Ella Enchanted

Ella Enchanted

By Gail Carson Levine

Grades 3-5

MODERN FANTASY

NOVEL

In this book Ella, the main character, was born with the gift of obedience by a fairy Lucinda. Ella has to obey any order that is given to her. At the age of 15 Ella's mother passed away and her father sends her to finish up school with the two awful daughters of Dame Olga (Hattie and Olive). Hattie comes to realize that Ella always obeys sand takes advantage of her but luckily Ella had a friend Areida who helps her through it. Ella wants the curse of obedience to be lifted so she goes in hope to find Lucinda at the wedding but is kidnapped along the way by ogres and she is able to hypnotize them to sleep and was saved by Char and his knights. Ella found Lucinda but she refused to get rid of the curse but for Ella she was lucky because her fairy god-mother Mandy saw it as another order and then reversed it. Ella then returns to her father and decides to marry Dame Olga in order to pay off his debts because he never found a rich husband for Ella. Ella then runs into Prince Char once again and he leaves but they write to each other a lot. Dame Olga makes Ella a slave in her own house after Ella's father leaves for business. Throughout all of this occurring Ella falls in love with Char and he wants to marry but she knew with her curse she would put him and the country in danger because she could even be ordered to kill him and she would because she is under the curse. Ella tricked him into believing she was with another man. She was so distressed and missed him so much and decided to go to the royal ball to see him under a disguise. On the third night of the ball Hattie became jealous and takes off Ella's mask and Ella runs and loses her slipper along the way. She tries to run away but Char found her and orders her to marry him. She fought the battle trying to stay strong against the order and said no to him. She realized after this she had broken the curse and decides to marry him. This book is great and can be used in different ways within the classroom. I would once again use it and compare and contrast it with the classic Cinderella and may even have the students compare and contrast it with Bigfoot Cinderella.