Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
adventurous
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
So far, only Ever After, the movie with Drew Barrymore, is a “true” Cinderella story that I like. Every other adaptation requires significant changes or “enhancements” (trolls, adventure, kidnapping, curses, etc) to hold my attention and Just Ella falls into the latter category – spoiler alert – Ella doesn’t end up with the Prince. But that’s pretty evident from the moment he enters the story.
Just Ella starts after the ball, after the supposed happily-ever-after, when Ella must adjust to life in the castle and how that differs from the, relative, freedom she experienced while living out in the community around the palace. She also must contend with the fact that she and the prince don’t exactly have compatible personalities. Ella is much more free thinking and more interested in helping people that asking her new servants to do things for her or simply nodding along with everything her etiquette instructor tells her she must do as a new princess. And then, when she tries to assert a little independence, when she figures out that this isn’t the life she wants to lead, she has to deal with a prince who has never been told “no,” by anyone. Ever.
Ella’s spunk and charisma is what made me read and reread Just Ella over and over again in middle school and even high school, and I was beyond delighted to discover, when I went to find a replacement copy in the bookstore after I started working there, that Margaret Peterson Haddix wrote two more books as companions!
Just Ella starts after the ball, after the supposed happily-ever-after, when Ella must adjust to life in the castle and how that differs from the, relative, freedom she experienced while living out in the community around the palace. She also must contend with the fact that she and the prince don’t exactly have compatible personalities. Ella is much more free thinking and more interested in helping people that asking her new servants to do things for her or simply nodding along with everything her etiquette instructor tells her she must do as a new princess. And then, when she tries to assert a little independence, when she figures out that this isn’t the life she wants to lead, she has to deal with a prince who has never been told “no,” by anyone. Ever.
Ella’s spunk and charisma is what made me read and reread Just Ella over and over again in middle school and even high school, and I was beyond delighted to discover, when I went to find a replacement copy in the bookstore after I started working there, that Margaret Peterson Haddix wrote two more books as companions!
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I just couldn't get behind the voice in this book-- contemporary in olden days just doesn't work for me.
Just Ella is my fourth Margaret Peterson Haddix book and she does not disappoint! A very fun and imaginative book about what happened after Happily Ever After.
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A Non classic retelling of Cinderella.
We have read countless versions and countless different depictions of the fairy tale.
But this has to be one of the more lovable ones.
I hate happily ever after stories and that's the biggest reason why I hate most retellings of fairytales And the fairytales Themselves.
Because Happy ever after is the biggest fad.
And this book takes place AFTER the happily ever after.
And! I am finally satisfied.
Because Happy ever after is not so HAPPY in this book.
And Ella (Cinders-Ella)!! She is the epitome of Savage courage and brains in the world filled with brainless, spineless royals. Who doesnt love a girl like that?!
When she dumped Prince Charming I was dancing on my bed whooping!.
I was still a little dissapointed that Ella ended up falling in love with another guy.
If she had not fallen in love and the book had a different ending where she lives happily by herself!!! This book definitely would have a 5 star rating.
But mahn! I fell in love with this version of Ella.
We have read countless versions and countless different depictions of the fairy tale.
But this has to be one of the more lovable ones.
I hate happily ever after stories and that's the biggest reason why I hate most retellings of fairytales And the fairytales Themselves.
Because Happy ever after is the biggest fad.
And this book takes place AFTER the happily ever after.
And! I am finally satisfied.
Because Happy ever after is not so HAPPY in this book.
And Ella (Cinders-Ella)!! She is the epitome of Savage courage and brains in the world filled with brainless, spineless royals. Who doesnt love a girl like that?!
When she dumped Prince Charming I was dancing on my bed whooping!.
I was still a little dissapointed that Ella ended up falling in love with another guy.
If she had not fallen in love and the book had a different ending where she lives happily by herself!!! This book definitely would have a 5 star rating.
But mahn! I fell in love with this version of Ella.
The book calls itself 'young adult', but at 212 pages with large font and a (almost too) simplistic journey, it reads somewhere between a middle grade and YA. I would say that if not for heavy themes (mentions of r*pe, violence, misogyny, domestic violence, etc) that it would be more of a middle grade reader. In fact, I think the first time I picked this book up, I was 12.
It's another retelling of Cinderella in that life isn't so sunny after the ball. It's meant to deliver a punch with a feminist Ella who is independent and saves herself.
Unfortunately, her character is flat and unlikable, because of the font and length, there's just no detail to the story. It's an adventure without anything substantial between points A and B.
There is a romance in the book that made very little sense to me, as fairytales do sometimes.
Also, I'm never a fan of women fat-shaming women (and men, too), and the main character does indeed do this. There's nothing that makes me want to keep this book, no spark of joy so it will be going in my donate pile. Honestly, this would have done better as a middle grade, if the heavier topics could have been cut back. I think it would have been better received for what it was.
In short: A flat and unlikable protagonist, a nonsensical love interest meant to prove a point, and a straightforward journey from points A to B without fanfare.
It's another retelling of Cinderella in that life isn't so sunny after the ball. It's meant to deliver a punch with a feminist Ella who is independent and saves herself.
Unfortunately, her character is flat and unlikable, because of the font and length, there's just no detail to the story. It's an adventure without anything substantial between points A and B.
There is a romance in the book that made very little sense to me, as fairytales do sometimes.
Also, I'm never a fan of women fat-shaming women (and men, too), and the main character does indeed do this. There's nothing that makes me want to keep this book, no spark of joy so it will be going in my donate pile. Honestly, this would have done better as a middle grade, if the heavier topics could have been cut back. I think it would have been better received for what it was.
In short: A flat and unlikable protagonist, a nonsensical love interest meant to prove a point, and a straightforward journey from points A to B without fanfare.
“...even the most independent people sometimes needed help. And if I'd learned nothing else from my life thus far, it was that you don't always end up where you think you're going.”
This was cute! It's a Cinderella retelling except she realizes she doesn't want to be a princess and doesn't really love the prince, so it's her story fighting against what's being expected of her now.
I will say this is technically young adult but very much so reads like a middle grade. There were times I would get confused because of something they were talking about and I'd have to remind myself that this was YA and not technically a children's book.
I thought this book was really lame. I have many mixed feelings, and thought that it was a poor aftermath version of the story Cinderella. It was vile, creepy, and plain ol' dull.
3 stars
I appreciate this book so much. Ella is such a wonderful, strong, powerful character — but not in the way of usual YA protagonists. She’s resourceful, with a healthy idea of her own self-worth. She recognizes the problems of society and the people around her, and is able to pinpoint that they are not right and she should not change for them. This book is so subversive of the worse parts of the Cinderella story, and I’d give it to any young girl.
I appreciate this book so much. Ella is such a wonderful, strong, powerful character — but not in the way of usual YA protagonists. She’s resourceful, with a healthy idea of her own self-worth. She recognizes the problems of society and the people around her, and is able to pinpoint that they are not right and she should not change for them. This book is so subversive of the worse parts of the Cinderella story, and I’d give it to any young girl.