In this powerful debut novel, Diane Richards brings a teenage Ella Fitzgerald during the Great Depression and her own personal struggles to life. When her mother dies, life becomes much harder and Ella must work instead of dance, but working for the mob comes with risks and a sentence at the New York Training School for Girls. Following Ella on her path to stardom, Richards brings the life-changing moment from November 21, 1934, at the Apollo Theater’s Amateur Night to life in a powerful scene. Exploring her relationships, her family, and the many obstacles she faced as a struggling teenager during the Depression, Richards explores her life from before she became famous in this novel. With incredibly vibrant, powerful, and emotional language and excruciating detail, Richards has brought Ella Fitzgerald’s teenage struggles and how she overcame them to the forefront of this fascinating historical fiction novel. By centering her life before stardom, Richards ensures that readers will learn something about Fitzgerald that they may not have known, and this makes it a much more interesting experience. Richards does not shy away from the harder and darker topics in this novel and handles them appropriately while ensuring that they retain their power.

I had the honor of interviewing Diane Richards for the Storytime in Paris podcast. This is what I said:

Ep 74 - Diane Richards, “Ella”

You’ve undoubtedly heard of American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, the First Lady of Song, but you likely don’t know much about her early life. My guest this week aims to change all that. Diane Richards is an author, playwright, singer, producer, and the Executive Director of the Harlem Writers Guild, which launched and supported Dr. Maya Angelou’s writing career, Diane’s novel “Ella” is a fictionalized biography spanning two years of Ella’s life, from her mother’s death in 1932 to her breakout performance at the Apollo Theater in 1934.

Diane, herself, is a talented dancer and singer, performing at Carnegie Hall and singing backup for Whitney Houston. Her lyricism pours through the pages, as Ella falls from one unbelievable tragedy to another, an ode to the tenacity, resilience, and talent of Ella Fitzgerald as powerful as any gospel.

Listen here: https://bit.ly/3UMxODe

A really good novel about a woman who had such a golden voice.
Richards does a good job creating the world of Ella and all the situations she faced.
A contextual read that is worthy of any reader.

I did not know much about ella fitzgerald going into this novel but I learned a lot and had a good time reading this. I think the authors liberties with how ella thought and processed things in her life was well done and added interest to a story that could have been dry

WOW! This entire book was a revelation for me. While I feel like I had a faint knowledge of Ella Fitzgerald’s time spent at the girls school, I knew nothing at all about her life or how she’d ended up there. This book gave me a tremendous amount of respect for an artist that I already loved. I’m so glad I got a chance to read this! This is a story that everyone should know about!

This was quite a story. It moves too slow in some parts and too fast in other parts. This is a look into the early life of Ella Fitzgerald although this a fictional account of her life bit through the entire story or gives you historical facts of 1930s Harlem and factual pieces of her life. This is a good book I recommend it.

This book was both fascinating and a difficult read. Ella's childhood is something she seldom discussed and is not well known. Her life changes drastically at age 15 when her mother dies. As a teenager, she has to support herself and becomes a numbers runner for the mob to do so. The only glimmer of hope is her dream of becoming a famous dancer.
She was eventually captured by law enforcement and imprisoned in The New York "training school" for girls. The treatment there and especially for Black girls like her, was in human. I kept wondering how an adult could be that cruel to a child.
The fact that she rose above her circumstances and became the legend that she was, makes it an amazing story of hope and resilience.

To be completely honest, I've heard of Ella Fitzgerald in passing but never really knew who she was. That's one of the reasons I requested this book, and it didn't disappoint. I was expecting a fictional biography of her career but this book is her origin story, which was brutal and make Ella's accomplishments even more impressive. It's always sad to know how people of color were treated not that long ago but also very inspiring how they managed to rise above despite their circumstances. I don't want to give much away but I encourage everybody to read this book even if you don't know who Ella Fitzgerald was. This book is a lesson on following your passion and never giving up.

Ella written by Diane Richards was truly an inspiring and powerful read. Ella is a work of fiction, even though some characters and events have counterparts in Ella Fitzgerald's life, this story is the authors imagination, it should NOT be read as a biography of Ella Fitzgerald. Despite this book not being Ella's biography, I think everyone needs to read this at some point because it truly is inspirational and eye opening. I knew this story was going to be extremely difficult to read at times, but I didn't think it was going to destroy my soul the way it did. Certain parts of this book were super slow at times, but all in all it was an amazing experience reading Ella. The only thing that kept nagging me was I wanted more of Ella's success. When I saw that beautiful cover, I knew I had to get my hands on this book and I'm so glad I did because it truly opened my eyes to so much I never knew about. Ella wasn't in my time frame, but I've heard her songs from time to time and I heard bits and pieces of her story. Ella Fitzgerald truly is an icon, she's an inspiration to so many across the world, Ella's legacy will continue to live on. I have no words that will give this book the justice it deserves, but all I can say is that everyone needs to read this book immediately.

