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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A classic that I first read as a young teenager that still holds up to this day!
Really enjoyed this, but I thought the ending was quite abrupt.
The ending was so rushed which sucks since the rest of the book is very enjoyable.
Robin McKinley's version of the Beauty & the Beast tale is richly detailed, with a strong, smart heroine and interesting supporting characters. The world of Beast's castle is mysterious and strangely beautiful. This book is a delight to read, and a great introduction to Robin McKinley's work.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was very sweet. I feel like it was missing something though.
I was very excited about this book because the story of Beauty and the Beast, is in my eyes, one of the most romantic and fantastical stories I've ever heard. I loved the film and felt such a strong connection to the character that I couldn't wait to read the book so I could delve deeper into the plot. However, when I began to read the book I became bitterly disappointed. This is the third book I've read from Robin McKinley and this is the third book of hers that I have disliked. Her style of writing, I feel, is borderline boring. McKinley becomes too hung up on the details and chooses to describe the artifacts in the room and the parties that just happened, instead of focusing on the development of the characters and DIALOGUE!!! I have found it very hard to read a book in which it takes pages upon pages to find quotation marks, indicating a conversation between individuals. I feel that I have given up on Robin McKinley unless for some reason she decides to drastically change her writing style for the better.
I loved this book. I love the characters and how they developed. I loved the world which I wish we saw more of. Like they said there was goblins and magic in the city and I wish we saw that. But there was magic in the castle. It was cool there was invisible servants and every time Beauty got lost her room would appear. There were so many other things too. I'm happy I read the original story right before this one because this book follows it pretty closely. Just with more detail. The main thing I didn't like was being in the regular world with her family. I didn't care about her sisters but we kept hearing about their love lives. Also I didn't care about the fathers businesses but we still heard a lot about it. It went in to much detail when it doesn't matter to the story. But the writing was amazing. Like the descriptions. Also the development of Beauty and the beasts relationship was good. She went from scared to okay to enjoying his company then looking forward to his company and then not wanting to be away from him. I liked how she was described at the beginning of the story. She was supposed to be plain looking so her nickname was ironic. But she turned beautiful in the end with the beast. That scene was good when they looked in the mirror. I also liked that the servants were just invisible and it wasn't like the movie. Anyway I am going to continue reading books in the folktale series.
This is my favorite book by this author so far. This one was a lot easier to read than the others and I had a hard time putting it down. A delightful retelling of Beauty and the Beast.
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced