Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the BeastBy: Robin McKinley
Young-Adult Fiction
The plot of this book was pretty straightforward. Beauty is the youngest daughter of a wealthy merchant. Her given name was Honour, but as a young girl, asked to be called Beauty instead. She grew up to be plain and never felt like she lived up to her nickname. Her father's shipping business falls into disaster and they are forced to move to the country, where she meets the beast.
I had heard a lot about this book, and its author, Robin McKinley. I didn't enjoy the book quite as much as I had hoped I would. I felt sometimes like there was too much time spent on characters talking about what had happened, rather than what was happening at the time. Also, the ending was quite abrupt. A lot of time was spent building up the story and then the ending fell flat. But, those few flaws aside, it was a really fun book to read. I enjoyed reading about Beauty's thoughts and how they changed towards the Beast. The imagery and change that took place in the book came together really well.
Overall, I would give the book 4 out of 5 stars. I look forward to reading more from Robin McKinley.
