Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

The classic fairy tale, Cinderella, is retold charmingly in this story by Gail Carson Levine. Ella, a young girl, lives happily until her mother dies of an illness. Cursed by a fairy at her birth to always be obedient, she is protected by her mother and cook/fairy godmother from being forced to do anything unreasonable. A spunky, fun-loving girl, Ella chafes at the finishing school her widowed father sends her too. Unfortunately, one of the girls there, Hattie, figures out Ella's secret and uses her obedience to control her. Meanwhile, she makes acquaintance with the prince and charms him. When Ella's father marries Hattie's mother the leaves for a long business trip, the mother and sisters force her into the servant role of the traditional story. Then she and the prince fall in love, but Ella realizes she can't marry him because she could endanger him if someone ordered her to do something that would put him in danger. What to do? Fun, full of delightful characters--elves, centaurs and more, this is a wonderful story for those who dream of happily ever after endings. The audiobook is voiced by Eden Riegel in an appropriately childlike voice. A Newberry Honor Book. Ella Enchanted by Gale Carson Levine. Listening Library, Random House, 1997, 1998.