Ella Enchanted (Ella Enchanted, #1) in Around the Year in 52 Books

Dec 30, 2008 Beth F rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, 2009, young-adult, tnbbc-summer-2009

I saw the movie that was inspired by this book and thought it was sort of cute. Unfortunately the book was sort of stupid.

If I were 11 I'd probably have loved it. But since I'm not, I didn't. I don't think this book has universal appeal to younger and older readers. ...more

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Oct 24, 2012 Cora rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, kindle, young-adult, fairy-tales, juvenile, magic, award-winner, boarding-school, bullying, lost-in-fire

Ella Enchanted is a delightful fairy tale inspired by Cinderella. When Ella is born, a fairy bestows upon her the gift of obedience. Ella must obey any command that is given to her. It is soon evident that this gift is a curse that could be used against Ella and those she loves. Ella tries to resist the spell, but in the end she always has to obey. This was a fun book to read. It is a fairy tale with a strong heroine that stands up for herself despite the hardships she endures under her curse. I ...more

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May 14, 2011 Maggie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, childrens, folklore-mythology, coming-of-age, british

This is a retelling of Cinderella with a twist - Ella, the protagonist, was given the gift of obedience by the foolish fairy Lucinda at birth, but the gift turns into a curse as Ella can be forced to do bad things. The story is also more interestimg than Cinderella, with fairies, ogres, gnomes and elves, as well as descriptions of Ella's early life, her parents and her fairy godmother, the cook Mandy who refuses to use her powers to do more than cook good Tonic.

This retelling is more realistic a ...more

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