Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine is a creative retelling of Cinderella. As a baby, Ella was cursed by a fairy to obey any orders that were given to her, no matter what they were. So when her mother dies and her father remarries, Ella must live with her stepsisters, Hattie and Olive. Quickly, Hattie discovers that Ella will obey her and uses that knowledge to her advantage. Instead of being treated as an equal, Ella is forced to be her stepfamily's servant.

Ella meets Prince Char. Together, they have exciting adventures. Slowly, they fall in love, but she knows that if she marries him, an enemy of the throne could command her to do something awful to him. She struggles to protect him and break the curse, but it seems impossible with such a burden as hers. Will she ever gain the freedom required to be with her true love?

-Grace

Clean Fantasy Romances for Growing Girls

For years, I waited for my kids to be old enough to appreciate Princess Academy by Shannon Hale. I would pull it off the shelf now and then and consider it for our next read-aloud, but the right time hadn't arrived.

Until recently. We just finished reading this wonderful book last week.



My patience paid off. Both Bubs (8) and Welly-Bells (6) thoroughly enjoyed it, but Welly was absolutely triumphant as the sweet little romance wrapped up. Giddy even.  :) She pranced around a lot and giggled a little...and I thought, Oh Boy! My little girl is growing up.

I told her that she comes from a long line of love. Couples that are madly in love for life and beyond.

I certainly haven't grown out of sweet little romances like The Princess Academy. I'm still a sucker for a good, clean fairy tale.

That got me thinking about all the other wonderful fantasy romances that I'll be able to share with her over the years. Can't wait!

Gail Carson Levine's:

Ella Enchanted

and Fairest

Shannon Hale's:

Book of a Thousand Days

and The Goose Girl series

Jessica Day George's:

Dragon Slippers
series

and Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow

Robin McKinley's:

Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast

Julie Berry's:

The Amaranth Enchantment

and Secondhand Charm

Martine Leavitt's:

Keturah and Lord Death

E.D. Baker's:

The Wide-Awake Princess



These books vary in maturity, but I consider them all Deliciously Clean Reads. What books would you add to the list???

Ever by Gail Carson Levine

Ever by Gail Carson Levine

Review by Emily, head mama of DCR and ...whimsy...

Ever is a brand new fairy tale brought to you by the author of Ella Enchanted, Fairest, and many other great stories.

Ever is told from both the perspective of Olus, god of winds, and the mortal girl he falls in love with, Kezi.

Olus lives a lonely life. None of the other gods are even close to his age. When he turns 17, he leaves the Akkan gods and seeks a life with the mortals. He becomes a goatherd for Kezi’s father. He watches Kezi and grows to care for her. The other gods tell Olus that it is a waste to care about mortals because they are soap bubbles. They are here one moment and die the next. But when Kezi’s life nears its end, Olus can’t stand the thought of it. He and Kezi embark on a hero’s journey to save her.

As I mentioned, Ever is an original fairy tale. The characters are fun and interesting, but I’m not sure they are as fleshed out as I would have liked. The plot is fresh. Seeing from each character’s point of view is intriguing, although occasionally confusing.

I definitely recommend Ever to teens and preteens who enjoy fairy tales. I didn't love it as much as Fairest and Ella Enchanted, but it is still worth reading.

Fairest by Gail Carson Levine

Wow. I just finished Fairest by Gail Carson Levine. I thoroughly enjoyed this clean book. I enjoyed Ella Enchanted when I read it years ago. I enjoyed The Two Princesses of Bamarre recently. For me though, Fairest is the best book to come from Levine’s wonderful imagination so far.

Fairest is a retelling of Snow White, but if you think you already know the story, you are completely mistaken. This take on Snow White is completely original and interesting. First of all, Aza is not a beauty. In fact, people shun her for her ugliness to the point that she questions if she is actually part ogre. Aza does have one redeeming quality though. Her voice. She is the most amazing singer in a land where singing is greatly valued. In Ayortha, they sing more than they talk. They sing their conversations.

Aza is thrown into the middle of all kinds of adventures in Fairest. She fights a bipolar queen, tricks ogres, lives with gnomes, and falls for a prince.

If you remember Areida from Ella Enchanted, she is in Fairest. Areida's sister, Aza, is the main character in Fairest. Although these books are set in the same world, you do not have to read one to understand the other. They both stand alone.

I hope you like this one!
Recommended Readers: 8 and up.

Posted by me, Emily.

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