Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

This is a tween book set in a fairy-tale setting. It is about the most clever re-telling of Cinderella (Ella) I can imagine. And I wish I had because this book is marvelous. Having this author's imagination and story-telling creativity would be a grand gift.

Alas, while I didn't write it, I can highly recommend you read it aloud with your tweens. It spans the tween years with its spunky heroine who doesn't appear, thank goodness, to have qualms about marriage or children or the need to negotiate any equality issues before marriage. She loves her prince, her country, and is willing to sacrifice her own happiness for their sakes.

Ella is cursed by a fairy godmother with the "gift" of obedience, and struggles with this all her life. She has to find a way to conquer it if she is to marry the love of her life.

This book far surpasses the movie. It's a delight.

Rating: 3 Vatican Flags