Ella Enchanted

This is a love story I can recommend for all ages.  Elementary, junior high, high school, college...heck, I'll probably still be reading it in a retirement home someday.

 

"Cinderella" is a great story, and one that shows up in the folklore of cultures all over the world, but she lets her step-family walk all over her, and that bugs me.  In "Ella Enchanted", it all makes sense--Ella is given a "gift" of obedience by the fairy Lucinda at her birth, and from that point on cannot physically disobey orders.  But that doesn't mean she doesn't try. She resists orders until she is at the point of passing out, and if she doesn't like a command, she tries to work it to her own advantage.  She is spunky and clever and has all sorts of adventures as she runs away from boarding school, falls for Prince Char, uses her talent for languages, and tries to break her curse.

Why you will love it:  Ella is smart and funny, Char is kind and noble, and their romance is sweet without too much sugar.

Why I love it:  Because of their letters.  I am the worst pen-pal in the world, but I do send a letter each week to a wonderful guy in California, and because of that I feel a sort of kinship to Ella and Char. 

The movie with Anne Hathaway is nothing like the book, and while the book is better (as is almost always the case), the movie was fun too.  I like them both--I just have to think of them as separate stories.  So if you love the movie, and are worried that you'll have to give it up after you read the book, never fear.  

And now, because I love Youtube, a special treat.  Watch the original movie trailer first, and then watch the Disney mash-up version someone made using the same sound.  It's awesome! Apparently there are a ton of these things on the internet, but this is the first one I've seen and I think it's hilarious.