Twenty years ago, a middle-grade fantasy novel landed on bookstore shelves and changed a generation of readers. No, not Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone though the above sentence certainly applies to J.K. Rowlings paradigm-shifting book. 1997 saw the publication of another debut geared toward younger readers, this one by Gail Carson Levine.

Ella Enchanted, a novel-length retelling of Cinderella, didnt launch a seven-book saga or inspire raucous midnight book-release parties , but it won a Newbery Honor and a legion of adoring fans mostly young girls who took to the headstrong, clever heroine. In Carson Levines hands, the tale of a sweet, beautiful girl who slaves thanklessly for her evil stepmother and -sisters became the story of a rebellious, unremarkable-looking young woman, Ella of Frell, cursed to obedience by a daffy fairy.

Carson Levines Ella transcends the traditional damsel-in-distress role. Though condemned to obey her exploitative stepmother and -sisters, she battles back, runs away, and goes on a quest to get the spell lifted. She battles ogres and befriends elves and giants. Though Ella, like Cinderella, eventually finds herself whisked out of servitude to a cruel stepfamily by marriage to a prince, the love story builds more slowly, allowing readers to invest in the relationship between kind, stalwart Prince Char, heir to the throne of Kyrria, and the clever, scrappy heroine. Their romance becomes both motivation and canvas for her personal journey, as she chooses to resist the growing mutual crush between herself and Char out of fear that the spell could be used to induce her to betray him or the kingdom. In the end, its Ella who breaks the curse and fulfills her own destiny shes not waiting for anyone to rescue her.

I fell squarely in Carson Levines target audience, being 9 years old when the book was published, and the book became a touchstone in my life. It was less pervasive but, by the same token, more personal than Harry Potter. When I went to high school and college, I met other girls who had cherished Ella Enchanted. It was like a secret handshake among feminist girly-girls. We wanted pretty dresses and devastating romance, but also adventure, intellectual stimulation and respect equal to our male peers. The book made us feel like we werent pathetic for secretly relishing those retrogressive fairy tales, nor were we unlovable for breaking the pretty-and-silent princess mold. It fit the time, an era of intrepid Disney princesses Belle, Mulan who got to swashbuckle and get the guy. My friends and I werent alone: Ella was such a success that it spawned a (disappointing) 2004 film adaptation and allowed Carson Levine to write full-time.

Ella may have turned out to be a feminist heroine, but, as Carson Levine told me in a phone conversation recently, creating an empowered female role model for readers wasnt exactly her intention. Usually Im not thinking about that very much, she explained. Im thinking about telling a story and trying to work it out so that its exciting and I can get all the way through it. Though shes continued to write fantasy books with tough, often misfit heroines Two Princesses of Bamarre, The Lost Kingdom of Bamarre, and Fairest she admitted that shes probably been affected by the fact that Im known for that. She knows what her readers expect.