Just Ella (The Palace Chronicles Book 1)

Just Ella is like a continuation of the Cinderella story. But Ella doesn't exactly live happily ever after. It turns out getting married to Prince Charming isn't as amazing as she thought. The people at the palace were empty-headed and too perfect. Not only that, but Ella realizes she wasn't exactly in love with Prince Charming. She was only in love with the image of Prince Charming. But the problem is, escaping the palace and all the things she hates there will prove even more difficult and dangerous that escaping her evil stepmother. I enjoyed this books a lot, although the ending wasn't that great. This is a good book for people who like fantasy and fairy tales.

Did Cinderella have fairy godmother? Was Prince Charming as "charming" as he seemed? Just Ella will change your view of the classic Cinderella story. It made me think differently.
Princess Cynthiana Eleanora (Cinderella or Ella) is engaged to the prince. She is living in the luxurious rooms of the castle. Ella isn't hungry anymore either, nor does she have to work. She is living in the dreams of many. The dream turns out to be a prison. People always telling her what to do, and how to act can make it worse.
Ella isn't the helpless girl in this story. She is a smart and witty fox. This twist in the story will change everything you know as Cinderella.

I most defenitely give this book a 5 star rating. It's very youth friendly. I ususally like more adult oriented reads but I will admit, I really enjoyed this book. It was a one eighty when it comes to a re-telling of a fairy tale. For starters, Cinderella was just Ella or CindersElla...a fairy godmother does not exist, the prince is not so charming (although Ella's tutor is ;-), etc. Ella makes her own fate come about when she works her way into the ball. The prince does pick her to become his wife and she does move into the castle to prepare for marrying the prince but she quickly comes to realize that she does not love the prince. A series of events occur when Ella trys to escape and I'll leave the rest for the readers enjoyment. I can't believe it took me this long to discover this book. I wish I had a longer review but the book itself was not a large book and was a very quick read. I will defenitely be looking into a few more books by Margaret Peterson Haddix.

This book was written somewhat poorly. Compared with Ella Enchanted -- which it msut be done, there are so many similarities between the books -- there was no character development, the people were 1-dimentional and lifeless, and the writing wasn't creative or witty. As a 15-year-old, I didn't enjoy this at all, but young children might like it.

However, the book deals with themes too mature for really young readers. Rape is explicitly mentioned. The entire theme of the book is how in the palace's world, women can only make a difference by persuading men with their bodies. The themes about feminism and beauty were good in themselves, but poorly executed, and not appropriate for younger kids.

"Just Ella" also briefly deals with religious themes that seem unnecessary and political. Jed, Ella's religion teacher, explains that the church is really only for show. The author mentions several times how meaningless the phrases in the catachism are. As someone who studies theology, this was pretty stupid to me, because I could actually understand words like "ecumenical" that the author made fun of.

The worst part about this book was the characters. They simply had no life in them. Even Ella is nothing but rather snobby, instead of being "spunky." Jed, her love interest, wasn't special in the least. The book spends more time explaining his faults than giving an actual reason why she should love him. I could go on about everyone in the book, but if you read it you'd easily see for yourself (although I would reccomend spending your time on something else).

It was hard to fathom that such an independent-minded, likable, and thoroughly modern young woman could exist in the society described in the book. In addition, the plotline was extremely predictable--the minute the new tutor was introduced, it was obvious that she was going to fall in love with him and dump the prince. And, although I applaud anyone who wants to work with war refugees, the setup for her interest in this type of work is lame at best. Some of the situations the heroine describes are quite amusing, though. And, her tenacity as she tunnels her way out of the dungeon is admirable.

Just Ella starts just after the ball where she won the prince's heart. Ella is having a hard time adjusting to palace life, and soon discovers that the prince isn't all she once thought he was. Through a few flashbacks, we see how Ella came to own the glass slippers, make the dress, etc. without any magic. She takes control of her own destiny through strength and determination to bring the happily ever after she has always dreamed of.

Just Ella starts off where the classic fairytale Cinderella left off. Ella is living in Prince Charming's castle and the two will be married soon. She's glad to be away from her wicked stepmom and stepsisters, but she does feel lonely. Ella wonders does she truly love Prince Charm? Is this what she really wants?
This was a fun, light read. I think most girls can relate to Ella's character. She's smart, funny and independant. She doesn't wait for her Prince Charming to come and rescue her, she can take care of herself.

