Just Ella

Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix, 1999 Aladdin Books

     Prince Charming has proposed and Cinderella said yes. Now Ella Brown has been swept away from her stepmother and stepsisters to what should be a paradise--no chores, beautiful clothes, and a future as queen. But being a princess isn't all she expected it to be. Princess lessons and palace etiquette are suffocating and Ella has little time to herself.
     What would be the time she and her fiance spent getting to know each other is spent with the prince staring at her like a piece of art or treating her as a mirror to his own glorification. Add to that her lack of power as a noblewoman and life back home is looking better and better.
     The only bright spots are Mary, a serving girl from the kitchens, and Jed, Ella's history tutor who stands in for his father. They become her only friends and the support that gets her through living in the bleak palace. When Ella becomes suspicious that Jed is using her connection to support a refugee camp he wants to create, they have a falling out and Jed admits to falling in love with her.
     When Ella falls out of love with the prince's boyish selfishness she asks to end their engagement. Prince Charming becomes violent toward her, and her decorum tutor and chaperon has her taken to the dungeon to change her mind. The treatment only encourages Ella to escape and she does through a sewage hole in the dungeon floor.
     Once free, Ella Brown tries to find the refugee camp Jed has made a reality. When she arrives he is delighted to see her, and proposes, but Ella is marriage-shy and asks for time. In the camp she learns to live her values and support the people around her--she is more than just a pretty face and has the ability to both affect change and help the people she cares for.
     In the end Ella Brown goes from princess and noblewoman to a noble woman caring for the people around her. Young readers will enjoy her spunk and compassion in Haddix's take on a classic fairy tale.