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Everyone has heard the fairy tale: Ella wore glass slippers to the ball, won the heart of Prince Charming, and lived happily ever after.
But for Ella, life in the castle isn’t the happy ending she expected. Instead, with the wedding looming in her future, Ella is forced to attend royal genealogy lessons, perfect her needlepoint, and act like “a proper lady.” Worst of all, the prince isn’t the least bit interesting or charming.
It’s clear Ella isn’t “your majesty” material. No matter how much they try to make her a princess, she’s still little more than a peasant. However, amid the lies at court, breaking off a royal engagement and escaping the dire fairy tale ending isn’t as easy as Ella expected.
Just Ella is a simple Cinderella retelling, clearly written for younger YA readers. In this tale, there is no fairy godmother or magic, and instead of hoping to capture the heart of a prince, Ella went to the ball in an attempt to break from her hard life. Perhaps it is because of that hard life she lived that Ella is not exactly the kindhearted girl you’d expect from a Cinderella character.
Overall, this story clearly trades in the happy tones of the classic fairy tale for a pessimistic viewpoint of a girl struggling to shape her own future. However, I found it to be a unique take and enjoyed exploring the interesting concept of “after” happily ever after.
Rated: Mild. There is no profanity. A lecherous man — later found out to be a rapist — is left to guard a female prisoner. A man unwittingly plays the villain in a setup and is killed.
