Ella Enchanted
by Gail Carson Levine
★ Top 25 book of 1997 · #20 on Best Books of 1997
Ella of Frell is cursed at birth with a fairy's gift of obedience, forcing her to follow every command. Refusing to accept this, she sets out on a quest through a fairy-tale world to break the spell.
Best for: Tween readers who love feisty heroines and playful retellings of fairy tales
Ella Enchanted is #20 on BookWard's Best Books of 1997, out of 27 1997 books that cleared our data bar.
What Ella Enchanted is about
In the kingdom of Kyrria, a fairy named Lucinda gives the newborn Ella of Frell a "gift" of obedience. She must instantly and literally follow any command she is given. With help from her mother, Eleanor, and the family cook, Mandy, Ella grows up clever and spirited, but the spell makes her life dangerous and frustrating.
At fifteen she meets Prince Char at her mother's funeral, and the two become friends. Her father, Sir Peter, later sends her to finishing school alongside Hattie and Olive, daughters of Dame Olga. Determined to break the spell, Ella sets out to find Lucinda, meeting ogres and giants along the way.
Gail Carson Levine's witty, charming retelling of Cinderella, published in 1997, asks what it means to choose for yourself. It won a Newbery Honor in 1998 and was the basis for a 2004 film adaptation and a stage musical. Young readers and fairy-tale fans will enjoy it.
Ella Enchanted on the Best Books of 1997
Ella Enchanted came out in 1997. Of the 27 books first published in 1997 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #20 on our Best Books of 1997 list.
Why it made the list: 194 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.8 out of 5 (38 ratings). The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
Nearby on the 1997 list
- How I Learned to Drive Paula Vogel, #18
- The Perfect Storm Sebastian Junger, #19
- The Sovereign Individual James Dale Davidson, #21
- The Winter Bride Lynne Graham, #22
See all Best Books of 1997 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 1996 Best Books of 1998.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 127 want to read it, 7 are reading it now and 60 have read it, according to Open Library.
- Ratings: 3.8 out of 5 from 38 Open Library ratings.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 33 | 55% |
| Reader love | 30 | 25% |
| Being read right now | 33 | 20% |
Questions about Ella Enchanted
When was Ella Enchanted published?
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine was first published in 1997.
Was Ella Enchanted one of the best books of 1997?
Ella Enchanted is #20 on BookWard's Best Books of 1997, out of 27 1997 books that cleared our data bar. 194 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.8 out of 5 (38 ratings).
Why is Ella Enchanted on the Best Books of 1997 list?
194 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.8 out of 5 (38 ratings).
More of the best books of 1997
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone J. K. Rowling, #1
- Rich Dad, Poor Dad Robert T. Kiyosaki, #2
- Guns, Germs, and Steel Jared Diamond, #3
- The Adventures of Captain Underpants Dav Pilkey, #4
- The Power of Now Eckhart Tolle, #5
- Into Thin Air Jon Krakauer, #6
See the full Best Books of 1997, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
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