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A review by shakespearesgirl
Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast by Robin McKinley
3.0
Beauty was interesting for me because the entire time I was reading it, I kept remembering having read it before, even though I am 99% sure I have never made it to the end of this book (Or even past the halfway mark) in my life.
That said, this is pretty typical McKinley fare. Beauty is the heroine whose name doesn't match her face, who loves to read, who would rather have been a boy. She works as a smith, she helps with the field work, she rides her horse and helps her father. I'm not sure why this stereotype works for McKinley when it fails for so many others. Maybe because McKinley's heroines are actually sincere, and have distinct (or more distinct) voices.
Once we're introduced to Beauty, the plot follows the standard Beauty and the Beast formula--fortune lost, relocation, fortune regained, tragic circumstance that leads to Beauty living with the beast, magic castle, enchanted/invisible servants, true love, happy ending. It isn't a hard plot to follow, and McKinley doesn't do anything different or new with her book. What she does that makes Beauty stand out from other retellings is give Beauty a voice, and let her tell the story her own way.
I quite enjoyed reading this, even if I wasn't impressed one way or the other by it, and I'm looking forward to reading more McKinley in the future.
That said, this is pretty typical McKinley fare. Beauty is the heroine whose name doesn't match her face, who loves to read, who would rather have been a boy. She works as a smith, she helps with the field work, she rides her horse and helps her father. I'm not sure why this stereotype works for McKinley when it fails for so many others. Maybe because McKinley's heroines are actually sincere, and have distinct (or more distinct) voices.
Once we're introduced to Beauty, the plot follows the standard Beauty and the Beast formula--fortune lost, relocation, fortune regained, tragic circumstance that leads to Beauty living with the beast, magic castle, enchanted/invisible servants, true love, happy ending. It isn't a hard plot to follow, and McKinley doesn't do anything different or new with her book. What she does that makes Beauty stand out from other retellings is give Beauty a voice, and let her tell the story her own way.
I quite enjoyed reading this, even if I wasn't impressed one way or the other by it, and I'm looking forward to reading more McKinley in the future.