I enjoy reading various versions of traditional fairy tales, from different cultures or with modern twists, and Cinderella is my favorite. But this rendering is too far off from the usual tale and loses the magic (the storytelling magic, that is - you CAN tell Cinderella successfully without fairy magic, such as in "Ever After"). While it was a reasonably interesting read, it was not Cinderella, and should not be compared with other versions such as "Ella Enchanted." Indeed, Levine has much more skill with a fairy tale than does Haddix.

Cinderella is really one of my favorite fairy tales, well when I was a little kid; it was my favorite Disney movie. Well, behind Aladdin and the Little Mermaid. But anyway, I have loved all of the Cinderella retellings that I have read so far. This was a fresh new retelling of the tale, and really did a good job explaining what the downside to palace life is like.
The Prince, for example, infuriated me with his lack of a brain. He may have been a Charming, and incredibly handsome, but he was so dull-witted, well we all know someone like that. I really liked how I could identify with the views of Ella. Whenever I can relate to the opinions of any of my favorite characters in a book, I just love it! And Ella is the type of good role model that you sometimes can't find in fairy tales, for the females are usually dull-witted, just like Charming.
Ella doesn't fit into the carefully sanded edges of a typical princess mold. Madame Bisset knows this, and tries to change her frequently. I hated the characters of Madame Bisset, Prince Charming, and Quog, that disgusting rapist guy. They just made me so ANGRY!
Well all I can say is, I really enjoyed it, so buy your self a copy! Try Haddix's other books too; I liked all of them. One of my favorites is Leaving Fishers.

Being the type that finds the steryotypical cinderella a complete whoose, I really enjoyed this book. I see the author might have agreed with me on this (and that the story ended a little to quickly with not enough fuss.) Since I actually do love the basis of Cinderella. (How a girl escapes a horrible life by marrying a prince.) But thought she could do it on her own if she tried. This book seems to be made for me. (I'm sorry if you don't find this review helpful but it's rather late and I'm beggining to feel a bit sleepy.)

...if you liked the Cinderella story, then you will like this one too. According to the author and such, this is suppose to be the next chapter of the story of Cinderella. In the movie, they all say that they lived happily ever after but that wasn't how it began in this story. Ella seemed to miss being a maid or servant to the steps. I'm not saying that she misses the fact that she moved out of that house but that in the palace, they start to spread the rumors. If she tries to make a fire because the fire went out in the room and a servant in the palace sees her, she would tell her friend then that friend would tell another friend, then another, then another until it reaches Madame Bisset. As life goes on in this story, Madame Bisset teaches her how to be more lady like or in other words, wants to make her more of a princess than a servant girl. Everything must go under the castle's rule and Ella would meet prince Charming once in a while for about 10 min. or so. She has a tutor name Jed and he teaches her about well, everything there is to know about the world. Then, Jed said that he would go out and start a refugee to take in the sick and the injured and left the castle. Later, she soon realizes what the word love is and why she said that she would marry the prince. One day, when it was time for Charming and Ella to meet, she would just say it without feeling sorry for him. When Charming entered the room, she couldn't stop staring at his blue eyes and his golden hair. She tried to concentrate and focus to tell him that she didn't want to marry him but he grabbed her hand and kissed it. Immediately, she took her hand away and just said it," I don't want to marry you!" Charming was so shocked and didn't know what to do that he tied her up and went to find Madame Bisset. Madame Bisset locked Ella up in a dungeon and left her alone until she reconsidered about the whole ' I don't want to marry you ' part. Then, she had a visit from Quog. He was a mental was sexually active. Quog was put into the dungeon because he would rape every single beautiful girl that he would find. Charming and Madame Bisset thought that with him around, Charming would kill him and Ella would be so happy and would want to marry him again. But that didn't happen. In the dungeon, there was this little pee hole and Ella would escape by digging her way out of the castles wall and property. She had made her escape and she went to go find Jed at the refugee camp. When Ella arrived, she saw Jed and Jed had propose to her. She said that she would give him her answer in 6 months. Jed went back to the castle and wrote a letter to her that the time was up and that Charming had married one of Ella's Stepsister.
I liked this book because there was a lot of adventure in it and mystery along with it. In the beginning, Ella had said, "Ella, you're no stranger to tending fireplace." In the castle, only servants were only allowed to touch the fireplace but instead of calling the servant, she just did it herself. That really amazes me because she would risk braking one of the castle's rule.
"A princess? Where? Oh, that's right. Me. Sort of." This quote really made me wonder if she remember that she was going to marry the prince. It made me question alot of stuff too. I just love books that make me wonder and make me think of all of the questions that there is to think of.
My favorite part of the book was when Ella had told Charming that she didn't want to marry him anymore. After reading that chapter, I wondered why he took orders from others even though he was the prince. It was very suprising the way Ella refused one of Charmings orders. That shows how brave and self-centered she is. Well, sort of.