THANK YOU TO NETGALLEY AND AMISTAD FOR AN ARC OF THIS BOOK IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW!!!!!!!

TRIGGER WARNINGS
Alcoholism
Death of a Parent
Gun Violence
Physical and Emotional Abuse
Sexual Abuse
Racism

"Just don't give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don't think you can go wrong". -Ella Fitzgerald

At age fifteen, all Ella Fitzgerald wanted to do was dance her heart out, but growing up in the time of poverty and hard times, Ella's mom wanted her to stop dancing and help rack in money for their family, the last thing Ella said to her mom was "I hate you", a few hours later Ella gets picked up from school early because her mom unexpectedly passed away. Ella's mom, Tempie was in a car accident one day when she was trying to move children out of the way from an oncoming car, from that accident Tempie suffered back problems and that made standing for a long time really hard for Tempie, but Tempie didn't die from this car accident. At the height of the Depression in 1932, fifteen year old Ella goes to work for the mob to support her and her family, but the law finally catches up to Ella and she is sent away and incarcerated in the New York Training School for Girls, this training school is a wicked prison infamous for it's harsh treatment of inmates, especially black ones. Ella is determined to be free from this hell hole, so one day she escapes and finds her way back to Harlem where she dances on the street for pennies trying to rack in money so her family has a roof over their heads and food on the table. Ella did everything she could for her family, but her step father was disgusting, where do you get it's okay sexually assaulting a fifteen year old right after her mom died? Absolutely disgusting.

While reading this book, it felt like I was right there by Ella's side as she was facing these hardships, I just wanted to reach into my kindle and give Ella the hug she deserves. Ella Fitzgerald was arguably the greatest singer of the twentieth century, she paved so many ways for millions of female artists and Ella has changed the music industry tremendously. Ella Fitzgerald was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". It really broke my heart when Ella said she was scared to preform in a certain crowd of people because of the racial slurs they would throw at her as she was preforming on stage. Although Ella had her flaws, her story was truly inspirational and taught me so much about her life story. Despite the slowly moving parts of this book, in the end it was understandable as to why those parts were extremely slow. after reading the prologue, I had to go watch Ella's CBS interview, it truly broke my heart hearing Ella say she was so scared to preform in front of an all white crowd. Ella is an icon, and she will continue to be an icon in today's world even though she is no longer with us. I waited a bit long to read this book because I was scared of the emotional damage it was going to cause, but I'm so happy I finally read it because it opened my eyes so much. Yes, it really did cause emotional damage after reading, whew, I was expecting it, but it did more damage than I was actually expecting.

Having read some Ella Fitzgerald biographies, I thoroughly enjoyed this novelization of her early life. This fictionalized look at Ella Fitzgerald's teen years explores her drive to become a performer while trying to support herself in a world of racial and gender bias. Highly recommended

Thanks to NetGalley and Amistad publisher for an advanced reader copy.

I love Ella Fitzgerald's music from her soulful tunes to her more upbeat improvisations. "Ella" focuses on Ella's childhood in New York during the Great Depression. In addition to the financial hardships that her family faced, there were also deaths, racism, and abuse that she suffered throughout her adolescence. This book was wholly focused on her childhood and was a heavy read at times. That said, it really was also a love letter to music and the talent that Ella possessed. She was resilient and music helped her to survive many of her challenges. This was an eye-opening read for me and I would recommend if you've checked the trigger warnings.

Ella is a beautifully written fictional story based on the life of the Queen of Jazz, Ella Fitzgerald. Although this is a work of fiction, the author takes the reader on a descriptive journey sprinkled with real people and events in Ella’s life. The story begins with a 15-year-old Ella having to make the decision to either succumb to the harsh reality of doing domestic work in a newly oppressive living situation due to being Black, female, and poverty-stricken during the Depression or to follow her musical dreams. The rest of the story highlights the highs and lows that Ella experiences as a result of her decision. The way the author tells the story makes you feel as if you are sitting in the same room as the characters. You can vividly imagine and feel the situations that Ella experiences in the book. This may lead to triggers regarding racism, violence, and abuse for some readers. Yet the author’s consistent inclusion of music brings hope to Ella and the reader. The author’s writing style is like music itself, often mimicking the rhythms, truth, and emotions Ella Fitzgerald’s singing evokes from her listeners. I truly enjoyed reading this book! I highly recommend it to readers who are familiar with Ella Fitzgerald and those who are not. Readers should not be surprised if they have a sudden urge to listen to “A-Tisket A-Tasket”, “Cheek to Cheek”, or “Dream a Little Dream of Me” while reading this book.

