Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and The Beast
By Robin McKinley Book Review by Miranda Fraser ISBN: 978-0-06-075310-8 When we talk about Beauty and The Beast in terms of story books, most people imagine the fifteen page picture book you can find in almost every children's library. It's a really simple story line broken down into: Beast has girl living with him, Beast proposes to girl, eventually they break the curse and live happily ever after. It's actually NOT the original story, but we all seem to believe it is. I mean, I even have images pop into my head of sitting in first grade reading it during story time. And I find myself thinking about it quite often when reading new versions of the fairy tale. It's also the exact reason why I have chosen to review 'Beauty' right away. I have read this version several times and I adore it. Essentially McKinley takes that fifteen page storybook and creates a novel with a background on Beauty's family and the Beast's curse, vivid descriptions of the enchanted castle, and all the details that a picture book inevitably leaves out. While I have seen people complaining that they didn't like the plot of this novel, the truth is, McKinley did a great job taking a simple repetitive proposal story and giving it depth. Let's start with our characters! Now we all know the story says there is a stunning woman and a beastly creature, so Beauty is going to be quite the looker right? Well, in McKinley's novel our heroine doesn't really see it that way. This novel stuck to the story line of Beauty being one of three daughters, and compared to her sister's she looks very different. Her sister's are considered the jewels of their town with marriage proposal's coming at them left and right. In comparison Beauty is plainer and prefers the company of books over people. She describes her hair as a plain mousy brown with no curl or volume to work with. Her sister's eyes are blue and green while she has hazel. And she also says that she is too thin and awkward compared to her graceful sisters. The important thing to note here, the word 'compared'. Nowhere does anyone say she is not beautiful, in fact the Beast tells her how warped her image of herself is if she can think that way. But her appearance is 'plainer' and so she chooses plainer dresses over fancier ones, in an almost self-fulfilling-prophecy. She does not think she is beautiful and so avoids all things she feels are too beautiful for her and situations where her looks would be showcased as she feels she isn't pretty. Though looks are only skin-deep, and as much as I hate to use Beauty and The Beast as the poster child of that saying, it is one of the morals of the story. And Beauty is always helpful and considerate of those around her, truly beautiful inside and out. She is her father's pride and joy, he can deny her nothing. As stated she has two sisters, whom unlike other versions are very kind and loving, though they know Beauty is very different from them. Her sisters each have their own love stories that take place in this novel, one even getting married and having children of her own. And then there is the Beast. What I found interesting is what our Beauty says of his appearance, "If Yggdrasil had been given an animal's shape, it might have looked like the Beast" (150). If you look up Yggdrasil, it is the Norse tree of life. Now, she obviously wasn't saying that he was tree-like so one can assume this was a clever way of saying that he resembled many types of animals rather than one in particular. (Let me know your take on that quote, because maybe I'm wrong!) Unlike other versions of the Beast this one wears clothes, right on down to even having different pairs of boots. He is very hairy and Beauty notices that he has streaks of gray in his mane, further implying his age, which is over 200 years old! Now that we have an idea of the characters we're looking at, let's discuss the similarities in McKinley's version to the picture books we're all familiar with. Beauty's father was a merchant, and in this story a very wealthy one, but their business took a turn for the worse after a series of misfortunes, one which caused her eldest sister to lose her betrothed. In the meantime the middle daughter was just about to marry a blacksmith from a small country community and they all go to live with him, since they were now living on the poor-side. There's still some shreds of their father's business surviving and so he goes away on a trip. Sticking true to the storybook Beauty had asked for one thing, which is normally in a single rose, but in this version she asks for rose seeds. And her father felt awful that he could find none, so to his amazement when he found a rose garden he plucked a rose to bring to her. The Beast was infuriated, but when he found out the reason why he made a barter with the man. If the man had honor he would come back in a month's time or send one of his daughter's to the Beast. Naturally, Beauty went in her father's stead, for she may not have been 'beautiful' but she was brave. And thus began the story of Beauty and the Beast. The land which the Beast rules is an enchanted castle hidden away from life outside of it. This is where McKinley really got to have fun, because the picture books don't give you much detail about the castle or how the magic in it works. She writes beautiful descriptions with a refreshing take on the servants and how the spells work. And as a bookworm, I know the question we're all wondering about, WHAT ABOUT THAT LIBRARY THOUGH?! She does the library BRILLIANT justice with a wonderful take on the famous question, "how are there so many books in that time period?", read to find out! And in a true retelling McKinley also included the Beast's proposal to Beauty every night. I will not tell you what happens, but the Beast allows Beauty to go home for a week's time to take care of something. True to the story when she returns he is on death's door and the curse will either defeat the Beast or be broken by Beauty. Since it's hard not to give away too many of the plot twists, since this is just a retelling of a very simple story, and one most everyone already knows it, I apologize if you feel like there's no need to read this story. I guarantee you it is a simple, beautiful story and worth the read if the seven year old in you ever loved the simple picture book. There's plenty I left out about the magic in the castle, things the Beast can do, and how the servants are/look (something each author does differently). I left out how the curse happens, and a massive romantic plot twist and plenty of other details that just really bring this story to life and make it a GREAT addition to any Beauty and The Beast lover's library. As always links to the Author's pages are included below. And please continue to stay tuned for more Beauty and The Beast reviews because I have a HUGE stack on my dresser and more I am searching for!
