Ella Enchanted (Ella Enchanted #1)

I totally didn't realize what this was based on until the last 30 or so pages. I think that made it more enjoyable. I really liked this book. Ella has a healthy dose of what the Finnish call sisu!

I loved this book as a child and re-read it so many times my copy fell apart.

I'm going to start this by saying that I LOVED Gail Carson Levine's books growing up (The Princess Test, Cinderellis and the Glass Hill, The Wish, Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep....). That being said, I think I would have liked this book a lot better if I'd read it in middle school than as an adult.

At its bare bones, this is a story about girl empowerment. Ella takes the reins on her own life and does everything she can to make her life go in the way that she sees fit.

I enjoyed this retelling of Cinderella. I read Cinder last year, and I'm almost amazed by how different they are. I like how Ella was able to break the curse herself at the end and didn't rely on “true love's kiss” like so many Disney/Disney-esque stories.