Thanks to Amistad Publishing for providing me with an advance copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This book is scheduled to be released on May 7, 2024.

What a beautiful account and homage to Ella Fitzgerald! While the music of Ella’s that I’ve listened to so far has been a bit limited, I always love the songs that I’ve heard, so I was super eager to read this novel.

To be honest, I was expecting this to be your typical biography, but I loved the more personal, immersive writing style. I learned so much more about Ella’s early life that I had never known before. This novel puts the reader front and center in Ella’s struggles and perseverance throughout her life in Yonkers and then Harlem.

While there were some questions that felt unanswered at the end, I think that this novel was beautifully and respectfully written, and deserving of a 4.5/5 rating, easily.

You think of one woman when you hear the name "Ella" and that's Ms. Ella Fitzgerald, the famous singer and dancer of the 20th century. Debut novel Ella is a fictional retelling of her early years. When her mother dies, 15-year-old Ella leads a fast life of working for the mob, being incarcerated and dancing for pennies in Harlem. Finally in November 1934, she appears on Amateur Night at the Apollo. Older and wiser, she becomes the Ella we have come to know.

Ella is an okay read but could have been more substantial for a debut. I cannot quite pinpoint what disinterested me early on. Perhaps it was the writing style (nonfictional narrative rather than dialogue) or the imbalance of the highs and lows of Ella's life. I was not familiar with the deets of her teenage years so this part was interesting but overpowered her triumphant years. While I appreciate adversity, I would have appreciated the novel if she were celebrated more.

Happy Early Pub Day, Diane Richards! Ella will be available Tuesday, May 7.

Disclaimer: An advance copy was received directly from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins. ~LiteraryMarie

I’ve been on a historical fiction kick so this book fit well with my mood. It was incredible to learn more about the great Ella Fitzgerald, I didn’t know much about her before. A lot of great details to help portray her story

Ella by Diane Richards ebook ARC from NetGalley

Where are my Historical Fiction Girlies at?

Ella is an emotional rollercoaster that left me breathless and utterly moved. Richards' storytelling shines through every page, drawing readers into a world where heartache and hope intertwine with exquisite beauty. At its core, Ella is an exploration of love, loss, and the resilience of the human spirit. The main character, Ella, is a beacon of strength amidst adversity, her journey through life's trials and tribulations resonating deeply with the reader. Richards' prose is lyrical, capturing the essence of raw emotion with an unmatched authenticity. From the first page to the last, Ella is a testament to the power of storytelling to touch hearts and inspire change. This book will stay with me long after I've turned the final page, a testament to its enduring impact on the soul.

While this book is a work of historical fiction in the life and times of Ella Fitzgerald, the story line, characterizations, descriptions and incidents are written from the authors imagination. Enjoy this amazing story!

I loved reading this book. I knew of Ella Fitzgerald as a singer and was curious about her life so I decided to check this book out. This story was heartbreaking breaking and eye opening about all the struggles she went through in her life. I had no clue she wanted to dance and was stunned by all the difficulties she faced. Reading about how she kept moving forward despite all the obstacles in her way was inspiring. I only wish this book hadn’t ended with her first performance. I would have loved to see how she began. Where did she go after her performance? Home? To her family? How long did she have to perform before she could support herself? Was she able to get her sister back? These were the questions I really wished the book answered. Still, this was an amazing book that I really loved and would tell others to read. It’s a beautiful book about perseverance and hope. 4.5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

This is a great gem of the rarely heard story of Ella Fitzgerald's early years. It was a quick but enlightening read. I will recommend to patrons.

This book, the biographical, fictional telling of Ella Fitzgerald was fascinating. Told over 3 years starting in 1932 we meet Ella at the age of 15. Her life during the depression in Yonkers, NY and Harlem was actually below the poverty line. There were moments in the book that were difficult to read but did not deter me from reading page after page. Incredibly written, Ella held on to her dreams and gave us the gift and pleasure of her talent. A great story about a great entertainer. My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"Ella" is a contemporary fiction novel by Diane Richards that offers readers a deeply emotional and introspective journey. Set against the backdrop of [setting], it tells the story of Ella, a young woman navigating the complexities of love, loss, and self-discovery.