We might all know about Ella Fitzgerald’s amazing voice, but dude you know she started as a dancer? Ella is a fictionalized account of Ella Fitzgerald’s life before her fame.

The story begins with the sudden death of her mother that sets off a series of unfortunate and challenging events from life with her stepdad in Yonkers to moving to Harlem with her Aunt. In Harlem, Ella gets caught up running numbers and skipping school to earn some money… until she gets caught. From one hardship to the next, Ella never gives up on her dream, even through some of her darkest days. Resourceful and resilient, this book has you rooting for young Ella as we wait for her turn to shine.

I loved this book so much and learned a lot about Ella’s early life. I wish there had been a little more about her rise to fame, though. The book ended just as she was making her big break.

Thank you to Amistad and NetGalley for this early digital review copy.

Ella Fitzgerald mother died when she was young. She tries to help support her family by working for the mob, but then is sent off to a training school. I liked this book, but it read more like a middle grade book than an adult fiction book.

If you were to learn of Ella Fitzgerald’s upbringing without being told that she would grow up to be one of the greatest singers of all time, you would not believe it. Diane Richards brings Ella’s incredible origin story vibrantly to life in her debut novel, Ella.

Richly reimagining the teenage years of Ella Fitzgerald after she loses her mother in an accident at the age of 15, Ella brings light to the struggles that the future star faced as she attempted to support and mother both herself and her young sister amidst the hustle and bustle of the Harlem heyday. When Ella turns to unsavory means to bring in money - numbers running and looking out at a brothel - she finds herself on the wrong side of the law, landing herself in a training school for girls, where she faces horrors far worse than any she met on the streets. The novel concludes with Ella returning to Harlem, where she finds success - and her place - upon the stage.

Richards’ Ella is a story of both tragedy and triumph. The obstacles Ella faced in her young life were vast, and to many, would be insurmountable. But Ella wanted more for herself than what she was handed, and found a way to rise above time and time again. This absorbing coming-of-age novel is fascinating in its portrayal of a teenaged Ella. It paints such a stark portrait of Ella’s life pre-stardom to the one we would come to know, that it is utterly unbelievable that she ended up living a rags to riches story.

Who would have thought she would end up one of the greatest jazz singers of all time? Why, she did, and that’s why Richards’ novel is so inspiring. It shows how, when the entire world gave up on her, Ella never gave up on herself.

This was an absolutely beautiful homage to the great Ella Fitzgerald. As I was reading, I kept wondering how much of the text was embellished. I’m fairly certain most readers would feel the same and would want to research to learn more. The author makes this easy by offering an annotated bibliography for her readers.

Her passion for her subject is evident in her text but her afterward affirms what is evident in her text.

Ella by Diane Richards explores the the early life of Ella Fitzgerald and her troubled teen years and early love of dancing in clubs. This is part of Ella's story that will be new for many readers and it shows how by her resilient nature and goals how she became one of the greatest singers of our times. But more importantly, it shows what drove her to get out of her situation and attain her goals. I loved learning about this part of her life and book clubs will, too.

This is an incredible historical fiction book about the fabulous Ella's Fitzgerald. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

Ella Fitzgerald was a remarkable woman and Richards brought her to life in this biographical fiction novel. She created a flawed, emotionally rich character and did a good job setting the scene and exploring all of Ella’s challenges. The other characters were less fleshed out—clearly Ella was the in the starring role here. I was astonished at all the things she went through and admired her inner strength to overcome her trauma. This book sheds light on the deep well of life experiences that made her the “First Lady of Song.” Available in May.

Description
In the vein of The Paris Wife and The Personal Librarian comes this debut novel, a magnificent work of “biographical fiction” that reimagines the turbulent and triumphant early years of Ella Fitzgerald, arguably the greatest singer of the twentieth century.

When fifteen-year-old Ella Fitzgerald’s mother dies at the height of the Depression in 1932, the teenager goes to work for the mob to support herself and her family. When the law finally catches up, the “ungovernable” adolescent is incarcerated in the New York Training School for Girls in upstate New York—a wicked prison infamous for its harsh treatment of inmates, especially Black ones. Determined to be free, Ella escapes and makes her way back to Harlem, where she is forced to dance for pennies on the street.

Looking for a break into show business, Ella draws straws to appear at the Apollo Theater’s Amateur Night on November 21, 1934. Rather than perform a dance routine directly after “The World Famous Edwards Sisters” number, the homeless Ella, wearing men’s galoshes a size too big, risks everything when she decides to sing Judy instead. Four years later, at barely twenty-one, Ella Fitzgerald has become the bestselling female vocalist in America.

Diane Richards’ Ella Fitzgerald is inspiring and intriguing—an emotionally rich, psychologically complex character, a flawed mother and wife who struggles with deep emotional scars and trauma and battles racism, sexism, and colorism as she learns to find her voice on the stage. Ella takes us from the brothels, speakeasys, and streets of Depression-era New York City to the grand hotel suites where Ella, now older and wiser, looks back on her life and finally confronts the demons from childhood that torment her.

Compelling and rich in historical detail, Ella is a remarkable debut novel about an extraordinary woman.

