So! Today, I'll be reviewing two Cinderellas in one post. Because that's how life worked out. Cinderella is one of the hardest fairytales to retell, because it's been retold so many freakin' times. As a result, it can be hard to churn out a good one, since there's such good books already. Both books are a side of the same coin.
Ella Enchanted
Ella Enchanted is written by the phenomenal Gail Carson Levine. Her twist on Cinderella is that Ella (our Cinderella) has to literally obey every command someone gives her. (That honestly makes a lot more sense from the get-go, because in the original, ol Cindy just stays. She doesn't run off. She just...stays. And not a whole lot of reason is given behind that.)
Ella is in love with Prince Charmont (yay!), and struggles with what to do with that. Because hey, if you could order her to rub her head and pat her tummy, then you can order her to chop off ol Charmy's head! (Yay?)
On top of that pickle, you have the usual characters: namely, the stepmother and stepsisters. And they're deliciously evil. I barely remember reading this book as a kid, because I would go white hot with rage every time the steps treated Ella badly. Levine is that good of a writer. That's my watermark - if a character makes you homicidal, and want to dive into the pages and straight up murder their butts, then that's good writing. I call it the Levine test.
Can I add that the cause of Ella's curse is - a fairy? In the original Cinderella, Cinderella's problems are caused by people, and it takes a fairy to get her out of her mess. Levine flips this upside down by having a fairy cause Ella's problems in the first place, and that it might take Ella herself, a human, to get herself out of this pickle. Ella Enchanted has a theme of people doing big things without thinking about how it will affect others (for fairies, this is called big magic). The consequences are usually pretty crappy. However, people who do big things while also thinking about the possible consequences can bring about good consequences. The book is really an exploration of how we treat others and life in general. Life can be full of hardships, but so can it be full of joy.
Geekerella
Geekerella is a recent novel by Ashley Poston, Her twist on Cinderella is that it is set in modern times (at the time of this writing), and is based on the much cherished art of fandom. I really hate fandoms, because (not all) but too many people take nice things and pervert them. And that's all I have to say 'bout that.
Anyway, Danielle (Elle) is the usual Cinderella, except her stepfamily is preppy, she works in a vegan foodmobile, and loves to cosplay. She's also in love with someone she doesn't know is a totally famous actor. All these elements are brilliant. There's the whole thing about secret identities (especially in social media), the acceptable translation of a ball (comic convention!!!!); and making pumpkins acceptably useful (would you like pumpkin fritters with that?). So Elle has to figure out how to get out from under her stepfamily's thumb, get over her father's death, and get the guy of her dreams.
This could have worked out so well.
But it didn't.
The book relies waaaaaaaaay too much on other works. Like, name-dropping actors and fandoms (which can actually work up to a point); talking about cosplay, etc. But there needs to be more substance for the story to stand on its own. Without that, the story just becomes another ho-hum Cinderella story. That's like a hot-air balloon that sails along quite nicely - and then pops, mid-air. The fact that political correctness bleeds everywhere doesn't really help, either. You can write Millennial stuff without having to agree on every part of the unofficial Millenmial manifesto.
I want to grab this book by the pages and tell it to "bee YOURSELF!!" But I cannot do that. Because it's a book, and wouldn't understand me. The irony is not lost on me that the book is about being yourself; but the book then goes and fails to do that somehow. Know what I mean, jellybeans?
Writing a book isn't easy. Getting good ideas isn't any easier. Retelling a fairytale can be a btt. But if you take the time and carefully mine everything you love about the original fairytale, then that helps to make it more meaningful, and not formulaic.
So I say to Ms. Poston - I think you can do better.
Final Score:
Ella Enchanted = Five stars.
Geekerella = Two and a half.
