Ella Enchanted

Ella Enchanted
By: Gail Carson Levine
Copyright: 1997
Pages: 240
Reading Level: 9-12

"I want to be your forever and beyond, but you write that you are too young to marry or too old or too short or too hungry- until I crumple your letter up in despair, only to smooth them out again for the twelfth reading, hunting for hidden meanings."

Ella Enchanted is a story of a baby blessed with a curse. The Blessing of Obedience. As a young girl her mother passes away, leaving her with the one command to never tell anyone of the curse. At her mothers funeral she meets Prince Char and there friendship begins. Ella's father is a merchant and is rarely home, so him and Ella don't really have any sort of relationship. Ella's cook, Mandy soon tells her that she is a fairy, but can only do little magic. Which doesn't involve bringing her mother back to life, no matter how Ella pleads. Ella is soon sent to Finishing School. Where she meets Areida, who has an Ayorthian accent. The soon become good friends, and Areida even teaches Ella Ayorthian. Ella easily picks up languages, and knows how to say several things in many languages.
The trouble with Ella's curse starts when she meets Hattie, who is Dame Olga's daughter along with Olive. Hattie discovers that Ella must do anything she commands, but doesn't know why. As she is shipped of to Finishing School with these two, Hattie makes her life often miserable. And the final straw is when she commands Ella to never be friends with Areida ever again.
Ella devises a plan to run away when she sees that Lucinda and her father might be at a Giants wedding. She escapes in the middle of the night, taking Hattie's wig with her. On her journey she has two very pleasant day but then runs into Ogres and they read her thoughts and know she must be obedient. So they take her with them till they can find more food, to make the meal complete. At night she tries to run away, but after being commanded to stay she is overwhelmed by the curse and cannot leave. Knowing how persuasive Ogres can be she learns there language. In the morning she is able to charm them back to sleep convincing them they are to full to eat her as well.
The Prince soon rides up, and they capture the sleeping Ogres.
Prince Char sends Ella with an escort to Giant Ville for the wedding. She makes it in time and finds Lucinda. However she becomes very frightened when hearing how she is constantly turning those who reject her gift into squirrels. So she pretends to only speak and understand Ayorthiana. Lucinda commands Ella to be happy about her gift, and so Ella becomes ecstatic to follow orders. And is even thrilled when her father reports that she will have to marry a wealthy man, to solve there money problems.
However when the Wealthy Man appears to have lost everything, her father turns to marrying Dame Olga himself. At the wedding Ella escapes from Lucinda, and Prince Char finds her hiding. They bond by searching for hidden passageways, and sliding down railings.
There friendship becomes more when they continually write letters to one another. However when Prince Char confesses his love, Ella realizes she cannot be with him. Because it would be bad for the kingdom. Not being able to tell Char the truth, she writes him pretending to be Hattie. She writes him telling him that she has already wed, and was only playing with the Prince as a form of entertainment.
Both heart-broken, they stop writing. However when news of a Formal three day Ball is announced, Ella cant help but go. Hidden by a mask. She can't stand seeing the Prince with all the other girls, and introduces herself. Quickly winning him over. Eventually on the third night, Hattie overcome with jealousy rips off her mask. She is revealed, and runs home unable to face Char. In the process losing the very glass slipper her and Char found in the abandoned castle.
Prince Char arrives at her house with the slipper saying he will marry the woman who it belongs to. Both sister try with no luck. Ella refuses to marry Char knowing the curse who destroy the kingdom somehow. However in rejecting the Prince she overcomes the curse. "When you asked for my hand a few minutes ago, I was still too young to marry." I looked up at him and saw a smile start. "I'm older now, so much older that not only can I marry, but I can beg you to marry me." I knelt and took his hand.
He didn't let me kneel before him. He pulled me up and kissed me again. I took that to signify his consent.
The End

Recommend to: Everyone! Maybe boys might not enjoy this as much. But it still has adventure and mystical creatures. Maybe I'm bias but I think this a book everyone would love.
Problems: It shows a broken family, where the Dad is never around. And a evil step-mother.
My Reaction: Loved this book. So fun with all the languages, and thinking up all the things the curse makes Ella do. So detailed. I absolutely loved Prince Char's letter. I'm a sucker for Romance.

