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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
A sweet if simple retelling of beauty and the beast. The characters aren’t very complex, and I think learning more about the beast’s background would have been nice. It also ended somewhat abruptly, but all in all it was a nice read.
A well written story with great details, but this is a straight retelling of the classic fairytale with no new twists or surprises. A good read, but nothing unique.
I (re)read this on an airplane on the way to a conference. I'm behind on writing this review, but I remember it like a dream--a dream of gorgeous spaces and romance. It is both fantastical and more grounded than other tellings of Beauty and the Beast--Beauty's family feels real, the Beast has a personality, the grounds of the castle feel like a place you could visit.
Robin McKinley's debut novel is charming and has been a favourite of mine since I first read it many many years ago. Reading it now, I'm amazed McKinley didn't sue Disney, as so many of the details and ideas in it (the huge library with books that have yet to be published, the talking cutlery) turn up in the movie of Beauty and the Beast. It holds up as an excellent retelling and I still prefer it to McKinley's later version, although I liked the important change to the ending in the latter work (no spoilers).
This is one of my favourite books. I have read it... so many times. Easy read and what every girl, who wants to be a princess, but an awesome one, would like.
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
If you want a Beauty and the Beast retelling that is just the original version (not Disney's) with a bit more details and Beauty/Belle has a bit more sass then this is the book for you. I unfortunately wanted something a bit more different and was kind of bored of the story.
Her constant struggle aboutnot being pretty like her sisters quickly got annoying. The prose is nice but you can tell this book was not published recently because the author kind of gets lost describing stuff. Also on a personal note the age differences between couples bothered me and I'm referring to Beauty's mother being a teen while her father was an adult and her sisters being super young and betrothed/married to much older men. Apparently other stories by this author also have huge age gap relationships so I guess it's a trope the author likes.
Her constant struggle about
I really enjoyed the beginning of this book, it took the classic story and infused some new elements. However, I found the end of the book pretty cookie cutter which was disappointing because the beginning of the book was so different.
"He cannot be so bad if he loves roses so much."
Beauty is the youngest daughter in a wealthy family, and despite her adopted nickname, she is the homeliest of her sisters. When her father's shipping business suffers a devastating financial blow, the family leaves the city and moves to a small town with her sisters new husband. Rumors of an adjacent enchanted forest come to fruition when Beauty's father takes a rose from a magical garden, only to be confronted with the castle's occupant, a terrifying Beast. Beauty agrees to move into the castle in her father's stead, where she embarks on a new life of luxury, magic, loneliness, and friendship with a Beast.
Admittedly, Beauty and the Beast has never been my favorite fairy tale or Disney movie, so I've never sought out or knew about this gorgeous retelling. There are none of the scarier elements of the familiar movie, but I could see a lot of ideas pulled directly from this 1978 book - the footstool dog, moving/dancing cutlery, food and clothes that magically appear and are cleared come to mind first. This retelling is a nice uplifting version of the familiar story, with an emphasis on the importance, love, and devotion of family in all of its forms. There are, however, several unexplained loose ends that are frustrating, as if editing cuts were made that may have removed some fleshed out bits of magic or backstory. But overall, this Beauty is a strong female character who takes control of her own life and destiny, whether that is pitching in the hard labor for her family's survival or standing up to her kindly captor.
Beauty is the youngest daughter in a wealthy family, and despite her adopted nickname, she is the homeliest of her sisters. When her father's shipping business suffers a devastating financial blow, the family leaves the city and moves to a small town with her sisters new husband. Rumors of an adjacent enchanted forest come to fruition when Beauty's father takes a rose from a magical garden, only to be confronted with the castle's occupant, a terrifying Beast. Beauty agrees to move into the castle in her father's stead, where she embarks on a new life of luxury, magic, loneliness, and friendship with a Beast.
Admittedly, Beauty and the Beast has never been my favorite fairy tale or Disney movie, so I've never sought out or knew about this gorgeous retelling. There are none of the scarier elements of the familiar movie, but I could see a lot of ideas pulled directly from this 1978 book - the footstool dog, moving/dancing cutlery, food and clothes that magically appear and are cleared come to mind first. This retelling is a nice uplifting version of the familiar story, with an emphasis on the importance, love, and devotion of family in all of its forms. There are, however, several unexplained loose ends that are frustrating, as if editing cuts were made that may have removed some fleshed out bits of magic or backstory. But overall, this Beauty is a strong female character who takes control of her own life and destiny, whether that is pitching in the hard labor for her family's survival or standing up to her kindly captor.
This is a sweet little retelling of Beauty and the Beast, though it ends a bit too abruptly. The author has a wonderful writing style.