"Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine

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Read: 4/18/09

4/5 stars

First book that I read in Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-thon. In this retelling of the Cinderella story, Ella turns out to be a girl uncommonly cursed with unstinting obedience. Given an order, Ella must see it through or she goes through physical distress--palpitations, fainting, perhaps even leading to death.

But this doesn't mean that Ella actually enjoys following orders. Inasmuch as she can, she defies them. For instance, when ordered to let go of something, she does so making sure that it breaks or is damaged. Not because Ella is an evil girl. Simply because she finds a need to assert her free will, within the confines of her curse. And for me, this is the whole charm of the book. How Ella, seemingly confined to following what others tell her, actually finds a way to be herself.

We all know how the story ends, but this doesn't preclude the fact that the actual reading is enjoyable. Here, we see that the love between Ella and her Prince Charming (funnily named Char), is no vapid romance. There's a history and depth to it. There's also more roundness to Ella's father's character, and an interesting notion why he chooses to distance himself from the story.

I haven't seen the movie and friends don't recommend it anyways. However, I do recommend the reading of this book, provided you're into young adult literature or even to mild deconstructions of fairy tales (which, to me, are always interesting). It's short, intelligent, and as promised, thoroughly enchanting.

Comments

Blodeuedd said…
I did love the movie :D
April 29, 2009 at 8:52 PM
fantaghiro23 said…
Hi, Blodeuedd! In that case, I will watch it.:)
April 29, 2009 at 9:24 PM
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