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Carnivorous Carnival

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Carnivorous Carnival by: Lemony Snicket.
Illustrator: Brett Helquist
Copyright: 2002
Pages: 286
Reading Level: 7-12

"Miracles are like meatballs because nobody knows what they are made of, where they came from or how often they should appear." - Lemony Snicket

In the 9th book in this captivating series we find the Baudelaire children hiding in the trunk of Olaf's car which they decided to jump in in the previous book.Through plenty of eavesdropping they discover that Olaf and his troupe are joining Madame Lulu's caravan Carnival. The Baudelaire's disguise themselves as freaks and decide to join the carnival as well. Sunny as Chabo the wolf baby and Violet and Klaus as a two headed person with highly differing voices.
they soon discover that a crystal ball told Olaf that one of their parents might be in the Mortmain mountains. After the 1st carnival show, Olaf announces that one of the freaks will be thrown into the lions pit at the next show. The Orphans go to discuss it with Madame Lulu and discover that her fortune telling is fake. Lulu catches them and reveals herself as someone named Olivia.
that night Esme Squalor turns up and tells them that if they get Lulu dumped into the lion pit the next day then seh will be able to join Olaf's troupe. the Orphans make plans to escape with Lulu the next day.
The next day Violet and Klaus are chosen to be thrown into the lion pit. they stall and eventually one of Olaf's henchman and Lulu are thrown into the pit and devoured.
The Orphans then discover a map up to the Mortmain mountains, Olaf appears and, still not recognizing them explains that it's the secret base to a secret organization. Tehy join Olaf's troupe and start heading to the mountains when Olaf reveals that he knew all along that they were the Baudelaire's in disguise and their caravan is cut off the train while they're on a steep slope. To be continued...

Recommend to: Preteen children, because of the complicated writing style and plot.
Problems: violence, two people are eaten by lions, might offend some people
Reaction: Once again Snicket did not dissapoin. the plot was creative and witty and kept me on my toes. the cliffhanger at the end forces the reader to continue on with this wonderful and yet thoroughly depressing story. I can't wait to find out how the Baudelaire's will get themselves out of this inventive, horrible and seemingly impossible predicament.

Series of Unfortunate Events: The Ersatz Elevator

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Ersatz Elevator by: Lemony Snicket
Illustrator: Brett Helquist
Copyright: 2001
Pages: 259
Reading Level: 8-12

" if you were to skip the parts about being 'nervous' and 'anxious' you would be skipping the most pleasant parts of the entire story" - Lemony Snicket

The 6th tale of the Baudelaire Children finds them going to live at another address this time with Jerome and Esme Squalor. Esme works with a man named Gunther, who the Baudelaire's immediately recognize as the antagonist of the story, the notorious Count Olaf, despite his disguise. Jerome and Esme dismiss their protests against "Gunther" to much frustrations.
While left alone one day the children discover that the elevator is fake. Climbing down the elevator shaft they discover their old friends the Quagmire triplets trapped in a cage at the bottom by Count Olaf, who plans to sell them at an auction. Olaf takes the triplets away before the Baudelaire's can rescue them.
They try to tell Esme about Count Olaf and the Quagmire triplets, but it turns out that Esme is working with count Olaf and she pushes them down the elevator shaft into a net. the Baudelaire's manage to escape out of the elevator shaft through a trap door at the bottom and end up in the burnt remains of their old mansion.
They rush to the auction and attempt to buy the Quagmire triplets, but instead bid on a chest of doilies by accident. Esme and Count Olaf are revealed to be evil and sadly are able to escape the angry crowd. Jerome, who's still a nice man, wants to keep the Baudelaire's, but they leave to rescue the Quagmire's. The story ends there, to be continued in the next book.

Recommended to: Children ages 7-12, the story is fairly complicated and the writing a little advanced
Problems: It tends to be somewhat depressing, nothing very good ever happens to them
Reaction: I love the way Lemony Snicket writes, it's interesting, witty and creative. His tone is sarcastic and simultaneously sincere. He really draws you in and makes you love and care about the welfare of the characters, making the story that much harder to read because of the excess of unfortunate events.

the Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

The Chronicles of Narnia: the voyage of the Dawn Treader by: C.S. Lewis
Illustrator: Pauline Baynes
Copyright: 1952
Pages: 223
Reading Level: 8-12

"And there we all were, as invisible as you could wish to see"

