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Title: Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast
Author: Robin McKinley
type of book: Fantasy
call number: YA/FIC
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This book is strong in character, story and setting.
Summary:
"Beauty" (a.k.a Honour) is the ugly duckling of the family, not pretty like her older sisters, Hope and Grace. She is awkward but smart, always studying and shutting herself away from society. When her father loses his fortune, the family must sell the shipping business and the house. Grace's fiancée is "lost at sea" and Hope's love (Gervain) wants the family to go to the country with him and Hope to live. Their new
house is outside of and borders the forest, which is supposed to be enchanted
and has a castle containing a horrible beast/monster. He was once a man, but
changed into a beast because of evil deeds.
One night Beauty's father gets lost in a blizzard and ends up in the enchanted forest.
He is taken care of by the Beast in the castle. On his way out, he picks a
rose, the flower the Beast honors above everything. The Beast is enraged by this and demands that Beauty's father return to the castle in one month or surrender one of his
daughters. Beauty insists she must be the one to go because she wants the
adventure.
I would recommend this book!
Why?
This book is a wonderful retelling of the original story. It takes all the
well known plot elements and adds little twists, like Beauty being an ugly
duckling. Beauty lacks confidence, just as many teen girls do today. The
similarities in her feelings and experiences, maturing both emotionally and
physically, are great parallels to any teen girl's life. A central theme of the story is how
accepting yourself as you are will let others see all your beauty. It shows readers that real beauty is being honorable, keeping your
promises, and letting yourself experience the world with ways other than just
books. The imaginative details McKinley uses to really develop the story from
its base moral make it an interesting and engrossing read. For readers, whether
familiar with the story or not, this book will be a page turner.
Other suggested reading:
The Rose and the Beast: Fairy Tales Retold by by Francesca Lia Block
White as Snow by Tanith Lee
Briar Rose by Jane Yolen
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Look for these and other titles in our !
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Related links:
Robin McKinley's Official Home Page
Employee Initials: KS
Review Date: February 2003
Read other reviews by this staff member.
