Just Ella (Margaret Peterson Haddix)

Author Biography

Margaret Peterson Haddix is a prolific, award-winning author of children’s and young adult literature, best known for the two series Shadow Children and The Missing. She lives in Columbus, Ohio

Published By: Simon & Schuster

Year: 1999

ISBN: 978-0-7614-5536-3

Reading Level: Grades 6 and up

Reader’s Annotation:

What if the story of Cinderella wasn’t really the fairy tale we’ve been told? And what if Ella’s “happily ever after” wasn’t so happy?

Plot Summary:

Fifteen-year-old Ella Brown is now “Princess Cynthiana Eleanora,” betrothed to Prince Charming. Once enslaved by her cruel stepmother and stepsisters, she defied them by attending a royal ball, and there she met his Highness. The whole kingdom is delighted for her, whispering rumors of a fairy godmother who helped her and looking forward to her “happily ever after.” But what they imagine is far from the truth. There was no fairy godmother: Ella took herself to the ball. And her new life at the palace is far from happy.

Each dull day is wasted on etiquette lessons, gown fittings and embroidery – the tomboyish Ella can never be herself or do anything she enjoys. Worse, the royal court consists of pompous, spoiled dimwits, including Prince Charming himself, who care nothing for those “below” them. Not for servants, not for the poor, and certainly not for the victims of their war with the kingdom of Suala. Ella’s only friends are Mary, a servant girl, and Jed, a young idealist with far more charm than the prince. But when Ella finds the courage to try to break off her betrothal, she faces frightening royal wrath. Will “happily ever after” ever be possible for her?

Critical Evaluation:

This short yet intriguing “sequel” to the tale of Cinderella combines two ideas that have probably crossed many a feminist fairy tale reader’s mind (1) A realistic “Cinderella” in which a smart, proactive heroine changes her own life with no magic – much like Ever After, released a year earlier. (2) A less-than-rosy portrait of Cinderella’s future, which thoroughly deconstructs princess culture and the clichés of Prince Charming and Love at First Sight. Ella has no fairy godmother to free her from the deathly boring, coldly snobbish world of the royal family, or from their cruelty when she dares to assert herself against them. But she does have the intelligence and iron will that brought her to the ball in the first place, and she puts both to good use as she struggles toward a new, non-traditional yet genuine “happily ever after.”

Admittedly, this book feels less unique and fresh now than it did in 1999. In today’s media, even by Disney, fairy tales are more often deconstructed than they are played straight, and the concept of a villainous Prince Charming has been used again and again. There’s also the trope of “not like other girls” to contend with, as all the more traditionally feminine female characters are either vapid or spiteful. (Though to be fair, the aristocratic men come across no better.) Still, the feisty and practical Ella is a likeable, relatable heroine, and her sometimes harrowing yet ultimately triumphant escape from oppression is an engaging one. For any young reader who needs a reminder that princess culture has its downsides and not all princes are charming, or that great things can be achieved without a (literal or symbolic) fairy godmother, or that “happily ever after” can take many different forms, this book is still an excellent choice.

Curriculum Ties:

*Fairy tale retellings

*Feminism

Challenge Issues:

*Violence

*Rape references

*Bodily function references

Why This Book?

While neither perfect nor groundbreaking by today’s standards, Just Ella is still an engaging feminist twist on the classic “Cinderella” story and on princess tales in general.