Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Belle: A Retelling of "Beauty and the Beast" by Cameron Dokey

       
Belle: A Retelling of 
"Beauty and the Beast"
by Cameron Dokey
Summary from Goodreads:

"Belle is convinced she has the wrong name, as she lacks her sisters' awe-inspiring beauty. So she withdraws from society, devoting her time to wood carving. Secretly, Belle longs to find the fabled Heartwood Tree. If carved by the right hands, the Heartwood will reveal the face of one's true love.

During a fierce storm, Belle's father stumbles upon the mysterious Heartwood — and encounters a terrifying and lonely Beast. Now Belle must carve the Heartwood to save her father, and learn to see not with the eyes of her mind, but with the eyes of her heart."

Rating:

Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” has always been my favorite cartoon of all time. Seriously, up until now at my age, I still cry at the ending when I watch it. Ha! Ha!

So, when I saw this book and realized that it was a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, I was excited to know how this would spin around.

Well, it was really good and the story was, like, really there: Sad goodbyes to Belle’s family; Sweet moment with the Beast; Lovely new twist with that Love-Tree and its secret. I was already filled with wonder and amusement. But then there were the flat, dull moments. The anticipation of waiting for Belle to reach the Beast and her somehow naive denial over her feelings for Beast where I felt puzzled then just simply annoyed.

But even with all that, still, by the ending I cried. It was a bit tacky and too fast but a nice retelling nonetheless.