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annabellee 's review for:
Rose Daughter
by Robin McKinley
This is a re-telling of the classic fairy-tale, Beauty and the Beast. In this version, Beauty has two older sisters: Lionheart, who is very brave, and Jeweltounge, who is very witty. Their father is a merchant who falls on hard times. The three move to a small cottage in a far away town. During a snowy journey, their father loses his way and stumbles upon an enchanted palace. Accused of thievery, he is instructed by the Beast to send his youngest daughter to the castle in payment. Beauty does this (primarily out of a sense of duty and love for her family). Once there, she takes up the task of getting the Beast's roses to bloom again.
This book was captivating in its beginning, with the story clipping along at a good place. The characters are well fleshed-out, establishing bases from which they will grow throughout the story. The characterization/development and world-building are the best parts about this book. The portions during which Beauty is with the Beast drag on frightfully long - though, it could be argued, this is reflective of the enchanted nature of the palace. Especially towards the end, I found myself skipping over large swaths of text to get to the point. There was a lot of unnecessary exposition - it kind of felt like the author decided to dump her notes about various characters' backstory in here because they didn't fit in anywhere else. Additionally, there was an attempt at developing a mystery to help engage the reader that, had it been executed better, would have added much to the story. As it was, it seemed to be tacked on to the end, rather than strategically placed so as to add to the events within the story.
There was also one thing I didn't quite understand. (Spoilers ahead).
If one day in the enchanted castle was as long as one month in the real world, why did this suddenly flip opposite at the end, when it acted as though one day in the real world was much, much longer than one day in the enchanted castle? By rights Beauty would have had several months to get back to the Beast, rather than a matter of mere minutes, if this had stayed consistent. The difference could have been explained, but I did nowhere find an explanation for the discrepancy. I found this quite irritating - I'm a big fan of continuity.
All in all, I enjoyed this book. Despite it being wanting in places, I enjoyed reading it - especially towards the beginning. There is some graphic violence, but no graphic sex or language. I would recommend this book for middle school readers and up. Three stars.
This book was captivating in its beginning, with the story clipping along at a good place. The characters are well fleshed-out, establishing bases from which they will grow throughout the story. The characterization/development and world-building are the best parts about this book. The portions during which Beauty is with the Beast drag on frightfully long - though, it could be argued, this is reflective of the enchanted nature of the palace. Especially towards the end, I found myself skipping over large swaths of text to get to the point. There was a lot of unnecessary exposition - it kind of felt like the author decided to dump her notes about various characters' backstory in here because they didn't fit in anywhere else. Additionally, there was an attempt at developing a mystery to help engage the reader that, had it been executed better, would have added much to the story. As it was, it seemed to be tacked on to the end, rather than strategically placed so as to add to the events within the story.
There was also one thing I didn't quite understand. (Spoilers ahead).
If one day in the enchanted castle was as long as one month in the real world, why did this suddenly flip opposite at the end, when it acted as though one day in the real world was much, much longer than one day in the enchanted castle? By rights Beauty would have had several months to get back to the Beast, rather than a matter of mere minutes, if this had stayed consistent. The difference could have been explained, but I did nowhere find an explanation for the discrepancy. I found this quite irritating - I'm a big fan of continuity.
All in all, I enjoyed this book. Despite it being wanting in places, I enjoyed reading it - especially towards the beginning. There is some graphic violence, but no graphic sex or language. I would recommend this book for middle school readers and up. Three stars.