Just Ella

August 30, 1999
Haddix (Running Out of Time) puts a feminist spin on the Cinderella story, beginning her tongue-in-cheek novel where the traditional story ends. Ella Brown plans to live happily ever after when Prince Charming whisks her from her evil step-family. But when she arrives at the castle, she discovers that the prince is a dull dud, needlepoint is now her most strenuous activity and her ladies in waiting are abuzz with a concocted tale involving Ella, a fairy godmother and a pumpkin (in fact her own resourcefulness got Ella to the ball). When she refuses to marry "Charm," as she calls him, she is thrown in the dungeon to be held there until the wedding day. Making matters worse, Jed, her one kindred spirit, unaware of her imprisonment, leaves to start a refugee camp for victims of the castle's war with a neighboring kingdom. But luckily Ella is not a girl who needs magic or a man to save her. Haddix weaves in elements of fairy tale, with colorful characters such as Lord Reston, Ella's portly, pompous religious teacher; Quog, the ogre-ish jailer; and, of course, the cruel-to-the-core Step Evils. But Ella's modern sensibility seems jarring against a chivalric backdrop (e.g., "Don't that beat all?" Ella says, imitating a servant). Still, her straightforward, often gleefully glib narrative breathes fresh life into the tale. Ages 12-up.

Ella Brown should be happy, and instead she's miserable. A strong and self-sufficient young woman, she is stifled by life at the palace while awaiting her marriage to Prince Charming. This fractured take on the Cinderella story is not great literature, but Alyssa Bresnahan's robust, unvoiced reading lifts it above the ordinary. Her pacing and pitch perfectly capture the resilient Ella; the simpering ladies-in-waiting; the nasty and not very clever prince; and the smart, just, but wavering Jed to whom Ella turns for help. In the end, Bresnahan makes the listener believe in Ella and her convictions. S.G. (c) AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine