Rating: 
Summary: Definitely a good book
Review: I would have to say that most of the book is terrific. It was a great read, the beginning and middle of the book was great, I loved how the author wrote, just up until the very end. Although the end was good, it seemed that the author could have done better, considering the first 3/4 of the book was wonderful, I would definitely recommend reading it. I guess it's just that I didn't fancy the age range between two characters in the book. The second thing that made the ending bad was that it seemed rushed. It seemed that the ending paragraphs made me think, "And everyone lived happily ever-after, the end". I'm just saying that the end was a little tiny bit of a set back compared to the rest of the book.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Fairytale
Review: This book is my favorite retelling. To me it is one of the best versions of Beaty and the Beast. Robin McKinley's Rose Daughter isn't half as good as Ms. McKinley's version Beauty. For any one who loved this book you should also read Beast by Donna Jo Napoli. If you love fairytales or you are the hopeless romantic then you have to read this book. It is my favorite and it soon will be yours too.
Rating: 
Summary: Beauty: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast
Review: "Beauty" is a fantastic and beautifully written book. It is impossible to put it down considering it holds your interest steadfast till the very last word. Robin McKinley's ability to make this book come alive is splendid and makes you hope that there is a follow-up book. It is magical,although adventurous, focusing mainly on the loving and growing realationship of Beauty and the Beast.
It starts off with Beauty explaning how ugly she was which is different than usual beautiful herione. I thought it was great how the author explained how pretty she was when she was little therefore adopting the nickname Beauty (her original name being Honour)and then growing up into an awkward teenager without growing out of it. The family is very wealthy and is used to be waited on by servants constantly until there fortune falls and they are forced to move out into the country where things aren't as lavish. On my opinion, they lucked out because there new home wasn't exactly unfortunate. But with this new home comes a story of an enchanted wood behind the home where the father gets tied up into by finding a castle deep within. From this point on it basically follows the Disney remake of the animated film "Beauty and the Beast". So Beauty gives her life for her fathers and agrees to go and live with this horrible ogre. Also in this book which wasn't expected is how well the author pulls in how close the family is. Beautys two older sisters Hope and Grace love her dearly(Not typical for the sisters to love the main character which was a nice change). So Beauty ends up living in this magical and enchanted castle with beautiful gardens and invisible servants who respond to ones every wish. The Beast turns out to be kind and gentle to her and eventually Beauty begins to have mixed feelings for him. But she only has so long to realize her love for him before the rose dies.
Rating:
Summary: Wish she'd make a series of these
Review: After growing up on Disney fairy tales and the like I've always had a certain fondness for folk tales. This just happens to be a masterful retelling. I normally groan when someone attempts to tale a classic tale "with a twist", but if they were all done as well as this one I wouldn't mind in the slightest. McKinley gives her Beauty a wonderful worldly intelligence and almost sarcastic sense of humor. She's not a true beauty to anyone accept the Beast and her family. I loved the fact that the sisters were NICE, not your normal run of the mill evil siblings. The family was normal and it almost seemed like the reaction of any family put in such circumstances, fairy tale or not. McKinley fleshes out the story into a beautiful novel, with a Beast that was never mean. It's almost more believable that way. I mean Beauty had to get over him being a Beast in the first place, what better way to get over that part than if he were a nice Beast? The character are lovingly portrayed so that each one is cared about, not in the least the Beast himself. Yet Beauty is the main character in this story and there couldn't be a better heroine. She's brave, intelligent, caring and a tomboy. She has conviction and a sense of humor lacking from many fairy tale women. I myself wish that McKinley would continue writing novels of this type. I would love to see her take on other fairy tales. Everyone needs a Beast like hers.
Rating:
Summary: A refreshing retelling of a classic
Review: It is nice to read something three dimensional that breaks the "disneyfied" fairy tale mold. I read this book twice in just a few days and plan to read it again. The characters were so real and engaging. Beauty has a personality and is not the overused wilting flower type heroine. This is a great story, I even like it better than Rose Daughter because Beauty's transformation and her relationship with the Beast is beautiful and interesting. But it is not perfect, the ending was much to abrupt and left the reader wanting to hear more of the story this is why I gave this book only 4 stars. Otherwise, it is great and worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: A Delightful tale
Review: Beauty is definitely one of my all time favorites. In fact, I find that I like it even better than the Disney version (on video) of Beauty and the Beast. Beauty is a person that we all can relate to, someone who is insecure of herself. I like the fact that McKinley described Beauty as a plain girl, instead of the lovely and beautiful girl portrayed on other movies. It has imagery and imagination, and it is a wonderful version of Beauty and the Beast. This is a definite read for everyone; I've even read it NUMEROUS times, and I find that I never tire of this wonderful story.
Rating:
Summary: one of my favorites
Review: When I was younger, this was the book I always brought on airplane rides and long car trips. I've never gotten tired to reading and rereading it. Beauty is a refreshing heroine with intellectual gifts rather than good looks, and her relationship with the Beast and his castle makes us understand her character a lot more than with other similar fairy stories. Beauty is a person all young women could aspire to imitate. The author is also excellent at describing the strange wonders of the castle, something I believe we have always wanted to see, but other stories have described unsatisfactorily.
Rating:
Summary: Old Fashioned with a Twist
Review: Traditional fairy tales have always left me dissatisfied because they never went into enough depth and I was never able to really get to know the characters. However, Robin McKinley takes the old story and turns it around so that you understand why the heroine did what she did. Instead of the evil sisters so prevalent classic story telling, Beauty has two wonderful and supportive sisters. The background of the story is charming; it really moves the story along. McKinley removes any bitter aftertaste and ties up all of the lose ends, just like a writer should. This book far outshines the Disney movie and all of the other versions that I have read (though I noticed some of the same themes running in the movie as the book, I would not doubt that someone at Disney read it). I would recommend this book for anyone over the age of about 8ish, and if you're still hungry for more, "Rose Daughter" is Robin McKinley's other, more mature telling of "Beauty and the Beast," though I DO think that "Beauty" is better, fresher, and lighter. With the coming summer season, I would highly recommend "Beauty" for a good afternoon read.
Rating:
Summary: An old favorite retold for us imperfect people
Review: I've always loved Beauty and the Beast, perhaps because I own an illustrated version with amazing pictures to go along with the fairy tale. And now that I'm a cynical teenager, I've found a new version- a Beauty and the Beast for the imperfect people in the world (like myself). With Beauty as plain but intelligent, and her sisters kind rather than mean as so many stories portray, it is at first hard to believe that the tale will come to a satisfying end. But stay with it, for all will end well--and I won't give away the ending, but suffice to say that McKinley does this fairy tale the justice it deserves!
Rating:
Summary: for a class report, and always a re read.
Review: This book was first handed over to me when i was in grade 7. I read it for the first time as it was our time to choose what book we wanted to read out of the bunch. This one applead to me becouse of the cover of the book. It was one that i also could not put down. Just the way the telling of Beauty and beast was told, it wasent anything like Disney. It was the way that i had always thought of it in my minde. It made me have a greater apprecation for the rose. and to this day every time i look at a weeping rose petal i think of this book and look back to my shelves and want to pick it up again.
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