Helpful Score: 6
More adult and reality-driven than Ella Enchanted, Just Ella is an interesting look at the "happily-ever-after" ending of the original fairy tale. Ella Brown in this story is fleshed out to become a realistic heroine forced to fit into the fragile and uncomfortable glass slippers of a princess. She shows herself to be resourceful and clever; however, for some reason, I never liked her as much as Ella of Frell from Ella Enchanted. Haddix, while very cleverly explaining the matters of the glass slippers and dress (think Ever After for the dress), never develops the characters enough to make them anything more than sketches of potential never fully realized. And I agree with a previous reviewer that the romance seemed a little predictable. (One of two eligible male characters in the book, the other of which is the insipid prince.) An interesting undercurrent in Just Ella was the true meaning of True Love, often mentioned so flippantly in fairy tales.
Just Ella didn't quite satisfy me-- it was neither as charming as Ella Enchanted, nor as psychologically intense as Donna Jo Napoli's retellings. What it did provide was an often ironic, imaginative and creatively rewritten Cinderella that was a definite departure from the usual fairy tale. For another Cinderella retelling, I highly recommend Silver Woven in my Hair, in which magic is inherent, though not implicitly stated. If you liked the court setting, The Crown and Court Duet by Sherwood Smith provides a more realistic (and less mocking) description of court life.
Just Ella didn't quite satisfy me-- it was neither as charming as Ella Enchanted, nor as psychologically intense as Donna Jo Napoli's retellings. What it did provide was an often ironic, imaginative and creatively rewritten Cinderella that was a definite departure from the usual fairy tale. For another Cinderella retelling, I highly recommend Silver Woven in my Hair, in which magic is inherent, though not implicitly stated. If you liked the court setting, The Crown and Court Duet by Sherwood Smith provides a more realistic (and less mocking) description of court life.
Helpful Score: 5
"Just Ella" is an excellent twist of the well-known fairy tale, Cinderella. In the story, the heroine comes to realize that she is not suited for life in the castle, and that she doesn't want to marry the Prince after all. However, it turns out to be much harder than she expected to break the engagement.
All in all, it's a story about one girl's self-reliance and individualism.
All in all, it's a story about one girl's self-reliance and individualism.
Helpful Score: 4
A comforting read, but not terribly imaginative, as this kind of retelling and modernization has been done before. As a matter of fact, the author seems to have taken the basis for her story from other works, or why else would Ella's father have been a book seller? It seems to me that the one distinguishing characteristic of Cinderella in all the variations I've read is her love of books and her father's love of books. Can't anybody think of something new?
Helpful Score: 3
A very satisfying look at what happens to Cinderella after the wins the Prince.
Helpful Score: 3
A cinderella story with a twist. good read for 11-14 year olds.
Helpful Score: 1
I guess this was written for the "young adult" market of which I TOTALLY am not. But I enjoyed this. A take off on the Cinderella story. Be careful what you ask for because you just might get it? Well, Ella does. She finds a way to get to the ball and impresses the Prince with her beauty. This is a story of people who follow the leader, who are so ensnared with "the ideal" that they don't, or cannot, see reality. A story of a young woman who ends up finding herself and LIVING for herself - and realizing that while everyone needs help sometimes, ultimately, you have to help yourself.
I really enjoyed this book, it gives a new telling of the Cinderella story.
In this interesting re-telling of the famous Cinderella story, Ella realizes after she starts living at the palace that she has entered a boring world where rules govern her every move. She realizes that she doesn't want that sort of life, so she decides she wants out. This proves to be difficult...
I read this book a few years ago, and I thought it was great. I re-read it several times.
I read this book a few years ago, and I thought it was great. I re-read it several times.
Interesting
Wonderful book for girls. A new twist on a classic tale. haven't we all wondered about this?
What happens after the prince fits the glass slipper onto Cinderella's foot? This story follows a beautiful maidenwho is living with her step-mother and step-sisters. Going to the ball she is entranced by the handsome prince who dances only with her. Of course, when she leaves he searches for her and finds her vowing to marry her. Ella finds herself enclosed in the castle learning senseless things to make her a fit wife for the prince. As the princess endures day after day of boring activities she decides to end the engagement with Prince Charm. However, it all goes quite beyond what she expects when she finds herself thrown into the dungeon where she will stay until she changes her mind. Ella is determined to escape not only her prison but also the castle to pursue a life with someone she loves. No one, certainly not Ella, can embaress the Charms by refusing to marry the prince. Can she escape? Can she pursue a meaningful life? Can she find love with an interesting man rather than the boring prince? This is the tale of how she copes with it all.
If you aren't resistant to a retelling of the fairy tale, you'll enjoy this book :-). It is well written and engaging, but nothing at all like the Happily Ever After depicted in the Disney film.
Now that 15 year old Ella has found her prince charming and is waiting to marry him, it's happily ever after, right? WRONG!
In this continuation of the Cinderella story, Ella finds that accepting Prince Charming's proposal ensnares her in a suffocating tangle of palace rules and royal etiquette, so she plans to escape.
Young teens on up or so.
In this continuation of the Cinderella story, Ella finds that accepting Prince Charming's proposal ensnares her in a suffocating tangle of palace rules and royal etiquette, so she plans to escape.
Young teens on up or so.
My SON really enjoyed this book. Not just for girls!
I generally try to review books that don't have many reviews. Consider this an exception to my rule. Why? Because it's so thoroughly forgettable. I read it, thought I had enjoyed it, and then completely forgot how it ended. I mean, it's well written and all that, I give the author props for knowing how to write engaging sentences. But I literally forgot what had happened in the book a couple months after I read it. I was looking through a list of re-imagined fairy tales and saw the title, it looked familiar, I checked the cover, remembered reading it, but could not for the life of me remember what happened. I think I eventually looked it up on goodreads or something. Obviously I didn't bond with the character (who was not stuck up, but frustrated by only being seen as an object, and who really has that problem? Very few people, I find, can ONLY find recognition for being beautiful.) Still, a lesson in caution, thinking through situations, and looking beyond surface beauty. It has redeeming qualities, just not enough to make it a really good book. I'd rather read one of the twenty-seven million other books on my list of books to read before I die. But I've read this one now, so I'll impart my wisdom to others.
Also, the girl can't come up with her own dream--what's up with that? She goes from being one kind of sheep to a more compassionate sheep. I know finding a dream isn't always easy, I suppose that could be the "lesson" in Ella, but surely she could think of SOMETHING she wanted to do with her life.
Also, the girl can't come up with her own dream--what's up with that? She goes from being one kind of sheep to a more compassionate sheep. I know finding a dream isn't always easy, I suppose that could be the "lesson" in Ella, but surely she could think of SOMETHING she wanted to do with her life.
a good book. i loved the story
In spite of the obstacles put in her way by her wicked stepmother, Ella goes to the ball, sweeps Prince Charming off his feet, and is chosen to be his bride.
Good condition. new. Good text.
never read. perfect condition
