Ella Enchanted (Ella Enchanted #1)

Re-read for class. Still one of my all-time favorites. Should I ever have children, this is the first Cinderella story I want them to hear. 4/5

A different take on Cinderella, a bit different from the other books I've read... but I totally loved it!! Its got humor, romance, and adventure worth rereading over and over again.

I just didn't like it as much as the movie. I felt it was also written poorly.

I haven't read this in I don't know how many years, but it holds up! I've been in a mini-slump recently but was able to slam through this old favorite. There were parts where I actually found myself laughing out loud. Ella's humor is so great. Really my only complaint is that Ella is canonically unable to save herself but can save... a dude she's in love with. Not my favorite trope, and not my favorite message to send (that a man is more important than you, even though I'm sure it wasn't intended to come across that way).

Better than I remember. Would recommend the story to nine to fourteen.

First reread. Levine is a very skillful and creative writer, I enjoyed how she incorporated fictional languages and wrote words differently based certain events/orders Ella was given. Didn't realize this was a Cinderella retelling until she found the slippers, and I really wish it wasn't because Ella's curse would have been a wonderful idea on its own. I personally didn't enjoy the parts that were just like the original story, (there weren't too many of those until the end, the book is very unique) but other than that Ella Enchanted is a wonderful book. /spoiler>

This book is amazing! I recommend it to everyone!

You know how there are those children's books that one is never too old to read?

Well, sadly, this was not one of them. I was a nice little read and I am sure had I read it in my early teens I would've loved it. But I didn't back then and the truth is I had a rather mediocre time reading it right now.

This was a very enjoyable read and I think a very clever and interesting retelling of cinderella. I like the very mild fantasy that mixes well with weight of her situation and how it feel realistic with a hint of wonder without it being overly ~whimsical~! It really got me interested in what else the author has done. There is also a movie??! So, that's my next watch!

The audiobook was also good with child/child like voices without them being annoying to listen too! Well done!

Comfort reread. This is one of the very, very rare books with a movie adaptation that I actually like both the book and the movie, despite heavy changes made to the movie. The book is a slower pace, which makes for a great comfort read, and it's got so many sweet little moments.

I'm going to start this by saying that I LOVED Gail Carson Levine's books growing up (The Princess Test, Cinderellis and the Glass Hill, The Wish, Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep....). That being said, I think I would have liked this book a lot better if I'd read it in middle school than as an adult.

At its bare bones, this is a story about girl empowerment. Ella takes the reins on her own life and does everything she can to make her life go in the way that she sees fit.

I enjoyed this retelling of Cinderella. I read Cinder last year, and I'm almost amazed by how different they are. I like how Ella was able to break the curse herself at the end and didn't rely on “true love's kiss” like so many Disney/Disney-esque stories.

Finally ticked this one off the TBR list.

This seems to be one of those Young Adult books that doesn't really work once you are no longer young. A major pet peeve: the use of exotic languages was overdone; instead of writing things in Gnomic or Elvish and then translating, it would have been a much easier read if it was just “XXXXXXX” Slannen said in Elvish. I had to do some heavy skimming to make it through the book, and even with that it felt like a waste of time.

I've read and re-read this book so many times over the years, and it's still one of my favorites.

I totally didn't realize what this was based on until the last 30 or so pages. I think that made it more enjoyable. I really liked this book. Ella has a healthy dose of what the Finnish call sisu!

A great retelling of the Cinderella story. Ella is a strong, relatable character. I like to revisit the story every once-in-awhile.

I loved this book as a child and re-read it so many times my copy fell apart.

At Ella's birth, a fairy begifts her with the ability to always obey. It turns out to be more of a curse than a gift, however, when Ella's friends learn of her compliance and use it to make Ella their servant.