robinbridgefour 's review for:

Beauty by Robin McKinley

4.0

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sale alert 9May19 Kindle deal for 1.99 here

Hi. My name is Robin and I have a buddy reading addiction.

Hi Robin

So why not add another impromptu Buddy Read with My Enabler Jessica and The Instigator Tadiana over at BB&B on Oct 14

The great thing about a fantasy is that some of it is timeless. That is totally the case with Beauty. It was originally published in 1978 shhhh but when you pick it up it is really a tale as old as time but it can be told throughout these decades seamlessly. It could as easily been published last month and because it is fantasy you’d never know.

Why I liked this Re-Telling:

It’s a classic beauty and the beast retelling the one I remember from my own childhood with an enchanted castle, the rose, the curse.

Ger strode forwards and caught him in his arms as he staggered, and then half carried him to a seat near the fire. As he sank down with a sigh we all noticed that in his hand he held a rose: a great scarlet rose, bigger than any we had seen before, in full and perfect bloom. “Here, Beauty,” he said to me, and held it out. I took it, my hand trembling a little, and stood gazing at it. I had never seen such a lovely thing.

I also saw where Disney might have got some of there ideas from. There are mysterious voices and servants in the castle that are invisible and always trying to ‘help’ Beauty with getting dressed and dancing a parade of food in front of her at meal times to chose from.

The Castle itself is amazing with rooms that move and melodious giggling winds that try to direct you around the place. As soon as you start to feel lost just go around the corner and your room will be there.

The Beast was sweet and charming and my heart broke for him as he tried to get close to a reluctant beauty. He has been lonely for so long and it really showed through in the story.

“You fainted,” he said; his voice was a rough whisper. “I caught you before you reached the floor. You—you might have hurt yourself. I only wanted to lay you down somewhere that you could be comfortable.” I stared at him, still kneeling, with my fingernails biting into the sofa cushions. I couldn’t look away from him, but I did not recognize what I saw. “You—you clung to me,” he said, and there was a vast depth of pleading in his voice.

This is a perfect story for MG and YA readers for an introduction to fantasy writing as well as great for older readers that want to feel transported back to their younger selves.

Downfalls

If you are a semi-book snob like me you’d miss this book because it is ‘too old’. But I challenge everyone to get past that way of thinking at least in the fantasy genre.

It takes a little time to pick up. The beginning was slightly slow for me especially as they are traveling out of the city to their new lives in the country. I sometimes get really board during traveling….just me. But once they are settled in the country and all the tales of the magical enchanted wood start cropping up I was totally hooked.

“It’s said there’s a castle in a wild garden at the center of these woods; and if you ever walk into the trees till you are out of sight of the edge of the forest and you can see nothing but big dark trees all around you, you will be drawn to that castle; and in the castle there lives a monster. He was a man once, some tales say, and was turned into a terrible monster as a punishment for his evil deeds; some say he was born that way, as a punishment to his parents, who were king and queen of a good land but cared only for their own pleasure.”

Overall

This is a beautiful retelling of a classic story with great imagery, a strong heroine and fantastic language in the telling. Totally worth a read.