Ella+Enchanted

**Summary/Review**
At birth, Ella is inadvertently cursed by an imprudent fairy named Lucinda, who bestows on her the "gift" of obedience. Anything anyone tells her to do, Ella must obey. When her beloved mother dies, leaving her in the care of a mostly absent and avaricious father, and later, a loathsome stepmother and two treacherous stepsisters, Ella's life and well-being seem in grave peril. But her intelligence and saucy nature keep her in good stead as she sets out on a quest for freedom and self-discovery, trying to track down Lucinda to undo the curse, fending off ogres, befriending elves, and falling in love with a prince along the way. Yes, there is a pumpkin coach, a glass slipper, and a happily ever after, but this is the most remarkable, delightful, and profound version of Cinderella you've ever read (1).

**Author Bio**
Gail Carson Levine was born on September 17, 1947 in New York, New York. Levine was fifty when she published her first novel. A welfare administrator for much of her adult life, she spent nine long years gathering rejections for her picture book submissions. Then, turning a writing project for a class at the New School into a manuscript retelling of the Cinderella story, she hit gold. The world changed for Levine and she quit her job to become a writer (2).

**Other Works**

 * Dave at Night
 * The Wish
 * The Two Princesses of Bamarre
 * Fairest
 * Ever
 * A Tale of Two Castles

**Awards**
All for Ella Enchanted (1998)
 * Best Books for Young Adults
 * Quick Picks for Young Adults citations
 * American Library Association (ALA)
 * Newbery Honor Book

**Historical Context**
On April 9, 2004, an American movie loosely based on the novel was released. It was directed by Tommy O'Haver and starred Anne Hathaway and Hugh Dancy as Ella and Char, respectively. The film received mostly mixed reviews, and was heavily criticized for its changes to the source material. Levine stated that the film is "so different from the book that it's hard to compare them," noting the addition of new characters such as Sir Edgar and Heston, and suggested "regarding the movie as a separate creative act" (3).

**Major Themes**

 * be yourself
 * words are powerful
 * importance of humor
 * love

**Citations**

 * 1) []
 * 2) []
 * 3) []