In this book, we meet again two of the Pevensie children. Edmund and Lucy, at this point in the story Susan and Peter are too old to return to Narnia. Edmund and Lucy and their cousin Eustace are pulled into Narnia through a painting of a ship. they find themselves on the Dawn Treader, captained by Prince Caspian now king of Narnia.
Caspian is looking for the 7 lost Lords of Narnia, also a talking mouse, REepicheep is on board looking for Aslan's country.
Throughout the book they visit many different mysterious islands the first are the Lone islands. This Island has fallen away from Narnia and is abundant in slave trade. the crew is captured and sold until slavery. Eventually they are able to reveal their true identity, restore the island to the Narnian ways and are free to continue their voyage. The next island they visit Eustace, Lucy and Edmund's nasty cousin, gets greedy and accidently transforms himself into a dragon. However, he has a change of heart and Aslan changes him back to himself. They discover a bracelet on the island that belonged to Lord Octesian. They travel to many different islands along their way, along the way they discover Lord Restimar and Lord Rhoop and eventually come to the island of the star, they find the rest of the Lord's in an enchanted sleep.
To awaken the lord's they have to sail to the edge of the world and leave one crew member behind. Lucy, Edmund Eustace and Reepicheep end up sailing to the world's end and leaving Reepicheep behind. They are able to rescue the Lords, Lucy, Edmund and Eustace go home again and everything is right in Narnia.

Reccomend to: Preteens, the story is fairly elaborate and complex, difficult for younger children to follow
Problems: Possibly the idea of other worlds outside our own might offend some people, they also ellude to the world being flat. some might be offended by the christian themes and metaphors.
Reaction: This story is among one of the more abstract and interesting of the series. Lucy and Edmund continue to be developed as older and more mature. The newer characters are interesting and relateable and the many islands that they visit are evidence of Lewis's rich fantasy that creates this fantastic world. The story was beautifully told, i didn't want it to end.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Magicians Nephew

The Magician's Nephew by: C.S. Lewis.
Illustrator: Pauline Baynes
Copyright: 1955
Pages: 202
Reading level: 8-12

"Polly's hand went out to touch one of the rings. And immediately, without a flash or a noise or a warning of any sort, there was no Polly"

This beautiful story, filled to the brim with christian-based metaphors and symbolism tells the story of the two children Digory Kirke and Polly Plummer. They are good friends, one day playing in the Digory's magician uncle Andrew's attic, they discover a set of brightly colored rings. Uncle Andrew tricks Polly into touching one of the rings, forcing Digory to go after. they find themselves in a forest and soon discover that by using different colored rings they can transport themselves to different worlds. The first world they visit is one that seems to be no longer inhabited. It is full of ruins and old statues. They discover an old bell,and despite the warning on it they decide to wring it. This wakes up the witch-queen Jadis, who Polly and Digory quickly discover is evil. Desperate to get away from her they try to leave the world without her, but to no success, she follows them to London causing mass chaos. They eventually succeed in getting her back into the forest and into another world along with a lampost, a cab-driver and his horse as well as their Uncle Andrew. The world is pitch-black when they get there and they soon realize that it has not been created yet. They then watch, entranced as Aslan, the lion, sings the world into existence. As he walks along flowers sprout up around his feet, trees grow, oceans are made. the lampost is planted into the ground, the horse gets wings, and Aslan turns the cab-driver and his wife into King and Queen of the new world. The Queen eats one of the magic apples and is granted eternal youth, and because of Digory's goodness he is given an apple which he later gives to his mother to cure her of her illness. He and Polly, obviously travel home eventually. Where Digory plants the core of the apple in the backyard and buries the rings. He later turns the tree into the beatiful wardrobe Lucy finds in the Lion the Witch and the wardrobe. Digory is the old professor that the Pevensie's go to live with.

