Book 2; Just Ella; by Magaret Peterson Haddix

From Barnes and Noble:

"It's a familiar story: In spite of the obstacles put in her way by her wicked stepmother, Ella goes to the ball, sweeps Prince Charming off his feet, and is chosen to be his bride. Now she's comfortably ensconced in the palace, awaiting marriage to the man of her dreams. It's happily ever after time, right?

Wrong! Life for Ella has become an endless round of lessons and restrictions; even worse, Prince Charming turns out to be more like Prince Boring. Why can't she talk with him the way she can with Jed, her earnest young tutor?

Slowly, Ella comes to realize she doesn't want the life she fought so hard to win. But breaking her engagement proves more difficult — and dangerous — than escaping her stepmother's tyranny.

In this continuation of the Cinderella story, fifteen-year-old Ella finds that accepting Prince Charming's proposal ensnares her in a suffocating tangle of palace rules and royal etiquette, so she plots to escape."

 I read this so I could discuss it with two young women at school.

It was great to see the empowering messages in the books for women. We're going to get together to discuss the story. It'll be fun to hear what they think about the book.