Just Ella

Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix is a sweet, realistic "what happened after" Cinderella.
Sweet, because this is my favorite type of fairy tale: a heroine who questions what happens to her and does her best to act. Realistic, because, well, not everything is perfectly Charming. In fact, it stinks more than the crap-hole our leading lady Ella has to dig a tunnel through to escape the castle. She might not have known much about love, but she recognized enough to know that what she felt was not it, and that it deserved no place in a marriage. And when she tried to back out... well, she became well-acquainted with the dungeon atmosphere.

The book was a quick read, and made enjoyable by the heroine's narration and the frankly interesting story. I would recommend this story to intermediate readers, or anyone who likes a fractured fairy tale.

Blue

Brown's Read List

These are the books that I currently have on my I WANT TO READ list:

Caught in Crystal by Patricia Wrede

The Gods in Winter by Patricia Miles

Gifted by Joss Whedon

AD 62: Pompeii by Rebecca East

Leepike Ridge by N D Wilson

The Unquiet by John Connolly

1901 by Robert Conroy

The Last Days of Dogtown by Anita Diamant

1632 by Eric Flint

1812 by Eric Flint

Term Limits by Vince Flynn

City of Shadows by Ariana Franklin

The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory

A Respectable Trade by Philippa Gregory

Conspiracy Theory by Jane Haddam

Hardscrabble Road by Jane Haddam

Headmaster's Wife by Jane Haddam

The Skeleton Key by Jane Haddam

The Perfect Royal Mistress by Diane Haeger

Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris

Grave Surprise by Charlaine Harris

An Ice Cold Grave by Charlaine Harris

Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay

In the Eye of Heaven by David Keck

The Green Mile by Stephen King

The Things They Left Behind by Stephen King

Candles Burning by Tabitha King and Michael McDowell

Brother Odd by Dean Koontz

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John LeCarre
Cold as Death by TJ MacGregor

What I'm Reading When I Ought to Be Sleeping

Reviewed:

• Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix
• Heat Wave by Richard Castle
• Anahita's Woven Riddle by Meghan Nuttall Sayres
• Naked Heat by Richard Castle
• The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
• 19 Girls and Me by Darcy Pattison, illustrated by Steven Salerno
• Heir Apparent by Vivian Vande Velde
• An Innocent Soldier by Josef Holub
• Erratum by Walter Sorrells
• Sisters of the Sword by Maya Snow
• At the Sign of the Star by Katherine Sturtevant
• A True and Faithful Narrative by Katherine Sturtevant
• 13 Treasures by Michelle Harrison
• The Doom Machine by Mark Teague
• The Runaway Princess by Kate Coombs
• The Runaway Dragon by Kate Coombs
• The Robber and Me by Josef Holub
• The Snow Maiden and Other Russian Tales translated and retold by Bonnie C. Marshall
• Found by June Oldham
• Twice Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris
• Never After by Rebecca Lickiss
• Something Rotten by Alan Gratz
• Kimi ni Todoke, vol. 1 by Shiina Karuho
• Oresama Teacher, vol. 1 Tsubaki Izumi
• Hokkaido Highway Blues: Hitchhiking in Japan by Will Ferguson
• The Burning Heart: Women Poets of Japan translated and edited by Kenneth Rexroth and Ikuko Atsumi
• They Called Me Mad by John Monahan
• The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson
• The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly
• The Pale Assassin by Patricia Elliott
• The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson
• A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce

To be reviewed:

• Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
• Make Room Make Room by Harry Harrison
• Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner
• The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford
• James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
• The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron
• The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
• The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman
• Strange Happenings by Avi
• Dumping Billy by Olivia Goldman
• The First Wives' Club by Olivia Goldman
• This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer
• Kiss Me Tomorrow by Susan Shreve
• Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu
• The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
• Fearless by Elvira Woodruff
• The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
• The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan
• The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan
• Fearless by Tim Nott
• Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper
• The Shadow Warrior by Pat Zettner
• Arabella and the Beast by Rebecca Baldwin
• The Trouble with Harry by Jack Trevor Story
• One Dog and His Boy by Eva Ibbotson
• Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George
• About Average by Andrew Clements
• The Changeling Prince by Vivian Vande Velde
• Oddly Enough by Bruce Coville
• Skulduggery Pleasant: Dark Days by Derek Landy
• The Tale of Two Castles by Gail Carson Levine
• 
  

List to be edited and updated, reviews forthcoming.

Blue

Dear Blue,

I hope you're cool with the changes I've made.

Love,
Brown

The First

Dear Brown,

I hope you're satisfied, or at least you like it. You can change it if you like.


Blue