult. I need to acknowledge fluff is fluff, and read the fluff to lighten up a little." This book fit all of that quite neatly, and I laughed. It's cute. Mandy was my favorite character. I was delighted that Ella was quite the rebel considering her time, her position, and her curse. I found her clever and resourceful. This book is squarely middle grade, with no real deep messages, which I think is good. "The Hunger Games," in comparison, is YA but easily accessible and interesting to adults, and is quite dark. That's what I mean. I guess one deep message from the book could easily be, 'Be careful what you wish for," but not even that. Reversed, since people are so upset to receive a gift-curse from Lucinda. "Find your way around the curse," I guess, which several of the gift-cursed people did. The ending line was cheesy but final, and I was happy. ( )