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What Members Thought
OMG I read this book over and over again as a teenager. Why did I have to own the version with the cheesiest cover?
It IS a fairy tale, but well-told. McKinley richly fills in the alternative world of the classic fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast. It is told in first person by Beauty. Her delightful character is well developed and I came to know and understand her. The descriptions of Beauty's family and their change in circumstances in the non-magical world are handled well as are the descriptions of the magical castle. And it definitely has a well written fairy tale ending.
I recommend this for fairy tale ...more
I recommend this for fairy tale ...more
Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite fairy tales. I love the Disney iteration, the smart, bookish, kind but spunky Belle. But I'm usually pretty generous in liking any retelling of Beauty and the Beast. The classic story elements shine through in any version. That's why it was surprising to me that I found this version of the fairy tale so dissatisfying. It started off promisingly enough, until I realized that it was full of filler, just page after page of almost completely pointless descr
...more
Read this again in Jan 2012 for book club. Loved it just as much as before.
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I’d read this once before as a teen but didn't remember much besides that I had liked it, so I recently decided it was worth another re-read.
Would it be trite to say that I found this book, uh, enchanting? The story was just a little slow-going at first, but by “Part III” I was hooked and could hardly set it down. The writing was good; descriptive without getting bogged down. The main character, Beauty, was practical, ...more
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I’d read this once before as a teen but didn't remember much besides that I had liked it, so I recently decided it was worth another re-read.
Would it be trite to say that I found this book, uh, enchanting? The story was just a little slow-going at first, but by “Part III” I was hooked and could hardly set it down. The writing was good; descriptive without getting bogged down. The main character, Beauty, was practical, ...more
A pretty straightforward version of Beauty and the Beast..a refreshingly wholesome take on YA fiction in today’s obsession with dystopia, trilogies, and love triangles.
You know me, I require retellings to add something and there wasn't much of that here. I got bored so I kept being suspicious of every guy, thinking they might be Gaston. The characters were fleshed out in their riches-to-rags medieval story, but I'm not sure if I'd like to continue the series.
This was recommended to me when we discussed The Garden of Time at a book club. ...more
This was recommended to me when we discussed The Garden of Time at a book club. ...more
I absolutely love this book. I want that library so bad. And I loved the characters and how they grew.
Robin McKinley is probably my favorite author of full length fairy tale retellings.
Jul 07, 2010
Deedee
marked it as to-read
(Lexile Score: 970L)
Sep 07, 2009
Gaijinmama
marked it as to-read
Jan 03, 2011
Jessica
marked it as to-read
May 26, 2012
Deyara
marked it as to-read
Jun 14, 2012
martha
marked it as to-read
Jun 19, 2014
DeeAnn
marked it as to-read
May 26, 2016
Cora
marked it as tbr-on-hand
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review of another edition
Shelves:
fantasy,
kindle,
romance,
young-adult,
fairy-tales,
magic,
retelling,
fairy-tale-retelling,
beauty-and-the-beast
Oct 11, 2016
Tanya
marked it as to-read
Mar 02, 2019
Cathy
marked it as to-read
Feb 15, 2021
Beverly
added it