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Cinderella's Dress By Shonna Slayton Book Review by Miranda Fraser ISBN: 978-1-68281-023-1 I was hesitant to post this under the ‘fairy tale’ genre. If we’re being honest, that’s probably pushing it a bit so just remember to check your YA sections if you go looking for this book. (Which you should!) Now I searched for this book for over a year. I kept telling people, if it’s not at Half Price Books then either it wasn’t popular OR it was so well loved that no one wants to give up their copy. I’m betting it’s the second option. Because I am not giving this book up! This book has been entered into my personal library and my heart. But getting back to my stretch on its genre placement, Cinderella’s Dress is not so much about Cinderella herself, but rather the keeper of the real life Cinderella story and her famous dress.
To begin with, if you know the story of Cinderella you know it’s a basic recipe for happily ever after: a family conflict, some magical items, and love conquering all. Well, that’s still mostly true. Except now we’re in New York City during World War Two and our focus is about a young woman who finds herself in the middle of an ancient family secret, as well as another family’s ancient feud. Go ahead and picture the time frame for WW2- there were rations on everything, women were taking on more jobs in the workforce, the men were bravely fighting for their country, refugees were seeking safety in America, and the last thing anyone still believes in are fairy tales. That is until Kate Allen’s estranged Great Aunt and Uncle came from Poland to escape the war. With them came, a mysterious old trunk, stories of their old country and the addle-minded musings of an old woman who speaks of princesses and family secrets. While this all seems like fanciful dementia, Kate can't help but be drawn to her aunt’s stories, as if they held all the answers she was searching for and didn’t know it. As I said before, this story is about the keeper, not the princess Kopciuszek. As Kate struggles to discover what is the dementia talking and what is a true family secret she goes along with her life as best she can. Her brother yearns to join the military, her father is overseas in the war, her mother tries to make her a fashion icon, and she is distracted by a devilishly handsome young man. And as time progresses she not only believes her aunt’s stories, but also feels drawn to them. Deep inside her, she knows she is the next ‘keeper’ and just like countless generations of women before her, she yearns to take on the job. But a job as serious as being the ‘keeper’ does not come without its share of danger. As I mentioned in the Cinderella story there is family conflict, so would you believe centuries later the descendants of the evil step-sisters are still determined to get the dress and destroy the other side of the family’s happiness? Talk about ancient family feud! And like I said, evil, these descendants will stop at nothing to get what they want. While Kate’s intuition about the family secret grows stronger, she uncovers more clues from her mother’s side of the family. For instance the necklace her grandmother left her before she died, or all the little crafts and symbols her Babcia used to make. And as the danger grows worse, she doesn’t just uncover clues, but also snippets of feuds and betrayals within the ‘Keeper’ family lineage. Kate fears she too will fail, so when the dress she is destined to protect is placed where the enemies are practically holding it in their hands, she draws on her cleverness and loved ones, as well as the mysterious gifts of the dress, to keep it safe. Unusual twists and turns come at the reader quickly as the ending draws near. And while Slayton did not disappoint with a lovely ending that pulled the story together, this can't be the end of our Keeper, can it? SPOILER ALERT THERE IS A SEQUEL!!! *Kopciuszek is Polish for Cinderella *Babcia is Polish for grandmother A Kiss In Time
By Alex Flinn Book Review by Miranda Fraser ISBN: 978-0-06-087421-6 If you have never read anything from Alex Flinn you are DEFINITELY missing out. Beastly is my absolute favorite novel by her! Seriously, read it before you see the terrible movie. Naturally, when I saw another fairy tale retold by her I knew it would be amazing. Just give me a few days to read it between work and finals and here I am with a, hopefully, compelling book review. A Kiss In Time is a modern day retelling of Sleeping Beauty. To begin with, if you know the story of Sleeping Beauty you know that the last fairy was given a chance to save the Princess from dying, and in place of death her and her whole kingdom would sleep till true love’s first kiss. In Flinn’s brilliant retelling this is still true, but instead of the prince being nearby, and valiantly riding in to save the day, within hours of the curse occurring, our princess sleeps for 300 years. That’s 300 years that an entire kingdom has been sleeping! Princess Talia’s story being in the 17th century, so when they are woken it is modern day, the world knows nothing about their existence, her prince is not a prince at all, and they must all learn how to live with inventions they know nothing about. Talk about a long nap! Since everything has changed in 300 years, so have the ideals of family, marriage, life expectancy, morals, and so on. Needless to say this makes for an interesting and hilarious story line. What if you had never seen a car or didn’t know what an airplane was? That’s a prefect version of what Princess Tali encounters. Secondly, every book must have a good plot and some twists and turns. So what if the princess’s “prince” does not wish to marry her? In Talia’s world, of course, if it’s true loves kiss, he will marry her and the curse has been fulfilled. But in modern times people are getting married older and older or not at all. Talia must make her “prince”fall in love with her so that surely he will marry her and they will live happily ever after. Oh, if only that was Talia’s only concern, for you, see the evil witch is not satisfied that her curse has been fulfilled. Now Talia must battle modern day issues she does not understand, an angry kingdom and parents, an evil witch who does not believe Talia should be allowed to live, and finally a man who should love her who does not. That’s a lot for any sixteen year old to handle, much less a sixteen year old who woke up from a 300 year nap. Finally, while I could go on and on about this story I simply want to wrap up this briefing on A Kiss In Time by reminding the potential readers that just as with Beastly the use of modern day technology comes into play. Let’s just say, in Beastly the “beast” had modern day chat rooms at his hands, and in A Kiss In Time this particular witch uses modern day quizzes and “dragons”to battle the princess’s true love. As usual, the link to the Author's Page is below. A Beast Within: A Tale of Beauty's Prince