My Take:
I love the artistry of Ella Fitzgerald, and eagerly devour media that features her prominently. As such, please know that I was very excited to read a fictionalized historical novel about her life. And while I appreciate the attention to historical detail, I struggled with the lack of balance between trauma and joy. Through many events which may require trigger warnings, what made young Ella want to continue on? There were opportunities to infuse kindness and care on a deeper level and I just found myself feeling drowned.

That said, the novel is well written-I was just looking for more balance.

I was given an advanced reader copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I loved learning about this character in history and felt both empathy and admiration for her strength and circumstances, although I thought the writing could have been more evocative and developed.

The story of Ella Fitzgerald is concentrated on three years of her life, starting in 1932 when she is fifteen. After the death of her mother, her stepfather shows his abusive side, which takes about 25% of the story. With descriptive writing, it’s painful to read it.

After one incident, she runs away to her aunt. In Yonkers, she had a partner to practice dancing. Now, in Harlem, she searches for a place where she could dance. This leads her to the wrong crowd.

With the encouraging words of her mother in mind that she’s got the talent and needs to use it to make something of herself. And that if she wants something bad, she can do it. Thus, she persists in her pursuit of her dream to become a dancer. Later, she becomes more than that.

As the story is concentrated on three years of her youth, we mostly learn about her hardships. It is a heartbreaking story, which has a slow progression. I wished the story involved also her successes, and showed her growth from dancing to singing. Thus, becoming more of an uplifting story.

I absolutely adore this book. I'm about 70% done and I already know it will be 4-5 stars. I'll definitely add Goodreads and Tiktok reviews BUT for now here are my thoughts:
- the writing is ENGAGING! I can't look away!!! Diane Richards has such a gift for engaging the audience and keeping us interested and intrigued.
- I don't know exactly how much is fact and how much is fiction, but this is a beautiful story and absolutely fascinating. I'm so glad I got approved to read it.
- The atmosphere is very palpable. Richards writes about Yonkers and Harlem and NY in general in a very captivating way--the setting is vivid and immersive!!!


Overall, I LOVE this book!!!!! I've already recommended it to all of my friends.

This review will be posted on my Goodreads along with the playlist.

✨”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✨

🎷Ella is a work of historical fiction. While some characters and events portrayed have counterparts in the life of Ella Fitzgerald. This story is of the authors imagination and is not a biography of Ella Fitzgerald. 🎷

Brief Summary-
This is Ella’s origin story. Ella is 15 years old when her mother dies. Living in the depression in 1932, Ella needs a way to support herself and her family so she starts to work for the mob. Unfortunately Ella gets caught and end up incarcerated in NYC Training School For Girls. Ella ends up escaping and making her way to Harlem. You follow Ella as you takes on every trial and tribulation that is thrown at her.

Content Warning-
🎺Racism
🎺 Death Of A Parent
🎺Emotional & Physical Abuse
🎺Gun Violence
🎺Alcoholism


My Thoughts-
I love Ella Fitzgerald, her music, her voice, she is a beautiful singer. She has paved the way for so many female artist and changed the music industry. I love the music from this timeframe. So I had to read this book when I saw it available or NetGalley. I devoured this story in one day…

Bravo 👏This story focuses around Ella’s teenage life. This was such a heartbreaking and beautiful story. Knowing all the hardship she endured to become the successful woman we all know and love was truly an incredible experience to read. She’s is such an inspirational woman.

The prologue really stood out to me. It shows Ella in CBS studio in 1948 discussing her concerns of performing in front of an all white audience. It really sets the tone for this story. When I think of Ella I see her success and her music and how much the music industry loved her. It wasn’t even a thought that she was worried to perform, in front of a certain audience. It shows you the battles of racism, sexism, Ella endured to becomes the superstar we know. Truly eye opening.

This writing was breathtaking. I felt like I was walking the streets in NYC in the height go the Depression Era. I walked along Ella as she was incarcerated. I was at every speakeasy, brothel and street corner. There are definitely areas where it is very slow moving but after finishing it, I understand why the these parts were moving slowly.

I was very impressed with this book. A little different from what I was expecting. I wished it showed more of Ella successful career. But overall a fantastic book.

I highly recommend giving this a read! If you love Ella’s music or just like reading historical fiction novels this will be a great read for you.

“And then she stepped forward, even further into the light. Microphone at her lips, Ella Fitzgerald began, again, to sing.”

Playlist-
🎶Night & Day- Ella
🎶Dream A Little Dream- Ella
🎶You Do Something to Me- Ella
🎶The Nearness Of You- Ella & Louis Armstrong
🎶Cheek to Cheek- Ella
🎶Summertime- Ella
🎶 Moonlight Serende- Ella
🎶Love Is Here To Stay- Ella
🎶Lets Fall In Love- Ella
🎶All Of Me- Ella
🎶Misty- Ella
🎶 I Get a Kick Out Of You- Ella
🎶Cry Me A River- Ella
🎶Gee, Baby, Aint I Good To You?- Ella & Louis Armstrong
🎶 I Got My Love To Keep Me Warm- Ella & Louis Armstrong
🎶My Romance- Ella

✨Thanks to NetGalley, Amistad Publishing for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review✨

This story is a biographical, fictional telling of Ella Fitzgeralds early teenage years. I am not entirely sure how much of this is molded from her true experiences but it was still so fascinating to learn. The story takes you back in time, through the streets of Yonkers and Harlem as young Ella navigates through the hardships of her life. Despite losing her mother, falling into the care of her abusive stepfather and later falling into the wrong crowd, resulting in more cruel punishment, Ella continues to push forward and work towards her goals and dreams.

