The most *charm*ing book in the world... #IMHO

When I was in 4th grade, one of the brightest spots on my elementary horizon was the Scholastic Book Order.
I would gaze at each cover-title-summary, highlighting so many per page that the whole thing glowed. BUT... when I saw the tiny, grainy picture of the cover and read the short summary, I knew that I needed this book. My incredible mom ordered it for me, and I couldn't wait until the next best bright spot on my horizon: Scholastic Book Order DELIVERY DAY.

That day finally came, and my wise teacher did not hand those suckers out to us until dismissal. (Otherwise, I would have hid in the bathroom ALL DANG DAY reading it rather than going to class.) After being deposited at my grandparents' house, I kissed them hello and told them each about my day. (I hope... more likely, I ran in, tossed my backpack on the floor, and headed outside with my prize.)

Either way, I ended up outside in my favorite spot: swaying in a hammock my grandparents' backyard, a.k.a. The Hundred Acre Wood. I had a pillow, a blanket, and Ella Enchanted. Thus began my love affair with this incredible novel. For a while, I'd memorized the first chapter in its entirety. I would recite it to myself while pretending to be the protagonist, living in a pseudo-medieval world filled with fairy godmothers and magic books. (This, among many reasons, is why it is obvious that I am an only child.)

If you have never read this book, SHAME ON YOU, and as soon as you finish reading this post you should get yourself a copy and devour it the way the ogres wanted to devour Ella, but didn't because she was so scrappy. (You'd understand that reference if you the book, you ignorant swine!) Among the plot twists and turns that send up the typical Cinderella archetype, there are valuable lessons to learn. You should be true to yourself, even in adversity. You should always be kind to others, especially those who may not have friends. And a lot more wonderful points that another blogger made in this post.

"But Ella Enchanted gives an explanation for the passivity that bothered me in many classic fairy tales. Ella is cursed to be obedient, which constrains her without making her personality obedient. In fact, Ella is defiant and stubborn. She fights her curse. She finds loopholes. And that’s exactly what the feminist backbone of the story is: agency. This is a story about agency, and how terrible it is to have agency taken away from you, but also how Ella still holds on to some of it, even when everyone around her wants to take it away.

Ella Enchanted is also a book mostly populated with women. Ella’s mother dies in the first few pages, but her influence is prominent in Ella’s life. Mandy, her cook (and fairy godmother) is the closest family she has remaining (her dad hardly counts), and her gruff-but-loving personality is a sharp contrast to her mother’s joyous, easy-going nature. The villains are also women: the fairy Lucinda is the one who gave Ella her curse, believing it to be a blessing. Her reckless, giddy approach to magic is precisely the opposite of Mandy’s “small magic” edict. But where Lucinda thinks she’s handing out blessings, Ella’s stepmother and stepsisters are more straightforwardly wicked. Still, Hattie and Olive in particular are believable and even intriguing.

The romance is certainly improved in this retelling. “Prince Charming” (Char) is a whole person, not just a cardboard cut out, and their relationship evolves slowly, over time. They write each other letters over months, learning about each other’s flaws and quirks. They have a rapport. And the obstacles to their relationship make sense in the narrative—they don’t feel like needless plot devices to keep them apart until the last moment."

Girlfriend knows what's UP. Anyway, I read the whole thing, cover to cover, in one sitting. (One swaying?) The light faded behind the treeline of the Hundred Acre Wood, and I squinted at the final pages against the recommendation of my eye doctor, who had recently prescribed me as "disastrously near-sighted."I wanted to immediately read it again, but my mom said I had to go to bed. We compromised and she *thought* I went to bed, but really I stayed up and read in the living room. (This happened a lot throughout my childhood.) For a while, I would re-read Ella Enchanted at the beginning of summer break each year. And the spine on my copy cracked in half. Then again, that wouldn't have stopped Ella, so OFF I GO TO FIX MY COPY AND READ IT AGAIN.