Book Review: Beauty by Robin McKinley

This turned out to be a really nice retelling of the very familiar story of Beauty and the Beast. I think that the Disney film was much influenced by some of the imagery in this book. The descriptions are lush and imaginative, but the world of the story is still recognizable. The one thing I liked about this story that was a bit different from other versions I remember is that Beauty herself had to realize her own power and even her own beauty. Her character had more of an arc than merely coming to see the Beast differently. She also had to learn to see herself differently. For that reason, this would be a great book for any young woman or girl to read. It was absolutely wholesome, with no scenes at all that I would be concerned about sharing.