About the Author:

Gail Carson Levine grew up in New York City and began writing seriously in 1987. Her first book for children, Ella Enchanted, was a 1998 Newbery Honor Book. Levine’s other books include Fairest; Dave at Night, an ALA Notable Book and Best Book for Young Adults; The Wish; The Two Princesses of Bamarre; and the six Princess Tales books. She is also the author of the nonfiction book Writing Magic: Creating Stories That Fly and the picture book Betsy Who Cried Wolf, illustrated by Scott Nash. Gail, her husband, David, and their Airedale, Baxter, live in a 1790 farmhouse in the Hudson River Valley of New York State.

My Story:

Sadly, I wasted a little bit of time before diving into Gail Carson Levine’s books. I don’t remember how I ended up with a copy of The Two Princesses of Bamarre, but somehow I did. Perhaps I bought it in a book fair catalog from school. I bought a lot of books that way. Anywho, I know I’ve had it since at least my early middle school days. I remember that because I found another copy of the book in the gifted writing classroom I used to visit once a week. (Don’t ask me how I ended up there, I don’t remember! I’ve always been good with grammar and English though, so I think they just wanted to give me somthing a little more challenging.)

Well, when I saw the book, I was incensed and I took it! For some reason, it never occurred to me that the teacher could have a copy of the same book I had a copy of. I’d never read it before, but I knew it was mine! And, of course, I was mad as a hornet that someone had written in the front cover! I kept that book with me for I don’t know how long–still not reading it–until I found my copy without the writing in it and then sheepishly put it back. (Turns out it was a stack of books we could borrow from the classroom anyway. So much for my criminal streak!) After returning the book, which I still hadn’t read, I moved cities and schools, halfway across the state. Several months into the move, we found a new house and I found a crate of books.

Most of the books were ruined and didn’t look interesting at all. One, however, drew my attention. Ella Enchanted. My mom almost didn’t let me read it because it said something in the synopsis about magic and whatnot, but I begged and said, “It’s Cinderella!” So, thank the Lord above, she said yes! I devoured it, adored it, and cherished it. 

A few years later, I was at my grandparents house for a visit in the summer. Every summer, I took a duffel bag full of books to read and my yearly savings of cash for my Barns & Noble dates with my grandpa. This summer, however, opened a whole new door for me. My grandpa’s just as much a bookworm as I am. Unfortunately, he ran out of books, so what did he do? He scoured through mine. 

Sorting through the books I’d brought, one day, I groaned and pulled out The Two Princesses of Bamarre. It was a wonder I’d packed it at all and I’d many times set it out to contemplate reading only to wrinkle my nose and put it back unread. This time I may have done the same thing except that my grandpa looked over while we were in the truck and said, “Hey, I read that. It was pretty good.” Course I gave him the stink-eye and asked, “Huh? You read this?” I mean, it was princessy and stuff. Why would he read this? That’s when he told me he’d pilfered through my things in desperation, but it had turned out to be a good read. Not only that, but I noticed that the author’s name seemed somewhat familiar. So, I gave it a shot.

I laughed. I cried. I sneezed and snotted. To this day, The Two Princess of Bamarre remains one of my very favorite books of all time. I was a fool for putting it off so long. Ever since then, I’ve searched Levine’s books out and done my best to keep up with them as she’s written them. She’s a masterful writer and I wouldn’t be the same today without her, either as a reader or a writer.

My Favorites:

Levine writes exceptional fairy tales. Ella Enchanted is the first fairy tale retelling I ever read and, along with Shannon Hale’s The Goose Girl, is what started me down the path of reading and writing fairy tales and retellings. She’s also written two picture books and some books of poetry. She’s super creative and writes the most magical stories. 

I loved Ella Enchanted, and The Two Princesses of Bamarre. They are easily my top two Levine books, and even favorites outside of just her works. I also thoroughly enjoyed Fairest, the companion novel to Ella Enchanted. Her Princess Tales were clever and cute and her fairy books spawned a love of Disney Fairies in me; Fairy Tale and the Quest for the Egg was the first. 

I am crazy excited for Ogre Enchanted, which comes out in October and is a standalone prequel to Ella Enchated. I also just purchased The Lost Kingdom of Bamarre, which is a prequel to The Two Princesses of Bamarre. I can’t wait to read it!! It has Drault, y’all!!!

As for non-fiction, she’s written two books on writing, in addition to the blog she keeps just for writers and writerly problems. It’s an amazing resource for writers of all stages. She’s a fantastic teacher and the community is really tight-knit. I loved Writer to Writer: From Ink to Think and plan to read Writing Magic: Creating Stories that Fly next. 

Links and More:

Levine’s Official Website

Levine’s Blog

Find a full list of Levine’s works here. Click between the tabs to see each category, such as standalone novels, princess tales, fairies, etc.

Find Levine on Goodreads.

Find Levine’s books on Amazon, on her website, or in any bookstore near you.

I’ve rated many of Levine’s books on Goodreads, but few have reviews because I read them before Goodreads was a thing. I am a re-reader, so as I reread any of her books, I will be sure to post detailed reviews on them. 

Disclaimer: The pictures are all from Goodreads and the author’s biography is from Goodreads as well. (I would have used the one on her website, but it was super long.)