Ella Enchanted - Gail Carson Levine

Summary: Ella was given a “gift” by a fairy when she was born; the gift of obedience. That’s right, she is doomed to obey any command given to her by anyone, no matter how innocuous it might seem, from “eat your dinner” to “go to bed” to “stand on your head and recite the alphabet backwards,” she must obey. If she doesn’t, she experiences a range of bodily discomforts, from nausea to shaking and sweating. When Ella’s beloved mother dies and she is left with a father who has been largely absent in her life, she wonders how she will ever rid herself of her curse/gift, especially now that she seems to have fallen for the kind, handsome Prince Char, and doesn’t want her curse to put him in danger.  

Where does it come from? Ella Enchanted is, of course, based on the original Cinderella story. But mentioning “the original Cinderella story” opens up a whole new can of worms. Because the story we know as Cinderella goes way back in folktale history and has been retold in hundreds of different forms going back into time periods whose years only have two or three digits. The most recognizable form of the story in modern Western culture is based on the version written by Charles Perrault in 1637. This one contains all the familiar things; pumpkins, glass slippers, step-relatives, and balls that must be abandoned by the stroke of midnight. This is the version Levine is retelling.

What does it retain? Ella Enchanted is a modern retelling (written in 1997) that retains a setting similar to that of Perrault’s and one that we associate with the fairy tale; a setting that includes kings and princes, women in gowns, and fancy balls. Levine also keeps many familiar elements from the original tale; a fairy godmother, a stepmother and stepsisters, a pumpkin coach, and even glass slippers. As far as the major elements of the plot go–the father’s remarriage, the forcing of Ella into household labor, the ball, the loss of the slipper, the romance with the prince–all of those things are present and accounted for. All of these little pieces retained from the original story are like delightful little pings as you read them. It’s always fun to read a new story that has so much in it that one recognizes as old friends. 

What new things does it bring? Levine ramps up the supernatural elements of the fairy tale. Perrault’s version has a fairy godmother and magic, sure, but Levine takes it even further with ogres, centaurs, elves, and trolls. When it comes to the story’s magic, though, there are clearly limits. There’s Big Magic and Little Magic, and responsible fairies know to stay away from the big stuff. Ella’s gift of obedience was clearly some very irresponsible magic. As for updating the story of Cinderella, Ella Enchanted brings some agency to the main character. It’s no secret that Perrault’s (and Disney’s) Cinderella is a bit of a doormat. Her entire personality rests upon her kindness, which persists even when she is being treated like garbage. And of course, her only path to a happy life is through marrying well, a path that her stepmother and step-siblings do their best to deprive her of. Levine’s Ella is strong-willed and opinionated, as well as kind, though she doesn’t bestow her kindness on people who clearly don’t deserve it. In Levine’s story, Ella and the prince, whose name is Char(mont) instead of Charming, have a relationship that develops over time and is based on personalities that mesh and values that align as opposed to whatever it is when a man sees a beautiful mysterious woman in an amazing ball gown, falls in love at first sight, and later can’t recognize her when she’s not wearing that gown and has a little dirt on her face.

Is it worth it? Definitely! Ella Enchanted is a modern classic in middle-grade reads. It’s fun and entertaining and brings plenty of fresh insights to an old tale.

You might like this one if… you like fairy tale retellings, you appreciate children’s literature, or if you yourself are young or love someone young.