Recommended to: Preteen children, the metaphors are fairly complicated, the writing advanced.
Problems: in no way realistic, Christian metaphors and symbolism might offend some people.
Reaction: This story was beautifully told, the concept of different worlds other than our own, was inventively and told in a new light. I appreciated the background story and history that obviously went into the story. I also could appreciate the heavy, and interesting christian-based metaphors and themes it made the story very relatable and added to it's relevance in my own life.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by: J.K. Rowling
Illustrations by Cliff Wright and Mary GrandPre
Copyright: 1999
Pages: 341
Reading Level: 8-12

"Er-I don't want to be rude or anything, but - this isn't a great time for me to have a house elf in my bedroom." - Harry

We meet Harry and his friends again, headed back to school for the second time. only this time Dobby the house elf, who pays Harry a visit during the summer is doing everything he can to stop Harry from going back to Hogwarts. He blocks the gate to the train station, hits Harry in the head with a ball during Quidditch, and visits him multiple times to stop him. However, a determined Harry chooses to ignore these warnings, flying to school with Ron in a flying car, playing Quidditch even with the risks, and brushing Dobby off constantly.
However, upon arriving at school, messages begin appearing on the walls of the castle, threatening that the Chamber of secrets has re-opened and is out to kill all non-magical students or "mudbloods". Harry soon gains posession of a diary by former studnet Tom riddle with whom he communicates. He tells him about the opening of the chamber years before and that the culprit was Harry's friend Hagrid. Students start to get attacked, petrified, by what turns out to be a huge snake, a basilisk. They discover that the snake is traveling through the school's pipes. They trace the snake back to the girls bathroom, moaning myrtle figures out how to help them open the chaber of secrets. Once inside they discover that the diary in fact belonged to Voldemort who's real name is Tom Marvalo Riddle. He then tells Harry the story about how he had bewitched Ginny, Ron's little sister into writing the notes on the walls and scaring everyone, and reveals that he is holding her hostage in the chamber, and plans to kill in order to restore himself. They duel once again and Harry uses the basilisk tooth to destroy the diary, once again defeating Voldemort against all odds.

Recommended to: Preteen children, once again the writing is pretty graphic and dark.
Problems: The obvious suggestion of witchcraft, murder, possession and general violence.
Reaction: Once again Rowling delivered beyond my expectations. The story was interesting, kept me on my toes and surprised me in the end. She brought forward minor characters and brought new life to them while expanding on current character. The story was very original and well thought out.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone by: J.K. Rowling
Illustrations by Thomas Taylor and Mary GrandPre
Copyright: 1998
Pages:309
Reading Level 8-12

"To have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever. - Dumbledore.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's stone tells the story of Harry Potter and his life. Living with his uncle and aunt he soon discovers he is in fact a wizard. His parents were not killed in a car accident as he supposed but rather by the evil wizard Voldemort. Harry Potter, leaves his mean Aunt and Uncle behind and goes to attend Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry. Much of the story involves Harry's discovery of the magic world in which they deliver mail with owls, have talking pictures, carry wands around in their pockets and learn spells and potions instead of Math and English. During his time at Hogwarts he meets his best friends Ron, Hermione, Neville, etc. but he also makes many enemies such as Professor Snape who seems to have it in for him and Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle who hate Harry and his friends on Principle. Harry also has the opportunity to learn a lot about his parents,about the people that knew them and where they came from. For example, he discovers the Mirror of Erised in which he sees himself standing with his parents, he gets to see them for the first time. Despite the 360 turnaround of Harry's previously very sad life, Harry soon discovers that although Voldemort is rumored to be dead, this may not actually be true. His Defense against the Dark Arts Teacher Professor Quirrel starts acting very strangely, Harry and his friends do some investigating and discover that Quirrel is in fact working for Voldemort. Quirrel is attempting to steal the sorcerer's stone which has an elixer in it that will make you immortal. Quirrel is attempting to steal it from the headmaster, Dumbledore to restore Voldemort to his former terrible glory. Harry, Ron and Hermione at the climax of this story run desperately to try to stop Quirrel. When they reach him just in time they discover that Voldemort is in fact sharing Quirrel's body with him. Harry and Quirrel duel, and when it eventually comes to blows Quirrel can't touch him. Harry is protected by the love of his mother who died for him when he was a baby. Because of this Harry is able to defeat Quirrel, snatch the sorcerer's stone out from under him, and Voldemort disappears once again never to return.

Recommended to: all pre-teens, the reading is a little advanced and the story a little complex.
problems: once again this story deals with witchcraft and wizardry, something some people might find offensive. The writing is also fairly graphic, definitely not suitable for younger children.
My reaction: I absolutely loved this book. I thought it was inventive and interesting. The characters were well-developed and the story was captivating. I couldn't put it down. I was very impressed by Rowling's ability to not only tell a story but to make me care about the characters, they're feelings and what would happen to them.