Enchanted by this Book

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

Grade: A-

Genre: Book

Set in a fictional land named Frell where ogres, elves, and giants are just as common and well known as prairie dogs in Colorado, Ella Enchanted is a spin off of the Cinderella fairytale and is, in my opinion, one of the best Cinderella stories ever written.

The book is about a girl named Ella who is given the gift of obedience by a careless fairy named Lucinda soon after her birth. Although obedience may seem like a great gift it forces Ella to do everything she is asked to do whether she wants to or not. I could not help but wonder why Ella’s mother or fairy godmother did not simply tell her to “stop being obedient.” That could have broken the curse early on and could have prevented Ella from being forced to do things she did not want to do. But, of course as in all litereature, the story would not have been as interesting if the problem was solved too early.

Soon after her mother dies when she is fourteen Ella is sent off to finishing school with the two girls who will eventually become her stepsisters. While there, the older sister, Hattie, figures out Ella’s curse and takes advantage of it to abuse Ella and force her to be her personal servant. Once Ella is more than fed up she sets out on a quest to find Lucinda and ask her to take back the gift. It may seem like an unusual Cinderella story. But in some ways that can be a good thing.

In most Cinderella stories we see today the prince and Cinderella characters decide to get married despite the fact that they have only known each other for a few weeks at the most. But in this story’s case, however, Ella knows Prince Charmont personally and is friends with him for at least two years before they even consider getting hitched, making the story seem more realistic. Charmont may be a bit too perfect in this story (he makes Edward and Jacob look overrated) but he also has his weaknesses shown in the novel as well and makes the book a fun read.

Once I got to chapter 5 I could not stop reading it without feeling extremely uncomfortable and irritated because it was unpredictable and full of adventure, and even had near death experiences for the main characters. Since the story is narrated in first person by Ella herself the reader can easily feel a connection with her and her struggles. And in a time when bestsellers are novels about whiny, clingy heroines who are in love with vampires it seems rare to find a novel about an adolescent girl who is smart, confident, brave, and independent. It is also just as great to find a witty romance novel that is not sappy as well.

*Image borrowed from http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EllaEnchanted

A Story of a Runaway’s Side of the Mountain

My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George

Grade: B+

Genre: Book

I am sure that we all went through that phase when we wanted to run away from home to live in the wild. My Side of the Mountain tells the story of Sam Gribley, a boy who runs away from home to live on his own in the mountains. His story is rather interesting because he ends up living inside a tree trunk, trains a falcon to help him hunt, and lives off the land. The story is narrated in first person by Sam himself, giving the reader insight into his thoughts.

This book is written in a way that gets the reader attached to the character Sam and makes him feel real. It is also easy to become attached to the animals that he becomes friends with such as the Baron Weasel and his falcon Frightful. Even though he is very smart and clever that it is almost unbelievable, Sam seems so real just because of his emotions such as excitement and loneliness that occur throughout the book.

Of course, not everything in this story was all that believable. Sam did not run into any issues when he stored his food outdoors. I would have at least thought a bear would show up by smelling out Sam’s food supply and eating a portion of it. Or that he would have at least broken his leg from falling off a tree or gotten shot by a hunter during hunting season (after all, he did make and wear an outfit out of dear skin).

But nonetheless it was hard to put the book down because it is not very predictable and far from boring in my opinion. The ending was very surprising as well. This book made me want to run away from home myself to live in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado or to make acorn pancakes. But since that is not a possibility right now it was great fun to at least experience the adventures with Sam Gribley as I read this book.

*Image borrowed from http://www.scls.lib.wi.us/sun/SunPrairiePublicLibrary-SurvivalStories.html