Dear Gail Carson Levine,

I loved your book Ella Enchanted. Not just because it was a wonderful story, but also because it changed the way I look at things.

When I read your book, the part of the story that made me like it so much was the magical world that Ella lived in. Ogres, fairies, and centaurs were all a part of her everyday life. I really enjoyed the way that you [the author' described them. I could picture them in my head perfectly. I could also picture the beautiful forest to which the heroine escaped.

When I finished the book, I was depressed because I felt like I had just left a wonderful place. I had the feeling that I had been vacationing somewhere incredibly beautiful, and was now watching that place get smaller and smaller through a car window. I wanted to go back to that magical land of adventure. So I started reading the book again. Somehow, it wasn't quite the same. The surprises and excitement had faded somewhat. I felt even sadder.

Then I started thinking about how magical my own world was. I thought about swimming in the ocean on the first warm day of summer, of sitting in a tall tree with my friend, of watching a baby moose make its way across our driveway, and realized that I didn't have to be sad. I was living a life just as magical, in its own way, as Ella's. I began to think about things in an entirely new way. Thank you for giving me this wonderful gift. Your book stretched the limits of my imagination, and made me appreciate things more.

Please write more books!!

Sincerely,
Iris Kemp
7th Grade
Haines Middle School, Haines, Alaska
Teacher: Ms. Becky Kludt