n  n

This review may contain spoilers.

Beauty is the youngest of three sisters. Their mother has passed on and now they live with their father. Beauty is an introvert and prefers reading books. She has very low self-esteem, dislikes her body, and feels that she doesn’t measure up to her sisters’ attractiveness. While she’s quite clever, she wishes she could also be beautiful and have more to offer like her sisters Hope and Grace who are both beautiful and kind.

After their father loses all the family income, they're forced to move to a new place near a mysterious woods. Ger, Hope's soon-to-be husband, will be a smith there and help to support their family. After some time, news comes regarding one of their father’s lost ships. Their father plans a journey to discover what’s left of it, but there are stories of the woods and Ger has told the tales about how it's unsafe.

‘The story is the woods haunted. No, not haunted: enchanted. The stream flows out of the forest, as you see, so likely it’s enchanted to, if anything is. The first smith — well, tales vary. Perhaps he was a wizard. He was a good smith, but he disappeared one day. He’s the one built the house — said he liked the forest, and a forge needs a stream close by, and most of the town gets its water by well. The next smith — the one that left two years ago — dug the well we’ve got now, to prevent the waters enchanting him; but he didn’t like the noises the forest made after dark. Well, forests do make odd noises after dark. Anyway, he left. And they’ve had some trouble finding someone else. That’s how we got this place so cheaply: It’s very good for what we had to spend.’

When their father returns, he brings back a magic rose along with a story to go with it. It is said that he must return one of his daughters to a Beast’s castle or he will meet his death.

I thought the writing in this book was exquisite, in fact, it was the writing that pulled me in. It was just like reading a fairy tale as a child. The story itself stays fairly true to the original with only a few changes so, it’s quite predictable at times, which was fine. It’s rather slow the first half, and the story revolves around Beauty and her family mainly with how they’re getting along in their new place of living. Despite the slowness, I relished these parts because this family truly loves one another and takes care of each other, including the other sisters. They all do their part and beauty may be timid, but she isn’t lacking courage. The Beast isn’t even introduced until roughly half way through the story, which didn’t bother me one bit. I actually preferred the Beast in this book because he’s very generous and kind–offering beautiful clothing, delicious foods, books, and jewelry to Beauty. There isn’t anything he won’t do for her. In addition, he wants to share all of his wealth with her family and sends home thoughtful treasures to them all, most importantly, dreams about Beauty. It’s so heartwarming.

My only issue was the ending which felt rushed and there just wasn’t enough explanation of the enchantment. Was beauty also changed (to look more beautiful like her mother), or was her self-esteem just magically fixed? Why couldn’t she just stay the way she was, because the Beast loved her that way and from the very beginning felt that she was beautiful? I wanted Beauty to gain self-esteem naturally without this instant fix and surely not become remodeled by an enchantment whisking her away from her supposed ‘ugliness.’ It also seemed weird that when Beast changed back to a prince, he was then aged with gray-streaked hair, while Beauty was not. It was unclear what ages they were because Beauty was only in her teens and the Beast would now be in his forties. These things niggled me. Maybe I’m missing something, but I did reread the ending twice and this was a similar situation previously with her mother and father’s marriage. Regardless, it’s still a happy ending and I certainly won’t tear the book apart and rate it low because the ending wasn’t written the way I wanted it to be.

Overall, I loved this retelling all the way to the end. I’m happy to have read it and will be on the lookout for more books by Robin McKinley.

4.5****

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I read this book for my hometown's Young Women's Book Club. The lady that selected this book, chose it so we could read it and then go to the new Beauty and the Best movie that is coming out. Even though the movie isn't based off this retelling, we thought it would be fun.

I really enjoyed this retelling. It was a super easy, fast read. It was definitely entertaining and different enough without being totally off-track with the story. The introduction and background information started to get a little long and that would have been my only suggestion to the book. For 45% of the book, we still hadn't met the Beast.

Book Summary:
Beauty's real name is Honour, but she didn't like that name so her family called her Beauty. When she was a little older she felt weird having that name, because she believed it didn't fit her. She was thin and awkward; it is her two sisters who are the beautiful ones.
When her father comes home and shares his terrible experience making a promise with an enchanted castle in the forest and huge, scary Beast, Beauty knows she must go to the castle. And there is where she finds "Happily Ever After."

I suggest this book to anyone that likes to read retellings of Fairy Tales.

4 stars!!

