Ella Enchanted, Week 2

Welcome to Week 2 of the Online Book Club discussion of Ella Enchanted. 

Are you enjoying reading something lighter this month? I am really liking all of the fairy tale elements in this book. I really enjoy reading fairy tales, and stories like these definitely make me feel nostalgic for books I enjoyed when I was younger. I read on her website, that author, Gail Carson Levine was inspired to write her own fairy tale after enjoying Beauty by Robin McKinley. I've never read that book, but I might check it out since I am enjoying Ella Enchanted so much! I really encourage you to read this short little article Levine wrote about how she came up with the concept for the book. It's really interesting. 

Could you imagine having Ella's curse? It is so incredibly dangerous! When I first read about the curse, I didn't really realize all of the implications, but the more I thought about it, the more I understood the dangers. Ella could be commanded to commit murder or to do any number of illegal deeds. Or, she could even be commanded to harm herself. Could you believe that Lucinda couldn't understand the dangers when Mandy and Ella's mother were begging her to reverse the curse? 

I was so surprised and sad when Ella's mother passed away. Were you surprised that the unicorn hairs were that important to that soup Mandy made? It was frustrating that the mother's death was so avoidable. 

What do you think of the characters we've been introduced to so far? Char and Mandy are my favorite. Char was so kind to Ella, right from the very beginning. He didn't act like a royal at all--he was very approachable. And, I liked how he gave her gifts and was impressed by her ability to imitate the sounds of the ogres. I guessed that Mandy was the fairy godmother since she could make a healing soup with unicorn hairs. Did you guess that as well? I liked how she had Ella's best interests at heart throughout the entire first section. It was nice that Ella had someone to rely on since her dad was such a jerk. I definitely don't like Dame Olga and her daughters. Hattie is really dangerous since she knows that Ella obeys commands. Olive is just a nuisance since it seems like she doesn't have any sense, but I still didn't like her. 

I would like to get my hands on a magical book like the one Mandy gave to Ella. Not only did it have really great stories, but also, it allowed Ella to see secret thoughts and letters from other people. That would be so interesting. And, I love the idea of a book that keeps growing, so you never run out of reading material. Do you think you'd like access to a book like that? Would you like getting to see other people's letters and diary entries, or would you feel too guilty for violating their privacy? 

I was really glad when Elle left finishing school. I just hated how Hattie kept ordering her around, and I hated how she had to be so mindful of every single movement she made throughout her duration. It was exhausting to keep up with all of the commands that people kept saying to Ella. I was glad she made a friend, but I knew that finishing school wouldn't be great for her. 

This section ends with Ella leaving the ogres. I was glad that she was the one who figured out a way to talk to the ogres and convince them not to eat her. Char and his men definitely helped her actually get away from the ogres, but Ella did a lot of the hard work herself. It's nice that she isn't a typical fairy tale princess who just depends on others to fix her problems. 

Do you think she'll make it to the wedding? Do you think she'll find Lucinda? What will happen between her and Char?

If you'd like to get to know author, Gail Carson Levine better, check out this clip below. Answer the questions for yourself as Levine plays the game!

I hope you're able to finish the book by next week! Make sure to leave me a comment to let me know how you enjoyed this first section. I look forward to hearing from you!