This book is very creative and awe-inspiring for young readers and the upincoming authors of today. This book shows the creativeness of the author in seeking beyond what we have established as Cinderella, no one really knew what happened to her after "Happily ever after" This book shows that even the most gold coated situation, that every girl has dreamed of at least once, can be not so appetizing as thought. I think that this book is a must read for fans of Ella Enchanted and The Two princesses of bamarre.

All good fairy tales end with the words "and they lived happily ever after". But what happens after that? The book Just Ella goes beyond the happily ever after ending and shows you what life is like beyond the clichéd fairy tale ending. This book starts out like a regular old Cinderella story. Prince Charming falls in love with the peasant girl Ella at the ball, and makes her his wife. You would think that this would be the end of the story, but what is so awesome about this book is that it is just the beginning. Ella has gotten everything she's ever dreamed of. She is swept off her feet by Prince Charming and taken from her common life to being one of the highest members of the royal family. Perfect right? Perfect is exactly the opposite of what Ella is feeling. Ella is bombarded with pointless lessons and weighed down by dresses made up of endless fabric. She feels like she can't be herself or say anything without getting herself into trouble with one of her many teachers. Ella isn't allowed to do anything for herself or even go outside. She hasn't even spoken with the prince since she came to the castle and is starting to realize that the happily ever after ending she thought it would be isn't happily ever after at all. Ella needs to escape, but the question is how without getting caught by the many royal guards? This book was exciting to read, especially because it wasn't your average fairy tale, but much more. It took you into life after happily ever after and was just an amazing and imaginative book to read. I definitely recommend this book to teenagers and older for a more mature twist on the Cinderella story.

I thought this was a fascinating book on Cinderella's life. It was Cinderella's story from a different prospective. Instead of happily ever after it is more like unhappily ever after. Ella, a fifteen-year-old girl, is chosen to marry Prince Charming. Everything is great...until she has to move into the castle and take etiquette classes and be a lady in waiting. This is something she is not used to at all. At her old house she did everything no matter how dirty her fingernails got. Madame Bisset gets hysterical every time Ella tries to do something herself. This is not what castle life is supposed to be like she thinks. But after her new teacher, Jed, comes Ella gets much happier. He talks to her about important things that really matter unlike Prince Charming. Ella finds he is unoriginal, boring and couldn't have a thought of his own if it killed him. She cherishes the time she spends with Jed because he is the only person in the castle that talks to her like a normal person. Ella wants out, but when she ends up locked in the dungeon for trying to get out of marrying the prince, she finds it is more difficult than she thought. Ella knows she must get out. But how is the hard part. This is a book that I couldn't wait to finish reading. At first it started out like a normal fairy tale but by the end it was well worth my time. You can never tell what is going to happen but the end is a good surprise. It shows that even castle life is not as perfect as people think. Even for a princess not everything goes the way she wants.

fairytales are storys where in the end everyones happy and things go as planned.in the end of this book everyones happy(well i dont no about prince charming)but all does not go as planned.cinderella and prince charming are to live happily ever after...but for that to happen aren't they supposed to be together??not in this case!!who says cinderella and prince charming have to get married or love each other??who said prince charming has to be charming?who says ella cant marry the love of her life.read this book and read the cinderella that is more real,fun,adventurous and romantic

i really enjoyed the little Cinderella twist.i reccomend it to ALL young readers that are capable of reading chapter books. if u have already read this book then i suggest u read palace of mirrors. 1 IMPORTANT thing... read palace of lies! its new and awesome!

This book was nothing like ella enchanted. Halfway through the book i started wondering even if it was a sequal at all...for example, in the first book she called the prince Char, in the second, it was Charm...i know its not much of a difference but im picky like that. Plus its by a different author AND she looks completly different on the first cover then she does from the second, she does not have blonde hair!. I was 10 when i read this and it seemed a tad bit adult for me. However if i hadn't read Ella enchanted i would say it was half way decent. But overall i hated it.

This book is an alternate ending to "Cnderella"'s "happily ever after ending." If I had known that, I wouldn't have read it. It really makes everything seem so negative. Instead of having a lovely, happy Cinderella dancing around freely in the palace, Ella is locked in a dungeon from which she escapes by digging through the toilet. Prince Charming is and empty headed loser. A well written story, but I would rather not have the end of "Cinderella" altered.

