Sometimes “and they lived happily ever after” isn’t the end of the story. That’s the premise of Margaret Peterson Haddix’s charming Just Ella, which revisits the classic rags to riches fairy tale to show what happens after Cinderella meets her Prince Charming. Fifteen year old Ella is a girl with a commoner’s sensibilities and a teenager’s frustration with the world. No sooner has she become engaged to the prince of her dreams and whisked away to the castle for some much needed training in etiquette, manners, and courtly behavior, than she discovers the royal life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Her growing discontent and the feeling that she’s making a terrible mistake cause her to reexamine her views on her betrothed and the life she’s marrying into, while at the same time revisiting the events that brought her to this point. When she deviates from the path laid out for her, will Ella find what she really wants, or will her spirit be broken?
Just Ella is a more than worthy variant on an old favorite. Ella is strong willed and self sufficient, the sort of heroine to take her destiny into her own hands and never give up to wait idly for her prince to come and save the day. Her determination, intelligence, and refusal to accept a bad situation when there are alternatives make her a character to admire, even if some of the supporting characters come off as a bit one dimensional in the end. Nevertheless, this is one fairy tale where “happily ever after” isn’t just another empty phrase. Highly recommended.