Beauty, by Robin McKinley [YA Fiction]
by Wendy, 11th grader
If anyone loves the “tale as old as time” as much as I do, they will adore Robin McKinley’s Beauty, a retelling of this classic fairytale. Written from a first-person perspective of Beauty, this novel does a wonderful job of humanizing all the characters, from Beauty (of course), to the invisible servants of the enchanted castle, to Beauty’s sisters. One can’t help but fall in love with the eager-to-please Beast, and although a happily-ever-after is, of course, anticipated, you are constantly kept in suspense of what happens next.
On a final note, to fans of the Disney movie: Belle’s love of books and personality is obviously influenced by this Beauty (McKinley published this in 1978 and the movie came out about 15 years later).
May 1, 2007 at 11:56 am |
I loved this book! It must be time to re-read it.
Have you read Robin McKinley’s more recent re-retelling of B&tB, titled “Rose Daughter”? What did you think of it? Some reviewers liked it, some preferred Beauty.
November 9, 2007 at 4:47 pm |
I liked both of them, Beauty AND Rose Daughter.
December 11, 2007 at 6:49 pm |
so did i. i own both. the only robin mckinley book i didnt like was deerskin. the rest are wonderful, and there were even good bits in deerskin.