
As a beloved friend tells her, “You rescued yourself when you rescued the prince.” As finely designed as a tapestry, Ella’s story both neatly incorporates elements of the original tale and mightily expands them, not only with the myriad consequences of the curse but also with a heroine so spirited that she wins readers’ hearts. In making this ultimate sacrifice, she breaks the curse. Ella, her mother, and her cook Mandy (Ellas fairy god-mother) are the only ones who know about the spell of obedience put on Ella at her birth by Lucinda, a crazy fairy. She battles both ogres and wicked stepsisters, makes friends and loses them, and must deny her love for her prince, Charmant, to save his life and his realm. After her mother dies, and her covetous, caustic father leaves on a trading trip, Ella’s world is turned upside down. But the blessing is a horror for Ella, who must literally do what everyone tells her, from sweeping the floor to giving up a beloved heirloom necklace. This means she literally has to follow every command. Instead, she’s under an obedience curse that the fairy Lucinda gave her at birth. Ella doesn’t do all that housework for her stepfamily because of her selfless heart. Ella is blessed by a fairy at birth with the gift of obedience. Gail Carson Levines first book for children, Ella Enchanted, was a Newbery Honor Book. The book is a retelling of the well-known Cinderella fairytale, but with some magical twists. Now room must be made for Levine’s superbly plotted and thoroughly enjoyable retelling of the Cinderella story.


For how can she truly belong to herself if she knows that at any time, anyone can order her to hop on one foot, cut off her hand, or betray her kingdom-and she'll have to obey?Īgainst a bold tapestry of princes, ogres, giants, wicked stepsisters, and fairy godmothers, Ella's spirited account of her quest to break the curse is a funny, poignant, and enchanting tale about an unforgettable heroine who is determined to be herself.The canon of retold fairy tales encompasses some distinguished titles, among them, Robin McKinley’s Beauty (1978) and Donna J.

So begins this richly entertaining story of Ella of Frell, who wants nothing more than to be free of Lucinda's gift and feel that she belongs to herself. Shaking her head sympathetically at Mother, the fairy touched my nose. When I cried inconsolably through my first hour of life, my tears were her inspiration. That fool of a fairy Lucinda did not intend to lay a curse on me.
