Ella Enchanted [Paperback]

This book is extremely good!! I'm not one for magic, and fantasy, but this is a must read!! It's a bit different from the movie. Although it's Ella who has a curse, it's like the book puts a curse on you!! You can't put the book down until you've finished. I'm still reading it, but it's already my favourtie book. You HAVE to read this, even if you aren't a fantasy reader!! There is much more magic, Elfian, Ogrese, and Gnomish language. Mystical creatures. This book is so enchanting. Do yourself a favour, and read this today. This blows grat books, like Lily's Crossing, and Kira-Kira away!

I first read this book when I was in 5th grade and I am now in 11th grade and I still read this book. I have read it so many times that I lost count. Ella Enchanted is a story of a girl who is given the curse of obedience and struggles to overcome the spell that dictates everything she does. She must do every thing that anyone asks. It is a lot like Cinderella but at the same time so different and so much better. This book is so wonderful and I recommend it to anyone who loves a good adventure story with a dash of romance.

Okay, one thing here: I like literature. I'm an avid reader, and believe me, I've read quite a number of books. From the gigantic (Decameron, Gormenghast series) to the tiny (Heart of Darkness, the fabulous Catcher in the Rye), I try to keep an open mind and appreciate the meaning in each story, regardless if I love or loathe it. Ella Enchanted is the only book to this date (maybe with the exception of the Princess Bride, and Wuthering Heights if I'm in a heavy mood ^^) I can endure for a fourth, fifth; a sixth read. I could see younger fans liking it, but even at eighteen, the wit and substance still astounds me, as I'm sure it's the same for older fans too; I made my mom read the first chapter, and she was highly amused. The prince is no longer a 'light at the end of the tunnel' figure for all her hard work, but he's there all through the tale, charming as his name suggests (Prince Char) because he's real: the things he says and does, his honesty and good nature make the reader realize that it's not always the villains who have personality, it's just that the good ones rarely get to show their side. Ella's stepfamily is probably the main comic relief, with one sister being a naive dunce (with abhorrent spelling skills), one petty and jealous in a way that seems to make you feel you know someone like her, and a stepmother dripping in pomp and luxury. All three you love to hate almost as much as you love to laugh at. Ella, finally, is a heroine worthy of basing such a book on. At fifteen she's wise, witty, clever, and not above biting back when she can get a bit of revenge here and there. She doesn't feel sorry for herself; she only focuses on things important to her through any turmoil she may have, and even when she has the classic girlhood dream in the palm of her hands, she knows what's for the best (and no, I'm not giving away anything here :). I rarely connect with the main characters in things, but Ella is a special exception. How we should all be a bit like her. Through her enigmatic personality you can't help--like some in the book--to fall straight in love. I suspect Ella Enchanted will always make me laugh when I need it, and because this book will keep me young and smiling, it's my favorite. Highly, highly highly recommended.