I really had low expectations for this book, I've had it for some time now and never had the urge to read it but I was having some difficulties with another book and I was like what the heck let me try this! What's the worse that could happen? Me not finishing this book but that's about it and being that it was the first book and I had nothing invested in it I wouldn't have been that affected if it went bad lol Butttttt let me tell you I was very much satisfied with my reading, so much that I didn't want to sleep lol it was a very peaceful reading I must admit, it's calm and kind of soothing, nothing heart wrenching or damaging about this book.... Oh and another thing: because I red ACOTAR it had me trying to predict this book and it made me think that something evil and terrible was going to happen which it never did lmao I swear SJM really messed me up and now I have insecurities!!!! Lol over all I enjoyed this book very much and I would probably revisit it in the future! I do recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed ACOTAR and is looking for something with a lot less intensity and rated R stuff lol

This is a retelling of the classic fantasy Beauty and The Beast. But this version has a bit of a twist, McKinley's "Beauty" doesn't quite live up to her nickname and can be more accurately described as an awkward teenager, a girl who prefers to spend her free time with books and horses. I liked her immediately. When her father accidentally stumbles upon the bewitched castle of the "Beast" he is forced into a promise that will forever change Beauty's life. To give anymore of the plot away would be to ruin the magic of the book.

BEAUTY is categorized as a children's book (10 and up) but I think it will appeal to anyone who loves a magical, sweet, old-fashioned love story. McKinley's characters are well-drawn, sympathetic and just plain lovable, right down to Beauty's charming horse. This was another one of those rare "unputdownable" books for me.

This was required reading for my Child Lit class; my excitement and expectations were low from the beginning but by the time I finished I was a fan of this re-telling and possibly of McKinley herself. I'm going to try reading one of her other books and see how that goes. This book was a slow simmer all the way through and then when it finally boils over, the book ends. If you know the fairy tale (and I cannot imagine anyone who isn't familiar with Beauty and the Beast) then this does not come as a surprise. However, I enjoyed McKinley's spin enough that I could have kept on reading a few chapters more.

12/21/23: Winter solstice seems like a perfect day to finish this book. It's always charming and never quite Long enough.
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12/28/20: Had to squeeze this in before the end of the year. This is my winter book. I'm not sure if I've ever read it in any other season. I listened to it this time and enjoyed the narrator's performance as Beauty, but found her performance as Beast somewhat lacking. I still wish there was a bit more of the story after the transformation, but I think that's true of every Beauty & the Beast version I've read.
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12/14/18: read this again. Still as wonderful as the first time. My only wish is for a little bit more story after The Transformation.

Age: 11+
Reading Level: 5th - 7th grades

Cleanliness:

Children's Bad Words
Name Calling - 3 Incidents: stupid, dour King of Hell, idiot
Religious Profanity - 4 Incidents: merciful God, dear God, good heavens

Romance Related - 12 Incidents: "And Grace and Hope went on being innocently and ravishingly lovely, with every eligible young man--and many more that were neither--dying of love for them."
It is explained that a man made a journey with the intention of proposing to Hope. An adult character is suspected of falling in love with Beauty's father. A girl condescends to flirt a little, which causes the man to walk home like he was drunk. A boy kisses Beauty and she mentions she didn't like him doing that. Every night after dinner, the Beast asks Beauty to marry him. Beauty faints and the Beast catches her: "When you fainted you were helpless... I carried you to a couch... when I tried to set you down, you murmured in your sleep, and held on to my coat with both hands. For a few minutes you were content - even happy- that I held you in my arms. Then you remembered, and ran away..." Immodest clothing: "...I emerged from it pushing my wild hair off my face and found that they had disobediently wrapped me in the shimmering bit of nothing I had ordered back into the closet." "Aren't you going to offer me your arm?" A girl struggles with her thoughts: "I couldn't tell him that I--loved him." Beast touches her "bare shoulder." The Beast proposes to Beauty: "'Yes,' I said, and he took me in his golden arms, and kissed me. When we parted, it was only to a hand's length, and we looked long at one another, smiling."

Religious & Supernatural - 3 Incidents: Mentions in passing: goblins, magicians, a dragon, the Minotaur, griffins, trolls, witches and mermaids. A character remarks: "I'm still as clever as the devil himself." Black Magician is mentioned in passing.

Attitudes/Disobedience - 1 Incident: Anger:The Beast rears up wildly and there is a yelling argument.

Conversation Topics - 3 Incidents: Beer, wine and brandy are mentioned. A wine bottle at the table and the Beast admits that he "enjoys a glass of wine now and then." She notes that she has never seen him drink. Someone notes that a magician killed himself, which is "a good thing" because otherwise he "would have been murdered". It is noted that it is not understood why killing a "fiend" would be considered murder, saying "he's not even human."