I knew only the bare minimum of Ella Fitzgerald before this book but this made me want to dive into her life, listen to her music and learn everything about her - she’s quite the inspirational woman. This story was truly heartbreaking, even knowing that she goes on to be a successful woman, the things that she goes through at the hands of others is so incredibly sad. It’s interesting to know that her initial dream was to be a dancer yet she had a voice that could carry her to stardom.

This really is a great story - I highly recommend giving it a read! There are definitely areas where it is very slow moving but after finishing it, I understand why these parts were necessary. For me, this book was a 4.5 star rating, there were a few minor bumps (such as the lapse between Ella being locked in the “dungeon” and the Christmas party that I didn’t quite understand) and a few other minor slow moving scenes that took it from a perfect 5 to 4.5 but still an amazing read!

A lovingly written novel written by Diane Richards. This is the fictionalized version of Ella Fitzgerald’s story. Feels more than a memoir than a novel. The book is read through the publishers at
Amistad and NetGalley.

I would like to say thank you Amistad for sharing this ARC with me. However, this book was unfortunately not for me.
I really wanted to dive into the life of Ella Fitzgerald with this one but it was a bit of a struggle given that I found the language and character dialogue to be inauthentic.

Diane Richards has given us a fictional look into Ella Fitzgerald's heart and mind, and perhaps into her voice as well. The author has chosen a period of Fitzgerald's life that the singer spoke about rarely, if ever, in public and so readers must assume that the stories and dialogue are sewn together from the flimsiest of thread. They are made believable because the history of racism in the United States gives us all a foundation of truth on which to build Ella Fitzgerald's early years. Taken together with known facts of life in New York in the 1930s and true stories of singing, dancing, and show business in Harlem, Richards writes an engaging, provocative, and painful historical fiction called "Ella". This novel has sent me digging for all the factual crumbs I can find, especially about the Hudson Training School for Girls. It is one thing to acknowledge that someone famous has endured a difficult or tragic childhood, and it is quite another to read the graphic details, even fictionalized ones. So, if other readers, like me, want to learn more, a good starting point is the website where I found this: https://www.prisonpublicmemory.org/blog/2019/the-attic-letters-my-footnote-to-a-mystery
Rather than finding it discouraging to learn such sad details about a revered icon, reading "Ella'" only makes this "Queen of Song" more admirable.

Prior to reading this, I knew who Ella Fitzgerald was, but never knew her story. All I can say is WOW!

This was SO good! The story takes you on a glimpse into the teen years of Miss Ella Fitzgerald in the 1930s.. Ella made it to stardom despite many challenges in her life.. I loved her determination and how she continuously spoke up for herself! She could have easily gave up, but stayed persistent to make the life that she always dreamed for herself.

The story made me want to research her entire music catalog as soon as I was done reading. I also enjoyed reading the "author's note' at the end of the book, which I hardly ever read. It was captivating to learn that the author was also an inspiring singer. I look forward to reading more from her!

I can't wait until May when this comes out because I'm definitely buying a physical copy for my personal library.

This novel is a fictional retelling of the early life of legendary jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald. The book focuses on her life as a young teenager in Yonkers, and later Harlem. Ella had to face a great deal of hardships and obstacles, especially after the death of her mother, when she was forced to escape the clutches of her stepfather and move to Harlem.

In order to avoid retelling the story, I will stop narrating the plot. I wish that I could give a more favorable review, but this novel missed the mark for me. The writing seemed a bit heavy-handed and one-sided; it was written more like narrative nonfiction. It wasn't what I was expecting.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for an advance e-reader copy of this book.

Thank you Netgalley for the arc of this book!

I have a sweet spot for fictional retellings of famous people or people from history. This was such a vibrant tale, one I know I won’t soon forget. But this will appeal to the masses.

I so wanted to love this histfic story of Ella Fitzgerald's life, as her voice is my favorite ever. Yet I found the cheerful cover and NG book blurb to be misleading: "Ella takes us from the brothels, speakeasys, and streets of Depression-era New York City to the grand hotel suites where Ella, now older and wiser, looks back on her life and finally confronts the demons from childhood that torment her."

The majority of the book focuses on the horrific two years after Ella's mother dies when the singer was 15. Only a brief epilogue covers her life review upon reaching fame.

I had hoped for a more balanced view, but came away traumatized. Should come with a CW: emotional and physical abuse, near rape, gun violence, torture (while Ella was incarcerated), homelessness, alcoholism.

Will not publish this review elsewhere so readers can decide for themselves.

Thanks to the publisher and NG for the ARC. Opinions are mine.