Evie is happiest when she is healing people, diagnosing symptoms and prescribing medications, with the help of her devoted friend (and test subject) Wormy. So when Wormy unexpectedly proposes to her, she kindly turns him down; she has far too much to do to be marrying anyone. And besides, she simply isn’t in love with him.
But a certain meddling fairy named Lucinda has been listening in, and she doesn’t approve of Evie’s rejection. Suddenly, Evie finds herself transformed from a girl into a hideous, hungry ogre!
Stuck in this new and confusing form, Evie now has only sixty-two days to accept another proposal—or else be stuck as an ogre forever
One of my favorite childhood novels has and continues to be Gail Carson Levine’s Ella Enchanted. This novel follows a spunky but cursed heroine on an adventure to take her life in her own hands against social norms—something that is not easy to do when the norm includes magic and magical creatures. Her rebellious and comedic spirit entwined with the creative solutions she finds to push the boundaries of her obedience course has always inspired me. While I could keep gushing about the novel, Ella, and her love interest I should save you all the trouble and say that I love the novel which is why I find myself coming back to it over and over again.
When I found out that a companion novel is about to be released I almost lost my mind. Excitement was the first emotion that coursed through me. I went around ranting to my sister, friends, and anyone who would be willing to hear me talk about books. Then, when I had settled down, I began to wonder on the notion of sequels. Most importantly sequels that have a HUGE publishing gap.
Ella Enchanted was first released in 1997 and was so popular that it spurred on (in my opinion, a sub-par movie adaptation) in 2004. Now nearly two decades later, a companion novel will grace the shelves of hundreds of bookshops.
I am a bit hesitant to call this a true sequel as I have seen the designation of “(0.5)” following the title of this novel. Typically this designation means that the book is apart of the same universe of a novel but might be a prequel or a short story that precedes larger events in a series. Since Ella Enchanted is, up till this point, a stand-alone novel I can only assume that Ogre Enchanted is a story that occurs at the same time as Ella’s adventures or just occurs in the same universe. The mentioning of Lucinda seems to be the major link between the two novels. I cannot confirm this as the novel is only available for pre-order at the moment; the novel will be available for purchase starting October 16th.
From the book’s synopsis’ Ogre Enchanted seems to be a retelling of Princess and the Frog with some of Shrek meshed in. The idea of punishment and having another person see past a frightening exterior and love the transformed individual gives me some Princess and the Frog vibes (with some Beauty and the Beast as well if I am being honest). The premise of ogres, of course, reminds me of Shrek. The fact that the protagonist of Ogre Enchanted is a female who is transformed into an ogre has similarities to Princess Fiona from the Shrek film franchise.
Despite my reservations about the idea of sequels when a large amount of time has passed between the publication of the original text, I will read Ogre Enchanted. I just might wait to check it out from a library instead of pre-ordering.
What are your thoughts on sequels? What are some of your favorite sequels? Some of your least favorite?
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Omg what?! I had no idea they were making a sequel! Although you’re right, it doesn’t really sound like a true sequel….if Ella & Char don’t at least make an appearance I will be sad.
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I feel that at most Ella and Char will be a cameo and at least a mention. Perhaps at the point of Evie’s adventure Ella and Char are now the rulers of the kingdom?
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