The concept was interesting, but the magic wasn't there. Spare me, please, the anachronistic medieval maidens with the politically correct agenda of today. This story, if well-written, could have been beautiful in its own way but I found the dialogue and the narration plodding and painfully dull. As many other reviewers have noted, there was none of the enchantment one wants when reading a fairy tale. I actually rolled my eyes during some of the more self-righteous passages. The characters were stereotypical and dull, especially Prince Charming. A good writer surprises and delights her readers and that didn't happen here.

Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix is a different version of Cinderella. Ella is a servant to her stepmother and to her stepsisters and dreams of going to the ball and marrying Prince Charming. She thinks it would be great to live in royalty with the handsome Prince Charming. After the ball she is chosen to marry the prince but it's not a happily ever after. The royals are molding her into what they call a princess. She feels like all she gets to do is needlepoint and her lessons that teach her how to be a princess. She feels her life is meaningless. She feels she can tell Jed her princess teacher anything, but with the prince it's different; she feels she can't tell him anything without him getting offended.

Ella discovers there's more to falling in love than just looks. She suddenly is having second thoughts about her wedding. When she tells Prince that she does not love him his behavior changes. In this story there's no fairy godmother to help her. Will Ella live a happily ever after?

I like Just Ella because it's a different version of Cinderella. This book is full of adventure, courage, destiny, love, and hope. If you like to look up big words, this is the book for you, because there are some!

Just Ella is the ACTUAL ending of cinderella, at leat to Margaret Peterson Haddix! I thought it was a really cool book, about a girl with a mind of her own. I loved how Margaret twisted the Cinderella story and made it interesting and somewhat suspensful. I really like the Middle Age type of books, so if you do and you like the Cinderella story, you'll like this book. I have it and have read it 4 times! It's a really good read!

Having read many novels based on the story of Cinderella and other fairy tales, I felt that this one was not on the same level as other great stories, such as Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine. I liked that this novel took place after Cinderella's marriage, yet the author could have done a much better job with such a good story. I did not like Haddix's style of writing and found her protagonist and the protagonist's love interest underdeveloped, as was their romance. Hopefully, some other author will produce a better continuation of Cinderella's life.

Just Ella shows that not all fairy tales have good endings. The life after Cinderella wasn't exactly a fairy tale life. It was more like the opposite. Sure, she didn't have to do all the chores anymore, but she couldnt't do anything else either, and the prince wasn't exactly the brightest crayon in the box. She found herself longing for a different life with someone else.
She learned that royal life wasn't what everyone thought it was. She learned that a simple life is what made her happy. I think everyone who longs for that perfect fairy tale life could learn a lesson. Even if your happy with you life you have, you should still read it. You could learn something, too.

Some... er, people... think this book has something to do with Ella Enchanted, but don't be fooled into thinking this is a sequel in any way. Just because both books involve a main character named Ella does not mean it's related. Especially when they're by two different authors! But on with the review.
Just Ella is a fabulous anti-fairytale story. It's like a continuation of Cinderella, only everything that had once gone completely right has now gone absolutely wrong. This young woman has done everything to become a princess and wife to the man she thought was her very own Prince Charming, but it turned out that he was only Prince Dull in disguise. So, defying the Cinderella tradition, she refuses to marry Charming and takes fate into her own hands. The book leaves off with Ella having control to do what she pleases, and that's why this book is an empowering message to women (and girls like myself) everywhere.

Just Ella is a wonderful continuation to the classic Cinderella story. You know, her fairy godmother lets her go to the ball, but at midnight the spell is broken, Cinderella loses her glass slipper, the prince finds and carries her off to the palace. But does she really marry prince charming? She lives happily ever after, right? Well in a way...but you'll need to read the book to find out how. Although this book does leave you wanting for more, it also leaves you thinking. This book is wonderful and I fully enjoyed it! Its definitly one of my favorites. So,if your looking for a book to give as a gift or just to read this would probubly be a really good choice.

