''Ella Enchanted'' is a

Newbery Honor Newbery is a surname. People *Chantelle Newbery (born 1977), Australian Olympic diver *David Newbery (born 1943), British economist *Eduardo Newbery (1878–1908), Argentine odontologist and aerostat pilot *Francis Newbery (disambiguation), seve ...

Newbery Medal and Honor Books, 1922-Present
. Association for Library Service to Children. Accessed on June 29, 2010. book written by

Gail Carson Levine Gail Carson Levine (born September 17, 1947) is an American author of young adult books. Her second novel, ''Ella Enchanted'', received a Newbery Honor in 1998.

and

published Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

in 1997. The story is a retelling of ''

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

'' featuring various mythical creatures including

fairies A fairy (also fay, fae, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, English, and French folklore), a form of spirit, o ...

elves An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes "ligh ...

ogre An ogre ( feminine: ogress) is a legendary monster depicted as a large, hideous, man-like being that eats ordinary human beings, especially infants and children. Ogres frequently feature in mythology, folklore, and fiction throughout the wor ...

gnome A gnome is a mythological creature and diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, first introduced by Paracelsus in the 16th century and later adopted by more recent authors including those of modern fantasy literature. Its characte ...

s, and

giants A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore. Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to: Mythology and religion *Giants (Greek mythology) *Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'gi ...

. In 2006, Levine went on to write '' Fairest'', a retelling of the story of

Snow White "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as Ta ...

, set in the same world as ''Ella Enchanted''. In 2018, Levine published ''Ogre Enchanted'', a

prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term " ...

to ''Ella Enchanted''. On April 9, 2004, a movie that is loosely based on the novel was released. It was directed by

Tommy O'Haver Tommy O'Haver (born October 24, 1968, Indianapolis, Indiana) is an American film director and screenwriter. He grew up in Carmel, Indiana, a suburb of Indianapolis. He graduated from Carmel High School and matriculated at Indiana University with ...

and starred

Anne Hathaway Anne Jacqueline Hathaway (born November 12, 1982) is an American actress. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Anne Hathaway, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Awar ...

and

Hugh Dancy Hugh Michael Horace Dancy (born 19 June 1975) is an English actor who rose to prominence for his role as the titular character in the television film adaptation of ''David Copperfield'' (2000) as well as for roles in feature films as Kurt Schmid ...

as Ella and Prince Charmont, respectively. The film received mostly mixed reviews, and was heavily criticized for its changes to the source material and addition of new characters. Levine stated that the film is "so different from the book that it's hard to compare them" and suggested "regarding the movie as a separate creative act".

Summary

When Ella was just a baby, the fairy Lucinda bestowed the gift of obedience on her. When Ella is around fourteen, her mother dies. Her cook Mandy reveals herself to be her Fairy godmother. She is given two gifts by Mandy: a necklace from her mother and a magic book. At her mother's funeral, Ella meets the kingdom's prince, Char, who expresses fondness for her mother. At the wake, she is introduced to Dame Olga and her terrible daughters, Hattie and Olive. Her father, Peter, decides to send her to finishing school with the two mean sisters. Before leaving she visits her favorite places, where she meets Char again and they bond. At school, Hattie eventually discovers that Ella does whatever she is told and uses this for her own gain. She takes Ella's mother's necklace, then deprives Ella of food and orders her to end her friendship with her best friend Areida. Ella cannot stand this and sets out to find Lucinda so that she can reverse the spell. While leaving she discovers Hatties wig and takes it with. She uses the wig to buy food and get directions to her father (Who she saw the location of in her magic book) Ella comes upon the kingdom of Elves, who offer a warm welcome. The next morning, she awakens surrounded by ogres who plan on devouring her. She is given the command not to run away, so she is trapped, and stays up all night practicing Ogrese in hopes of using it on the ogres. It works and she talks them back to sleep, just in time for Char and his soldiers to apprehend them. One of his men is sent to escort Ella. Ella learns that ungrateful recipients of Lucinda's gifts often end up as squirrels and decides to use an alias when talking to her. Ella tells her she desires more mettle for she is too obedient, but Lucinda tells Ella to be happy and Ella is forced to feel happy because of her 'gift.' Ella learns from her father that he's lost everything so he must marry Dame Olga. At the wedding, Lucinda gifts the bride and groom eternal love. On the ride to Olga's house, Peter reveals that he's broke. Olga is livid, but due to Lucinda's gift, she is unable to stay angry at him. Instead she begins to transfer all of her hatred to Ella. Char comes to visit Ella but Hattie orders her to stay in her room. This continues until Char leaves for his trip. They start communicating via letters, which Ella has him address to Mandy so as not to arouse suspicion from her new step-family. When Peter leaves for work, Hattie reveals Ella's curse and Olga makes Ella work as a servant in the house. After months of communicating with each other, Ella and Char fall in love and Char wishes for her to be his queen. Ella realizes her curse could be very dangerous for him since he will one day be king. She decides they could never be together and writes a letter addressed from Hattie to mislead him into thinking she has run off with a rich earl. Mandy hates to see Ella so hurt and calls upon Lucinda to tell her to undo the gift of obedience in exchange for transforming her into a squirrel for three months. During the next six months, Ella continues to endure the torment of her step-family. She learns that Char will be returning soon and three royal balls will be held. Lucinda comes back feeling horribly for Ella but is not able to lift the spell. Lucinda tells her she can only do it herself, but Lucinda will help. When Prince Char returns from his travels, Ella goes to the balls in disguise, with the help of Mandy and Lucinda. At the first ball, she dances with Char, who still wants to be with Ella after a chance meeting with Areida made him question the letter he received. On the third night, he introduces her to his parents and dances only with her. Hattie is jealous and unmasks Ella, causing her to flee and lose one of her glass slippers. Char finds the slipper and goes to her home. He asks her to tell him if she loves him, which she does. He then tells her to marry him and she accepts. Hattie orders her not to but Olga realizes with her curse and being queen, they could have anything, and demands she marry Char. Ella finds the strength to refuse her command, thus breaking Lucinda’s spell. Now Ella is able to marry Char on her own accord. Ella and Areida rekindle their friendship. Mandy becomes the castle cook and fairy godmother to Char and Ella's future children. Ella and Char live happily ever after.

Reception

In 2012 it was ranked number 85 on a list of the top 100 children's novels published by ''

School Library Journal ''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, with ...

''.

References

External links

*
Gail Carson Levine's
official website {{Cinderella (Fairy tale) 1997 American novels 1997 fantasy novels American children's novels American fantasy novels adapted into films Fiction about curses Novels about fairies and sprites Novels about nobility Novels about royalty HarperCollins books Books about magic Newbery Honor-winning works Novels based on fairy tales Works based on Cinderella Novels set in fictional countries 1997 children's books