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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
Just meh. I mean, I enjoyed reading it, but the writing style was rather juvenile. It felt as though the story was told from the perspective of a 10- year-old rather than a 15-year-old. Rather disappointing considering Margaret Peterson Haddix is a critically acclaimed author.
Just Ella explores what happens after Cinderella is whisked away to the castle at the end of the fairytale, and life for this Ella is not so happily ever after. Her Prince's kingdom is stifling (and backward in its treatment of women), and soon it feels just as much a prison as her old home. At least in her village she could do things for herself; in the castle she is expected to sit quietly and be beautiful.... and heaven forbid she tell the prince she doesn't want to marry him anymore.
Just Ella is a not-quite-YA, not-quite-middle grade novel, and sometimes suffers from that unbalance (world-building, especially, but I just assumed the made-up countries were somewhere in Europe...). On the whole, though, it's a fascinating story of "what happens after" and creating your own happy ending.
Just Ella is a not-quite-YA, not-quite-middle grade novel, and sometimes suffers from that unbalance (world-building, especially, but I just assumed the made-up countries were somewhere in Europe...). On the whole, though, it's a fascinating story of "what happens after" and creating your own happy ending.
3.5 Stars
Reading this book as an adult was such a different experience. It had a lot more heavy themes than what I realized. Everything went right over my head as a child. I enjoyed this book but a lot of the charm that it held when I was younger was lost reading it now.
Reading this book as an adult was such a different experience. It had a lot more heavy themes than what I realized. Everything went right over my head as a child. I enjoyed this book but a lot of the charm that it held when I was younger was lost reading it now.
This book has a VERY interesting concept behind it and I LOVE that its all about showing girls how amazing it can be to be self sufficient. That said I did find it very distracting that Haddix used a strange combination of modern phrases and more formal antiquated language. This is certainly a book that I would like to have my future hypothetical daughters read one day.
More around a 3.5
I think that this was more of a just "eh" story for me. Maybe if I was younger, I would have liked it more. Or maybe if I haven't read other not-your-typical-fairy-tale-twist-stories, this one could have shone a little bright. However, all I could really think while reading/listening to this book was...is this over yet?
I think the main problem was that many of the characters were flat and predictable. There was the evil teacher that had the chance at redemption but not really because she was evil. There were the brainwashed maids that wouldn't or couldn't change because they were brainwashed. There was the new love interest because he came up at just the right time and was everything dull Prince Charming wasn't. And Prince Charming? Well...dear lord. I really wish that he was just playing at
I also didn't really get the mindset of everyone. Wouldn't there also be a set of rules only women should be doing outside the palace? Wouldn't there be discrimination all around, especially if the root of said discrimination was the palace itself? Why would outside the palace be more relaxed? And why was there modern lingo?
Anyways, the book was just okay. I see that this the first book to a chronicle. Will I read the next book? Who knows. What do you think?
I think that this was more of a just "eh" story for me. Maybe if I was younger, I would have liked it more. Or maybe if I haven't read other not-your-typical-fairy-tale-twist-stories, this one could have shone a little bright. However, all I could really think while reading/listening to this book was...is this over yet?
I think the main problem was that many of the characters were flat and predictable. There was the evil teacher that had the chance at redemption but not really because she was evil. There were the brainwashed maids that wouldn't or couldn't change because they were brainwashed. There was the new love interest because he came up at just the right time and was everything dull Prince Charming wasn't. And Prince Charming? Well...dear lord. I really wish that he was just playing at
Spoiler
being a fool, but no. He's just a fool. Nothing more complex than that. It's just that everyone's intelligence seemed toned way the heck down to make Ella seem like a genius. There had to be more people out there who were...smart. But I don't know. Even some of the characters on Ella's side weren't the sharpest crayons in the box. Not that that's bad, it's just that I believe that giving the main character normal brain power while making side characters the intelligence of rocks makes the story a little less interesting.I also didn't really get the mindset of everyone. Wouldn't there also be a set of rules only women should be doing outside the palace? Wouldn't there be discrimination all around, especially if the root of said discrimination was the palace itself? Why would outside the palace be more relaxed? And why was there modern lingo?
Anyways, the book was just okay. I see that this the first book to a chronicle. Will I read the next book? Who knows. What do you think?
medium-paced
So I loved this when I was younger, but it really hasn't stood the test of time. Maybe I grew out of it.