Just Ella is a great book. The settings used create a lot of feeling for the reader. The only problem I saw was the realism. It was not very realistic, but that can be forgiven because it is, after all, a fantasy novel. Thank you Ms. Haddix, for giving me and many other bookworms a chance to enjoy ourselves with this excellent read.

i bought this book becouse the way the store advertised it it seemed to be the book after ella enchanted but it so was not.
it was compltley differnt and beside that whole cinderella factor the books had nothing in common. but anyway the book turned out to a charming tale and will shock ach reader over and over again

Just Ella is cinderella, but in a distorted way. Ella has already married the prince and lives in the castle, but then finds out she doesn't like him because all he cares about is her beauty. Along the way she meets Jed, who is a few years older than her and is one of her teachers. Even though most want the fairy tale of living happily ever after with the prince, you know Ella and Jed will be together.
This is a book you should read to remind yourself that no life is perfect, even a princesses. It will remind you of how bad you want you want to be the princess, and will leave you feeling like a kid again. Give the book a chance and you'll be happy you did.

Just Ella has a surprising twist on Cinderella's life in the castle. In this "everything that glitters is not gold" story, Ella comes to the realization that Prince Charming isn't so charming after all. In fact, he's a jerk that can't make a decision on his own. Also, Ella isn't happy being "Little Miss Perfect" all the time. She likes doing things for herself instead of being waited on hand and foot. Margaret Peterson Haddix does a terrific job explaining the realistic side of Cinderella. It's not about fairy godmothers and mice. Instead, it's about a young lady finding out what she really wants in life. This fairy tale is somewhat shocking, but leaves you with a good feeling inside. Does Ella find true love and happiness? What's the real Cinderella story? It's all inside this great book.

I have always been partial to fairy tales that tell what "really happened." I never really bought into the whole idea of happily ever after. Don't get me wrong I love a happy ending as much as the next person, but I want to know why.
In Just Ella, Ella learns what it really means to live happily ever after. She makes her own destiny and finds out what it means to love, but most of all she does it with style.
I like this book because it has a strong heroine who knows what she wants and then finds out a way to get it. Life in the palace may be a little extreme, but Ella has the ability to cope with it.
I would recommend this book to teen-age girls who are wondering what kind of power they have in this world.

My granddaughter just loved this book. It kept her attention and she finished it in a week. I was really impressed that a story could hold a 10yrs attention to finish it that quickly. Also it arrived quickly.

Thanks.

If you liked Ella Enchanted, you will absolutely love this book!
A great story about Cinderella who is now the prince's betrothed.
But she hates the endless lessons on how to be a proper princess.
And after sometime she begins to doubt her decision to
marry the prince was such a good idea.

JUST ELLA IS A CONTINUATION OF THE CINDERELLA STORY-SORT OF.
WHEN ELLA GETS TO THE CASTLE, SHE THINKS THAT HER LIFE COULD
NOT GET ANY BETTER-WHO WOULDN'T? WELL WHEN ELLA FINDS OUT THAT
SHE HAS TO BECOME A LADY, NO BIG DEAL. BUT WHEN THEY TELL HER
THAT SHE CAN'T EVER GO OUTSIDE OR ANYTHING, IT STARTS TO BOTHER
HER.
WHEN SHE AND THE PRINCE NEVER SPEND ANY TIME TOGETHER, SHE STARTS TO WONDER IF HE REALLY LOVES HER. WHEN THEY HAVE THEIR
"ALONE TIME," ELLA FIGURES OUT THAT THE ONLY REASON THAT THE
PRINCE WANTS TO MARRY HER IS BECAUSE SHE'S SO BEAUTIFUL. ALL
HE KEPT SAYIN WAS "YOUR SO BEAUTIFUL," AND NOTHING ELSE.
ELLA REALIZES THAT SHE IS FALLING IN LOVE WITH ONE OF THE SERVENTS THAT LIVES AT THE CASTLE. THE SERVENT FALLS IN LOVE
WITH ELLA TOO, BUT THEY COULD NEVER BE TOGETHER, OR ELSE
THEY WOULD BOTH DIE.
WHEN ELLA TELLS THE PRINCE THAT SHE NO LONGER WANTS TO MARRY
HIM, HE THROWS HER IN JAIL AND SAYS SHE CAN COME OUT WHEN
SHE SWEARS SHE WILL MARRY HIM. ELLA WOULD NOT, COULD NOT DO
THAT. SHE GETS A SHOVEL AND DIGS OUT OF THE CASTLE. SHE GOES
BACK TO HER OLD HOUSE ONLY TO GET SOME CLOTHES. THEN SHE GOES
AND FINDS THE MAN SHE FELL IN LOVE WITH AND NOW FINALLY SHE GETS
MARRIED, AND ONLY NOW DOES SHE LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER.
THE END

This book was exsellent, though a fast read (a little over two days). It put a new twist on a classic stroy that all ages should enjoy. There's a cliff hanger in every chapter which keeps it flowing. I would recomed this book to anyone above the 4th grade, because there is a slight amount of language.