by Serena Valentino Book Review by Miranda Fraser ISBN: 978-1423159124 Oh, man! What DON'T I have to say about this book? First of all, Beauty and the Beast is by FAR my favorite Fairy Tale of all time! And Disney's version is the BEST! When I saw this book the first thing I was drawn to was the beautiful drawing of the Beast on the cover! I LOVE the Beast and to see something with JUST him, much less a whole novel devoted to him, was breathtaking! I eagerly got a copy of this novel and proudly have it displayed on my bedroom bookshelf. So now that you have an idea of just how much I love Beauty and the Beast, let me actually address what this novel was like. To begin with, I loved every second of it! But I was filled with an immediate dread when I opened the novel, what would she make the Beast's story be like? In other versions of the Fairy Tale the Beast was one of the worst people on earth, sometimes it was a sex scandal [one version has him sleeping with an orphan] and sometimes it was a cold blooded murder that got him to where he was when the Beauty enters the picture. I was so scared of what would be in the back story of my favorite Prince/Beast. But Valentino did his story wonderful justice! She sold a back story I would honestly buy as a legitimate "prequel" movie to Disney's version. (Seriously, Disney let's make more animated B&B movies. Please?) Valentino spins a story of an orphaned prince who grows up becoming more and more conceited as the years go by. He lives in this delusional world of what he thinks he wants, or should want. Such as a supermodel princess, a woman who is seen but rarely heard and certainly not someone who thinks or argues back at him. He put his own wants above others needs and thus proved what a terrible prince he would be to his people. He was a boy easily bored with things around him, including people, but I doubt he really saw it that way, and easily insulted if things weren’t going the way he thought they ought to be. His back story was played out and tied up so beautifully I was completely surprised and even more so that I didn’t have any real complaints. Secondly, though the story takes place mainly before Belle’s arrival at the castle there are parts that tie in to her life as well. For instance the Beast saw her once, before being transformed, but Gaston kept him from her. [Oh yea, PLOT TWIST! Pick up a copy ASAP to understand that bomb I just dropped!] And then there are things that occurred during her arrival there, such as the moment he gave her the library. Now, as I stated earlier, he did not want an intelligent woman so this gift means more than people realize. This was a gift given during a time that women were scorned for reading. A gift he gave knowing it fueled her to be who she truly was but also went against his own foolishness. And he liked it! Of course he did, we all saw the movie, and we saw his smile when she opened her eyes in wonder at the GORGEOUS library! But it was a poignant moment for their relationship and his transgression as a cursed man. AND THE BEST PART OF IT BEING IN THIS BOOK?! She used the actual quotes! No lie! She had it all right! I was so impressed. During this book if anything took place during what we saw in the movie she kept the actual quotes! I appreciated that more than I can say! Now going back to his notion that a woman should be seen and not heard we all know that that's the exact opposite of what Belle is and as much as it infuriates the Beast it also attracts him to her. I LOVED that she had the background have him be so foolish as to believe that was the type of woman he wanted because it only added fire to what we saw from him on screen. Then there were the things she changed. The reason for his curse was slightly different than what we had always seen on screen. We had always had an understanding of when and how it happened, but never really knew everything about it. Well, this curse just got a lot more complicated, from the who, how, and the time frame of the curse. I highly suggest getting it, it was definitely worth it! And there was also how the curse affected him, in Valentino’s version he saw things of the curse different than Belle did. Belle saw the enchanted side of things while the Beast saw things as menacing, a bonus to his curse. That was a little hit and miss for me... I found the notion interesting at first, but it failed when you thought about how things played out on screen. However, I still really enjoyed the plot twist and how she played it all out! Finally, I have to say that Serena Valentino gets two BIG thumbs up from me! This story was excellent, so well done, and tied into the original movie that I was blown away by the flawless way she strung it all together. She gave an insight to things people have been questioning for years, such as why the people forgot about him and what of his parents, insight into his connections with his servants, and so much more. PLUS I happen to know that this ties into her next book Ursula and MIGHT have a connection to a previous book. One, which no doubt, I will be tracking down ASAP! My real gripe about this story was that it ended so soon! Links to Valentino's Facebook and website will be posted below. |
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