CWs:
2.5 stars
And for a book supposedly saying that looks don’t matter, it’s horrendously fatphobic. The most fatphobic book I have ever read.
Spoiler
abuse, fatphobia (extreme), implied rape/sexual assault, imprisonment, physical assault2.5 stars
“People would rather believe in fairy godmothers… than to think that you took charge of your own destiny.”The concept on its own is interesting. It’s basically the sequel to the Disney animated Cinderella asking “What if Cinderella wasn’t really in love with the Prince?” and “What if Cinderella didn’t have a fairy godmother?” But the execution is pretty boring.
And for a book supposedly saying that looks don’t matter, it’s horrendously fatphobic. The most fatphobic book I have ever read.
I was intrigued and wanted to read this take on Cinderella and the whole time felt like it was, off. I guess mostly because Ella seemed to have so much of an attitude. I liked that she didn't marry out of duty or fake insta-love and that she sort of fell for Jed (Jeb? Already forgot his name) and wanted to do something useful with her life besides sit in a castle and embroidery.
Really, for as juvenile as some parts of this book read, other parts were quit adult. Like
By the end, I truly wanted to see if Ella and J. ended up together and how J. would manage to escape the castle life and his born duty. Would he be able to end the war? And would Ella wait for him? It was kind of a let down to go to book 2.
I remember starting Haddix's AMONG series and enjoying it. I'm not sure why this one felt like it fell flat with me. I think I'd recommend The Princess Diaries over this.
Really, for as juvenile as some parts of this book read, other parts were quit adult. Like
Spoiler
the man/monster thing in the dungeon that was a rapist and Prince Charming killing him in front of Ella. In terms of sex though, the book is rather chaste.By the end, I truly wanted to see if Ella and J. ended up together and how J. would manage to escape the castle life and his born duty. Would he be able to end the war? And would Ella wait for him? It was kind of a let down to go to book 2
Spoiler
and find out that it was a completely different storyI remember starting Haddix's AMONG series and enjoying it. I'm not sure why this one felt like it fell flat with me. I think I'd recommend The Princess Diaries over this.
"I'd done something everybody had told me I couldn't. I'd changed my life all by myself. Having a fairy godmother would have ruined everything." - Ella Brown
Everyone knows the story about Cinderella. She was a beautiful orphan in the care of her wicked stepmother and stepsisters, and her fairy godmother helped her get ready for the Prince's ball. There she winds up meeting the Prince, they fall in love after dancing the night away, only to have her run back home when the clock strikes midnight. He eventually finds her by having every single single girl in his kingdom try on the glass slipper his mystery girl lost the night of the ball, and then they live "happily ever after." That's the way the story ends, or so we thought.
Unfortunately for our main girl Ella, she did not live happily ever after at all, and her Prince Charming was anything but. The story takes place months before the wedding, and Ella is forced to learn how to become more of a lady. Of course it's going to be a challenge, especially growing up having to become a slave to her stepmother after her father died. In this world, there is war, refugees, and the only happily ever after is in the outlandish rumors going around the castle about Ella's background. No, she did not have a fairy godmother to help her get to the ball and woo the Prince, but the entire palace sure believes that story. She made her own dress, used her cleverness to obtain glass slippers, and got to the ball by walking part most of the way to the castle. She changed her own fate, and the fact that everyone didn't know the truth about what happened, and chose to believe a fairy tale rather than find out the reality of the situation stung even more.
Ella is a very strong feminist, and in this book it shows why that concept is important. We see Ella getting everything about being a princess wrong, and that's not because she isn't trying. It's really because, in this kingdom, being a princess involves not being able to have an original thought, or even know the truth about what's happening around the little bubble they forced her into. The Prince turns out to be extremely boring and one dimensional, unable to hold an actual conversation with Ella during their chaperoned meetings. She finds him dull, and realizes that she fell in love with the idea of him on the night of the ball, so long ago to her. She didn't fall in love with the prince himself, and she had to figure out a way to get out of such a loveless and destructive marriage.
In the end she figures out a way to escape, even though she was forced into the castle's dungeon for a period of time. Speaking out against the marriage, and showing that she was not the dainty little girl the palace wanted her to be was what got her into trouble, but that didn't stop her from removing herself from a dangerous situation, one that made her feel threatened and uncomfortable. She ran, all the way to the edge of the kingdom where the refugees of the war were staying, and she made herself into a woman of knowledge and skill. It was hard work, maybe even harder than what she had to go through growing up, but she loved it. She excelled at it, and it fulfilled her life in ways that she didn't even dream of. She made her own destiny into one that she could have never had if she went through with her marriage to the prince, and even though she could probably never go back to that part of the kingdom, she was better off for it.
I felt like this book was pretty interesting, even though it was short to me and ended somewhat abruptly. It really changes the preconception of the Cinderella story, the one that little girls are used to seeing from Disney. There is so much more to this book than what Disney showed us, and in its own little way, they flip the well known story on its head and change the way we see Cinderella. She changes from this girl who had a fairy godmother and talking mice helping her to become a princess to an assertive, no-nonsense teenager that would rather watch a jousting tournament than be inside stitching a new dress. This is a good introduction into the world of female protagonists who just don't like being told what to do, and I feel she has the potential to join the ranks of my favorites, like Rose Hathaway and Hermione Granger. Not bad company to keep.
Everyone knows the story about Cinderella. She was a beautiful orphan in the care of her wicked stepmother and stepsisters, and her fairy godmother helped her get ready for the Prince's ball. There she winds up meeting the Prince, they fall in love after dancing the night away, only to have her run back home when the clock strikes midnight. He eventually finds her by having every single single girl in his kingdom try on the glass slipper his mystery girl lost the night of the ball, and then they live "happily ever after." That's the way the story ends, or so we thought.
Unfortunately for our main girl Ella, she did not live happily ever after at all, and her Prince Charming was anything but. The story takes place months before the wedding, and Ella is forced to learn how to become more of a lady. Of course it's going to be a challenge, especially growing up having to become a slave to her stepmother after her father died. In this world, there is war, refugees, and the only happily ever after is in the outlandish rumors going around the castle about Ella's background. No, she did not have a fairy godmother to help her get to the ball and woo the Prince, but the entire palace sure believes that story. She made her own dress, used her cleverness to obtain glass slippers, and got to the ball by walking part most of the way to the castle. She changed her own fate, and the fact that everyone didn't know the truth about what happened, and chose to believe a fairy tale rather than find out the reality of the situation stung even more.
Ella is a very strong feminist, and in this book it shows why that concept is important. We see Ella getting everything about being a princess wrong, and that's not because she isn't trying. It's really because, in this kingdom, being a princess involves not being able to have an original thought, or even know the truth about what's happening around the little bubble they forced her into. The Prince turns out to be extremely boring and one dimensional, unable to hold an actual conversation with Ella during their chaperoned meetings. She finds him dull, and realizes that she fell in love with the idea of him on the night of the ball, so long ago to her. She didn't fall in love with the prince himself, and she had to figure out a way to get out of such a loveless and destructive marriage.
In the end she figures out a way to escape, even though she was forced into the castle's dungeon for a period of time. Speaking out against the marriage, and showing that she was not the dainty little girl the palace wanted her to be was what got her into trouble, but that didn't stop her from removing herself from a dangerous situation, one that made her feel threatened and uncomfortable. She ran, all the way to the edge of the kingdom where the refugees of the war were staying, and she made herself into a woman of knowledge and skill. It was hard work, maybe even harder than what she had to go through growing up, but she loved it. She excelled at it, and it fulfilled her life in ways that she didn't even dream of. She made her own destiny into one that she could have never had if she went through with her marriage to the prince, and even though she could probably never go back to that part of the kingdom, she was better off for it.
I felt like this book was pretty interesting, even though it was short to me and ended somewhat abruptly. It really changes the preconception of the Cinderella story, the one that little girls are used to seeing from Disney. There is so much more to this book than what Disney showed us, and in its own little way, they flip the well known story on its head and change the way we see Cinderella. She changes from this girl who had a fairy godmother and talking mice helping her to become a princess to an assertive, no-nonsense teenager that would rather watch a jousting tournament than be inside stitching a new dress. This is a good introduction into the world of female protagonists who just don't like being told what to do, and I feel she has the potential to join the ranks of my favorites, like Rose Hathaway and Hermione Granger. Not bad company to keep.