You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
andybrokaw 's review for:
Ogre Enchanted
by Gail Carson Levine
Rating: a lovely pot of ginger tea with some honey in it
Highlight of note: Scents are an integral part of the descriptions in this book, both because ogres have a refined sense of smell and because they constantly reek. At the end I was left feeling I know exactly what an ogre smells like, which is sort of a mixed blessing.
Ogre Enchanted's cover bills it as a companion novel to the highly popular Ella Enchanted. It's really more of a prequel, however, as it is set in the time period where Ella's parents met. (I was a little exasperated with myself for how long Ella's father was on the page before I recognized him. I guess it's been a while since I read Ella.)
The tale is told with Levine's customary humor and clarity by a first person narrator, Evie, who is almost immediately turned from a human apothecary into an ogre. Readers of Ella Enchanted may recall that the ogres in this universe aren't exactly savory creatures. They're mean, smelly, and always hungry for human flesh. I was a little sad that ogre culture wasn't given more depth or civilization than it was, but doing so would interfere with the events in the later story. That said, I think Levine described Evie's shifting perspectives in an engaging and effective manner.
Also familiar to readers of Ella Enchanted is our main troublemaker, the fairy Lucinda, who uses big magics other fairies refuse to touch and who does so with disastrous results that she feels not the least bit of remorse for causing. In the opening chapter of this novel, she appears when Evie's lifelong best friend, who bears the unfortunate nickname of Worm, proposes to her. Even though he claims he was joking, then that he wasn't joking but expected her to say no and for this to be the start of years of dialog on the subject rather than a wedding in a month, Lucinda is offended on his behalf by Evie's refusal and decides to punish Evie for being so picky and so careless with Worm's heart.
Evie is a likable protagonist. Although only fifteen at the start (being too young to get married is one of her reasons for turning Worm down) Evie is established in and dedicated to a healing practice. This isn't just background filler but something that plays a crucial roll in the plot. If she could run her own small business, it seems to me that maybe she wasn't to young to be married, but it's a hard point to really argue.
As to the plot... Large chunks of it are quite predictable, even if you haven't read Ella Enchanted, but it's not really the type of book you read to be surprised. It's more the type of book you read because you want something cozy, something that's new yet familiar, or just something cute. And in that category, I think this is an excellent choice for an afternoon's distraction.
The notes I took while reading can be found here:
https://andyreadsthings.blogspot.com/2019/01/ogre-enchanted-by-gail-carson-levine.html
Highlight of note: Scents are an integral part of the descriptions in this book, both because ogres have a refined sense of smell and because they constantly reek. At the end I was left feeling I know exactly what an ogre smells like, which is sort of a mixed blessing.
Ogre Enchanted's cover bills it as a companion novel to the highly popular Ella Enchanted. It's really more of a prequel, however, as it is set in the time period where Ella's parents met. (I was a little exasperated with myself for how long Ella's father was on the page before I recognized him. I guess it's been a while since I read Ella.)
The tale is told with Levine's customary humor and clarity by a first person narrator, Evie, who is almost immediately turned from a human apothecary into an ogre. Readers of Ella Enchanted may recall that the ogres in this universe aren't exactly savory creatures. They're mean, smelly, and always hungry for human flesh. I was a little sad that ogre culture wasn't given more depth or civilization than it was, but doing so would interfere with the events in the later story. That said, I think Levine described Evie's shifting perspectives in an engaging and effective manner.
Also familiar to readers of Ella Enchanted is our main troublemaker, the fairy Lucinda, who uses big magics other fairies refuse to touch and who does so with disastrous results that she feels not the least bit of remorse for causing. In the opening chapter of this novel, she appears when Evie's lifelong best friend, who bears the unfortunate nickname of Worm, proposes to her. Even though he claims he was joking, then that he wasn't joking but expected her to say no and for this to be the start of years of dialog on the subject rather than a wedding in a month, Lucinda is offended on his behalf by Evie's refusal and decides to punish Evie for being so picky and so careless with Worm's heart.
Evie is a likable protagonist. Although only fifteen at the start (being too young to get married is one of her reasons for turning Worm down) Evie is established in and dedicated to a healing practice. This isn't just background filler but something that plays a crucial roll in the plot. If she could run her own small business, it seems to me that maybe she wasn't to young to be married, but it's a hard point to really argue.
As to the plot... Large chunks of it are quite predictable, even if you haven't read Ella Enchanted, but it's not really the type of book you read to be surprised. It's more the type of book you read because you want something cozy, something that's new yet familiar, or just something cute. And in that category, I think this is an excellent choice for an afternoon's distraction.
The notes I took while reading can be found here:
https://andyreadsthings.blogspot.com/2019/01/ogre-enchanted-by-gail-carson-levine.html