Parent Takeaway
All magic and supernatural creatures are mentioned in passing only and are not central figures in the story. Although this is a tale of romance, the "romantic scenes" are mild as shown opposite (under Romantic References). The family is close-knit and care deeply for each other. Honor is held in high esteem.

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n  Plotn
I wanted to love this book, but it lacked for me in plot. The book concentrates on Beauty’s family life prior to moving into the castle to live with the Beast. This is the focus of the book, which I had not been expecting at all. I wanted to read about the castle and whatever mysterious magic goes on there, but this only took up the last little bit of the book.  While the events that unfolded in her home life with her father and her sisters were interesting, I couldn’t quite enjoy it because I was waiting for the real story. It almost felt like two books ideas were slapped together, when they would have served better as two separate stories.
n  Language & Setting n
The major appeal for this story is the writing style. Robin McKinley has an exquisite writing style, and the way that she describes the settings and the characters makes it seem like they could leap off the page and into the real world.
n  Charactersn
I had a hard time connecting with Beauty, even though she was an ordinary girl with a love for books. It might be an artifact of the writing style - when the writing focuses on style and beauty of language, I personally find it harder to connect with the protagonist.  While we frequently get glimpses into her head and what she’s thinking, I never connected with her on a deeper level. 

Unfortunately, her family was far more developed than any of the characters in the castle. We don’t get to truly meet any of the servants, since they’re invisible, yet it’s understood that they’re there. The Beast is somewhat of a caricature, and, to be honest, I’m not entirely sure why Beauty fell in love with him.  However, if Beauty's time in the castle had made up as much of the book as the events leading up to it, I do feel that I would have had enough time to grow to appreciate the Beast and his idiosyncracies.



I recommend this book to those who are looking for a different take on a magical medieval life, but aren't expecting the story to exactly mirror the movie.  There is a much greater focus on her family than on her time with the Beast, and knowing this before reading the story might increase your enjoyment of it.



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Maree ♫ Light's Shadow ♪ Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite stories, so I'm pretty tough to convince when it comes to reading retellings. I didn't enjoy Beastly at all, so when it came to this one, I wasn't expecting much either. But I was pleasantly surprised!

I really enjoyed the language. It was beautiful and fit with the time (I appreciated that it still took place in the past instead of modern day). You could really feel Beauty falling in love with the Beast, and I enjoyed how her family wasn't lost to the background, but were constantly there on the forefront of her mind. And it was a big family at that! I thought having a fully fleshed introduction before even getting to the Beast was smart as well, and made Beauty a real character rather than just the Disney girl most people think of.

The only part I didn't like was the ending. I felt like it wrapped up too fast and perfectly, even for a fairy tale. I'm also a big fan of the closing sentence, and I didn't feel like that was it. It's not that I wanted more--I just wanted something better. That's the only reason this book isn't getting five stars.

This is a nice, straightforward retelling of Beauty and the Beast, which I enjoyed without being completely drawn into the story.

While Beauty's background is built up nicely, the spark and excitement was utterly missing from her relationship with the Beast. It was a bit on the boring side.

This book has been recommended to me by several friends, and you would think that I would have read this one a long time ago, since I like Beauty and the Beast retellings, and I've made a point to read them several times. I have no idea why, but for some reason I always overlooked this one. Anyway, I finally got around to reading this and I really enjoyed it.

I have to say that I believe Disney got quite a few ideas from this book for their version of Beauty and the Beast. Because I've seen that version already, this one didn't feel as fresh or new, but that's just not fair to this book. It was fresh and new when it was published way back in 1978, long before the Disney version. I liked the ideas that it brought to the story. I liked the characters, and the way the Beast's story is told. I do wish we could have gotten another chapter at the end, but overall I enjoyed this book from start to finish.

“And since I am the only one who sees you, why are you not then beautiful?”


Review also posted at Writings of a Reader.

4.5 stars

Lovely read on the classic tale.

Beauty made for a good protagonist; she was not too sweet, not too perfect, not too tough—she was realistic. The Beast was wonderful, tortured, and I loved him as much as I have since I was five-years old.

But I encountered with the ending the same issue that I sometimes encounter with these fairy-tale retellings. I felt like the author thought “They know how it ends,” then went on to wrap things up quickly and without as much emotion as had been present throughout the rest of the book.

A shame, that, but it doesn’t tarnish the overall picture too much.