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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
Wonderful YA book that twists the Beauty and the Beast tale into a version that feels more multi-dimensional and creative in terms of the characters and the plot (particularly the curse).
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
I strongly disliked this book.
Would I buy it only for the poetic verses randomly throughout the book? Maybe. but that is quite literally the only saving grace.
Like, it wasn't funny, it wasn't romantic, it wasn't well-written, and it isn't even a good beauty and the beast story, like at all?
I am genuinely unsure how this book was even recommended to me. I can't even believe I finished it.
Would I buy it only for the poetic verses randomly throughout the book? Maybe. but that is quite literally the only saving grace.
Like, it wasn't funny, it wasn't romantic, it wasn't well-written, and it isn't even a good beauty and the beast story, like at all?
I am genuinely unsure how this book was even recommended to me. I can't even believe I finished it.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A big thanks to NetGalley and Scholastic for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Now THAT'S a twist on the Beauty and the Beast story.
Beastly Beauty by Jennifer Donnelly is a YA fantasy retelling of Beauty and the Beast. What makes a girl "beastly?" Is it having too much ambition? Being too proud? Taking up too much space? Or is it just wanting something, anything, too badly? That's the problem Arabella faces when she makes her debut in society. Her parents want her to be sweet and compliant so she can marry well, but try as she might, Arabella can't extinguish the fire burning inside her -- the source of her deepest wishes, her wildest dreams. When an attempt to suppress her emotions tragically backfires, a mysterious figure punishes Arabella with a curse, dooming her and everyone she cares about, trapping them in the castle. As the years pass, Arabella abandons hope. The curse is her fault -- after all, there's nothing more "beastly" than a girl who expresses her anger -- and the only way to break it is to find a boy who loves her for her true self: a cruel task for a girl who's been told she's impossible to love. When a handsome thief named Beau makes his way into the castle, the captive servants are thrilled, convinced he is the one to break the curse. But Beau -- spooked by the castle's strange and forbidding ladies-in-waiting, and by the malevolent presence that stalks its corridors at night -- only wants to escape. He learned long ago that love is only an illusion. If Beau and Arabella have any hope of breaking the curse, they must learn to trust their wounded hearts, and realize that the cruelest prisons of all are the ones we build for ourselves.
I am an avid lover of Beauty and the Beast retellings. So when I saw this one, I couldn't help but jump at the chance to read it early. This is the first Donnelly retelling I've read, and based off of it, I will gladly reading the rest.
Now THAT'S a twist on the Beauty and the Beast story.
Beastly Beauty by Jennifer Donnelly is a YA fantasy retelling of Beauty and the Beast. What makes a girl "beastly?" Is it having too much ambition? Being too proud? Taking up too much space? Or is it just wanting something, anything, too badly? That's the problem Arabella faces when she makes her debut in society. Her parents want her to be sweet and compliant so she can marry well, but try as she might, Arabella can't extinguish the fire burning inside her -- the source of her deepest wishes, her wildest dreams. When an attempt to suppress her emotions tragically backfires, a mysterious figure punishes Arabella with a curse, dooming her and everyone she cares about, trapping them in the castle. As the years pass, Arabella abandons hope. The curse is her fault -- after all, there's nothing more "beastly" than a girl who expresses her anger -- and the only way to break it is to find a boy who loves her for her true self: a cruel task for a girl who's been told she's impossible to love. When a handsome thief named Beau makes his way into the castle, the captive servants are thrilled, convinced he is the one to break the curse. But Beau -- spooked by the castle's strange and forbidding ladies-in-waiting, and by the malevolent presence that stalks its corridors at night -- only wants to escape. He learned long ago that love is only an illusion. If Beau and Arabella have any hope of breaking the curse, they must learn to trust their wounded hearts, and realize that the cruelest prisons of all are the ones we build for ourselves.
I am an avid lover of Beauty and the Beast retellings. So when I saw this one, I couldn't help but jump at the chance to read it early. This is the first Donnelly retelling I've read, and based off of it, I will gladly reading the rest.