I did it! I finally read Ella Enchanted. Now I just have to see the movie like the rest of the world.

Anyway, I enjoyed the book. I can see why it is so beloved. As I’ve said before, Levine has a way of adapting the fairytale stories that are so well-known and making them her own. I really admire her imagination when building her magic system and creating four distinct languages as well as different kingdom dialects. It really makes Kyrrhia and Ella’s story memorable.

Ella herself is a wonderful heroine. I love that Levine shows the relationship she shared with her mother as to make it even more heartbreaking when she dies. I enjoyed her humor, her interest in languages, and defiance to those who don’t deserve her respect and try to order about. She doesn’t mince words and she’s no one’s puppet though the curse often forces her to otherwise.

Also Levine does a wonderful, albeit at times heartbreaking, job of depicting why the curse of obedience is a curse. From giving away her mother’s necklace to almost allowing herself to be eaten, it’s an awful situation even more awful by the dizziness/pressure that compells her when she tries to resist. It’s even more heinous when combined with the justice mushrooms her father gives to her and the brief happiness spell from Lucinda. It’s just awful to not being able to make decisions on your own.
Which makes it all the more triumpant when Ella succeeds at the end. I really love the ending. I also loved the friendship/romance between Prince Char and Ella. As Sir Stephen said, she brings him laughter and he brings her a purpose and duty.

Additionally, the other characters like fairygodmother, Mandy, the fairy Lucinda who started this whole curse to the greedy Dame Olga and daughters, Hattie and Olive are unique and fufill their roles quite nicely to make you enjoy hate or love them.

While I was not so interested in the end when it turns into a Cinderella story, I much preferred the wholly original adventure it had been for the first 20 chapters, it was still enjoyable and the curse provided enough suspense so I had no clue how it would end.

So 4 stars.