science fiction

Ella Enchanted - Gail Carson Levine Book Review

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Review Summary
Ella is a girl with a very unusual gift, the gift of obedience, given to her by the fairy Lucinda at her birth. Ella must do whatever she is told which becomes very difficult when she is shipped off to Finishing School with her evil step sisters. This is where Hattie gets Ella to be her slave. Ella soon befriends Char, prince of the kingdom, and finds herself falling in love. Strong and determined Ella goes out to find Lucinda, the fairy, so Lucinda can break the curse. Will Ella break the curse of always being obedient?
Courtney Lang, Resident Scholar

When she was born, a fairy gave Ella the "gift" of always doing what others told her to do. Throughout her life, Ella tried to compensate by either delaying following orders or by following them in a way that the person giving the orders never intended. Ella's life isn't wonderful, but she learns to live with her curse. Unfortunately, a horrible girl discovers Ella's curse and uses it against her. What is even worse is that, after her mother dies, her father marries the equally horrible mother of that girl. Ella's treatment at the hands of that girl and her family makes her life unbearable. If Ella wishes to marry Prince Char, who she has come to love, without fearing that her curse will be used against him, she must find the strength inside herself that will allow her to overcome her curse.
Melissa Cookson, Resident Scholar

Ella was cursed with obedience at birth by a foolish fairy named Lucinda. When Ella is six years old, her mother dies. Before that, her mother orders her never to tell anyone about the curse. The only one who know is Mandy, the cook and friend of Ella and her mother. At her mother's funeral, Ella meets Char, a prince who had admired her mother. Ella's father is a merchant who doesn't see Ella much.   Ella's father sees how clumsy Ella is, and orders her off to finishing school with Dame Olga's two mean daughters, Hattie and Olive. Hattie is clever, and figures out that Ella must do whatever she is told.   Ella wants to be free from the curse, and so she escapes finishing school once she hears of a giant's wedding which she thinks Lucinda will attend. She encounters elves and ogres on the way, and is saved by Prince Char. When she arrives at the wedding, she tries to get Lucinda to take the curse back. Lucinda refuses, so Ella has to find her own way of lifting the curse before she loses someone she loves.   
Phoenix Rye, Resident Scholar

Ella Enchanted is a smart and funny retelling of the clasic Cinderella fairytale by author Gail Carson Levine. Ella is a spirited and headstrong young woman. As a baby, she was cursed with obedience by a little-thinking faerie. Her mother has recently passed away and to get out of debt her father plans to marry her to the richest suitor. He gets married to Dame Olga and sends Ella off to finishing school with her two new stepsisters. Ella runs away because Hattie has discovered the secret of her curse. She meets many different races of people and is aided with her talent for languages. She falls in love with Prince Char. She is forced to become a servant to her stepfamily. She wants to marry Char but cannot because of the curse. Ella attends many masked balls to see the prince. She must break the spell in order to marry Char.
Joanna , Resident Scholar

A girl named Ella has a spell cast on her. She must obey every command. She travels over great obsticals, and in the process saves herself, and the love of her life!
Tiff, Resident Scholar

Poor Ella. When the foolish fairy Lucinda gave her a christening gift, it was a most unwelcome one - obedience. Complete and total obedience. Ella has to do whatever she is told. That's bad enough, but when Ella's mother dies and her father remarries an awful women with two awful daughters, Ella's life becomes downright intolerable. She meets Prince Charmont and they fall in love - but how can she be a Princess if she has to obey every command? Eventually, she runs away to try to find a cure for her awful obedience; she meets Lucinda, but cannot convince her to take her gift back. Will Ella ever manage to get rid of her curse? Ella Enchanted is one of the best Cinderella-retellings, a great modern take on an old fairytale.
Ivy, Resident Scholar

Ella is enchanted and that is just the begining of her problems. She has the gift of obedience, according to Lucinda, the fairy- more like the curse of obedience. Ella falls in love with the Prince of Frell and knows she can't marry the prince because would be endangering the knigdom and her beloved Char. This is a differen remake of Cinderella- about a girl who does whats best even though she has to endure finishing school, her evil step sisters AND father, and the knowledge of having to break up with with Char without him knowing about the spell. This is NOT just a sappy love story, though- Its an excellent book.
TheCrazyTwin, Resident Scholar


Detailed literary breakdown of Ella Enchanted
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Plot

Composition of Book
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 50%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 20%




FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - fantasy world/fantasy past
Coming of age Yes
Youngster becomes - an adult (general)
Inner Struggle Yes
Plotlet: - fighting a personal illness/handicap
Is this an adult or child's book? - Kid's book (ages 7-14)
Family relations Yes

Main Character
Identity: - Female
Profession/status: - unemployed
Age: - a teen
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Female
How sensitive is this character? - mean, arrogant
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - average physique

Setting
Earth setting: - during "Tolkien" (fairytime) times
Takes place on Earth? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - no torture/death
How much dialogue? - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog - significantly more descript than dialog
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