This book is for my niece Emily, who was happy to see a YA book in my last book revie
w. Beauty, by Robin McKinley, was one of my favorite books growing up. I don't remember when I first read it. I just remember checking it out over and over again from the library. It is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast and the basic plot follows the fairy tale pretty closely. The main character is actually named Beauty, but she feels like she is is not so much beautiful as she is smart and bookwormish. Her dad is a rich merchant, and her two sisters are beautiful and, as an added bonus, kind. When her dad's ships sink and he goes bankrupt, the family leaves the city for a rural town. After living there a while, her dad is brought word that one of his ships may have actually survived. It is through his trip to the city that he comes across the Beast and his castle. Of course, Beauty's father tries to steal a rose while at the castle, is caught by the Beast, and so on. Since Beauty feels she is the most expendable of the sisters, she goes to the castle in her father's place.Like I said, the book follows the fairy tale pretty closely, but there are also differences. I love the description of the different rooms in the castle and how the servants are changed by the spell set over the castle. Just as a note, Robin McKinley also wrote another version of Beauty and the Beast called Rose's Daughter. I guess she really must like that fairy tale. Now this book I do not recommend. It is, in my opinion, stupid. I hate to say that about a book, but it is warranted in this case.
2 comments:
I read this book this past year, and loved it also. I tried to read her subsequent version, Rose Daughter, but I didn't finish it -- it made me want to grow a bush, but not much else! We must have similar taste in books, what else do you recommend?
I meant to say grow a "rose" bush
. . . Oops! I need to go to bed.
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