This book, in case you live under a rock that prevents you from hearing about great middle-grade adventure retellings of fairytales with feisty female protagonists, is a Cinderella retelling wherein Cinderella (just Ella tho) has been cursed with obedience. THEY’RE BOTH GOOD IF YOU LOOK AT THEM SEPARATELY. But uh…(whispers) I guess that’s kind of why/how I like them both? They’re two totally different stories, essentially. It has a reputation for being among the worst book-to-film adaptations, and that is, guess what, totally warranted. I have a kind of complicated relationship with the movie. I still have my brand to look out for, regardless of target audiences.) (I feel like I shouldn’t say “goddamn” in a review of a children’s book, but also I am still me. Have I mentioned I love middle grade? Because hey, guess what, I absolutely goddamn love middle grade. Ella Enchanted has won many well-deserved awards, including a Newbery Honor. Her relationship with the prince is balanced and based on humor and mutual respect in fact, it is she who ultimately rescues him. Ella is bound by obedience against her will, and takes matters in her own hands with ambition and verve. Gail Carson Levine's examination of traditional female roles in fairy tales takes some satisfying twists and deviations from the original. Yes, there is a pumpkin coach, a glass slipper, and a happily ever after, but this is the most remarkable, delightful, and profound version of Cinderella you'll ever read.

But her intelligence and saucy nature keep her in good stead as she sets out on a quest for freedom and self-discovery as she tries to track down Lucinda to undo the curse, fending off ogres, befriending elves, and falling in love with a prince along the way. Or perhaps I was that way naturally.' When her beloved mother dies, leaving her in the care of a mostly absent and avaricious father, and later, a loathsome stepmother and two treacherous stepsisters, Ella's life and well-being seem to be in grave peril.

Another girl might have been cowed by this affliction, but not feisty Ella: 'Instead of making me docile, Lucinda's curse made a rebel of me. Anything anyone tells her to do, Ella must obey. At birth, Ella is inadvertently cursed by an imprudent young fairy named Lucinda, who bestows on her the 'gift' of obedience.

Ella enchanted magic book