Ella Enchanted By Gail Carson Levine

Ella was not your everyday girl and has never been since the day she was born. Lucinda a silly fairy who thought she could be helpful laid a curse on her, she was only trying to give Ella a gift but gifts from fairies can go very wrong. Lucinda gave Ella a gift of obedience, if anyone told her to do something she would have to do it, no matter how horrible. When Ella’s father has gotten poor after her mother’s death he sends Ella away to finishing school with some rich and snobby children of a lady friend her father, Sir Peter knows. Hattie the older child figures out that Ella will always obey her, she uses this to her advantage and tries to make Ella’s life miserable. Ella has made friends with Prince Charmont at her mother’s funeral and he was kind to her as he thought Ella’s mother funny. Ella runs away from the finishing school and goes to find her father whom is trading at a giants village and attending a marriage, Ella wants to go as many fairies like to attend births and marriages and she hopes Lucinda will be there and will undo the curse. On her way to the giants’ village she gets caught by ogres and passes Prince Charmont. When Ella gets home Sir Peter is still poor and has to marry Dame Olga, Hattie and Olives mother, Sir Peter goes away traveling again and Ella is turns into a scullery maid.

Prince Charmont has to leave their home town of Frell to carry out Princely duties, as they send letters to each other they start to fall in love. When there is a ball for the prince to choose a bride Ella goes and dresses up as another woman calling herself Lela so nobody recognises her especially her stepsisters and stepmother. The prince becomes friends with Lela but when Hattie who has attended the balls pulls off Lela’s mask and reveals Ella the Prince and Hattie are surprised, when the Prince asks Ella to marry him she does not want to as Hattie could order her around but with an order to marry she has to comply. Can she break her curse and save the Prince and all of Frell? I recommend this book for a large range of ages, it is a reasonably short book and an easy read and can be read to younger kids or can be read by them. This is a great book and I have read it multiple times as I have largely enjoyed the read.