Is happily ever after really happy? For Ella (Cinderella), once reality sets in and she finds out what is expected of her as a princess and gets to know Prince Charming, she realizes that maybe she has not chosen a life that will satisfy her. I really enjoyed this book because the story was well told and characters well written but also because Ella doesn't need a fairy godmother to help her change her life.

Please, before you waste your hard earned money on this worthless book, listen to what I have to say. I read this book after reading the simply wonderful Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine and was sorely disappointed. It did look good on the outside cover, but from the very beginning of the book it confused me, was hard to follow, and just boring.

It had content I could have done without, and a VERY disappointing ending. Up to the very last page I was hoping somehow the author would fit in some sort of happy ending, but to no avail. Once Ella gets to the castle she decides she's done with the prince and wants to leave. It gets kind of boring with her constantly trying to escape. Her new love interest at the end of the book has proposed, and you never even get to hear her answer. She tells him to ask later.

This book is HIGHLY over-rated; its not worth wasting the time and energy reading this book when you could be reading some terrific ones, such as Eragon, Harry Potter, The Truth-Teller's Tale, Inkheart, and The Two Princesses of Bamarre (also by Gail Carson Levine). I highly recommend these. I hope my review may have saved you some time and money!

This book is definatley a page turner! I am pretty obsessed with Cinderella stories Like Just Ella, Ella Enchanted and ever after! This book is full of exitment of how aa average servant girl steals the Princes heart and she thinks she loves him and they all live happily ever after right? WRONG! In this Epic tale Ella Goes to the castle where she is bogged down with manners classes and many other boring classes. About half way through the book Ella realizes 2 things! The Prince, as cute as he may be, has never made a decision on his own in his life, and that she never loved him at all! But how can she break a betrothal to a prince? It simply has never been done, until now.

Of course, it was very funny and imaginative but i also found that I had to stop and think because once you got past the funny parts, you really had to imagine how it affected Ella and did the ending suit her? I really liked it because those are the kind of books I like!

Have you ever heard that old, somewhat cliched expression: "Don't judge a book by its cover"? Well, old and somewhat cliched it may be, but it's very true. It speaks for Just Ella. I expected the book to be a great read, judging from the attractive cover which interested me. But the book itself was a disappointment. The characters were all dull and insipid, with the prince being a mean, stupid witless clod and Ella herself rather mundane and un-magical. I don't understand why this book received all the wonderful reviews it did; it doesn't deserve even half of them. A much better book would be Ella Enchanted, by Gail Carson Levine. Now THAT deserved all the reviews it got.

You assume happily ever after, but would it really be to be swept away from your humble life into that of a princess? Haddix asks the question and explores the answer.
I enjoyed this book because it departs from the fairy tale and ask real questions and makes real statments about the meaning of love.

Have you ever wondered what happened to cinderella after the Ball or even about her side of the story? Well, if so this is the book for you. This story takes you through the life of Ella living with her step mother and sisters, going to the Ball and from there meeting Prince Charming. As you read this story, you get to see how Ella's life in the castle was not at all magical. Through Ella's eyes we get to experience how important it is to have values and know who you are. This book is great and very enjoyable to read. We highly recommend that this book be read by young and older adults for many reasons.

In this version of the Cinderella story Ella lives with her evil aunt and two stepsisters and she sneeks out to go to the royal ball in which she meets the prince and they fall in love with each other!!!This sounds like the regular Cinderalla story doesnt it well, then Ella finds out that being a princess is not all its cut out to be!!!When she tries to get out of marrying the Prince she gets locked in the dungeon and well if you like the kind of adventurous fictional books then you should read Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix!!!I read it and it should be recommended for children 8-12!!!!

Just Ella was Just Horrible! The characters were two dementional boring and very perdictable. The ending was like the author just wanted to finish the book. the only credit i give is that she wrote a new side of a classic story, which has been done already! over all don't waste your money. a good book you can read on this sort of subject is Ella Enchanted. it is very good.

I liked this book because of all the neat emotions you got to read about of all the characters. It is also great because of all the different challenges Ella had presented to her. I hope you read this book!

I personally loved this book because it was much more realistic than the normal version of Cinderella. Instead of a corny little "Happily Ever After" like every other story, it showed what happened to Ella after she moved to the palace. She found out that her prince charming was actually a jerk and an idiot who did whatever he was told. Once Ella realized that she had only been proposed to because of her looks, she fled the palace (but not without digging a passageway out). This was an exciting book with a happy ending that made sence.