A Beauty and a Beast

As I'm writing my story of the beast, I am reading lots of fairy tales to make sure that I'm staying original but still sticking to the heart of the story. Of course Beauty got pulled off the shelf and read again. Because Belle: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast is so similar to Beauty, I didn't bother reading it again. But I looked for other stories. And I found out that Robin McKinley, who wrote my favorite Beauty, actually decided to try again. The result was a remarkably original and captivating new version of Beauty and the Beast. The title of the book is Rose Daughter, and though I'm not quite finished reading it yet, I have a very strong feeling that I'll be adding it to my personal bookshelf in the near future. It is truly a beauty of a book.

Unfortunately, I also met a beast of a book, too. Titled Beastly, this book completely lived up to it's name within the Prologue. I hoped for something better and read the first chapter, but finally tossed it aside and said, "Enough is enough!" This book has recently been made into a movie, which is how I first discovered it. I watched the trailer and thought that the story sounded pretty interesting. There was swearing in the trailer, but I hoped that it was just the way the movie was rather than the way the book was. Well... so much for that.

One last note before I go: I love Belle, even though it is so similar to Beauty. I think that the fact that I read Beauty first just helped make it my favorite. I'd highly recommend reading either one or even both! =D