Ella Enchanted-Cursed for Life

By Gail Carson Levine

Review by Jamie Moseley

The opening paragraph grabs the reader’s attention.

·Put reader right into the action

·Make reader imagine the unimaginable (ie. It’s not everyday that a 13 year old girl is accused of murder…)

·Don’t start with “the book I read was…” That’s way too BORING! Hook us into the plot!

Imagine being cast under a spell of obedience. If someone told you to cut off your head you would have to. No matter how hard you tried to disobey them, you would have to do whatever the order was.

The title and author are worked in naturally

·Don’t say, “My book was The Giver” when you can say, “Jonas, a twelve year old boy and the main character of Lois Lowry’s Newbery Award winning novel The Giver, must make decisions that impact his entire society.”

Gail Carson Levine’s Newbery Honor winner Ella Enchanted is about a girl named Ella who is faced with this evil curse. No one knows about the curse, so they can accidentally give her an order, and she has to fulfill their wishes.

The overall idea and plot are discussed, without giving away the ending

·Keep it short and sweet, even if it’s a long book

·Just give the reader the gist of the book. Be clear, make sense, don’t give away the ending

When Ella’s mother dies, her father remarries to Dame Olga. She Ella is sent off to finishing school with her awful stepsisters, Hattie and Olive. She can’t seem to do anything right. She runs away and decides to find Lucinda, the fairy that gave her the curse. She hopes Lucinda will take away the curse. On her journey, she meets elves, ogres that try to eat her, and giants. She also trades letters with the prince, Char. With some help from the cook, Mandy, Ella is able to teach Lucinda a lesson.

Describe one exciting incident in detail

·Again, don’t give away the ending

·Be clear enough so that someone who HAS NOT read the book can follow

In one scene, Ogres capture Ella while she is trying to find Lucinda. They plan to cook her up and eat her. Unfortunately for Ella, they figure out she will do anything they tell her to do. Ella is able to speak in Ogrese and hypnotize the ogres into not eating her. Prince Char and his knights find Ella and are amazed that she was able to calm the ogres down with just her voice. One of the knights goes with Ella in search of Lucinda.

End the review with your opinion and recommendation

·Who might like this type of book? (Sports fans? People that love to laugh? History buffs? Late night readers that like to be freaked out?

·What did you think? Is it worth reading? If it won an award, is it worth the hype?

I highly recommend this Cinderella knockoff. I found myself laughing out loud a few times. The only thing I didn’t like about the book was the ending, because you knew that everything would end up all right. It is a fairy tale, after all! If you like this book, you can compare it to the movie Ella Enchanted, starring Anne Hathaway (Princess Diaries I and II, The Devil Wears Prada) and Hugh Dancy (Black Hawk Down, King Arthur). This is book is the perfect book for someone who wants a quick read that is fun and suspenseful.