Beauty

By Robin McKinley,

Book cover of Beauty: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast

Book description

When the family business collapses, Beauty and her two sisters are forced to leave the city and begin a new life in the countryside. However, when their father accepts hospitality from the elusive and magical Beast, he is forced to make a terrible promise - to send one daughter toā€¦

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Why read it?

3 authors picked Beauty as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I probably read this Beauty and the Beast retelling nearly ten times when I was a teenagerā€”McKinley takes a well-known classic and puts her own twist on the tale. Beauty is not beautiful in this version, but that only makes the rest of the story more brilliant.

I loved exploring the Beastā€™s enchanted castle and watching their love story unfold as if for the first time. Of course, the magical house only makes it more of a joy to read.

From Ryan's list on featuring magical houses.

Beauty is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast which gives us a practical, irregular heroine who redefines beauty. Iā€™ve reread this book multiple times because the magical setting, colorful descriptions, and character development are heartwarming and unique. This is a story of transcendent love between two people (some more human than others!) who come to know each other's thoughts and quirks thoroughlyā€”and to love each other for them. 

From Charlotte's list on romance with quirky heroines.

McKinleyā€™s Beauty is a classic in (at least) two ways. 1) Itā€™s a retelling of the story of Beauty and the Beast, rather than an adaptation. These classic fairy tales very clearly indicate the problem of choosing your family, full of wicked stepmothers, bumbling fathers, and jealous siblings. The trope that really gets me is typified in Beauty: the father who is willing to sacrifice his daughter for his own safety. Not exactly stellar parenting, but itā€™s so common in these old stories! 2) McKinely is a master storyteller, who allows you to revisit this well-known story inā€¦

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One Giant Leap by Ben Gartner,

Editor's Pick, BookLife by Publishers Weekly.

Gold Medal, 2023 Mom's Choice Awards.

Gold Medal, 2023 Readers' Favorite Awards.

First Place, 2023 Gertrude Warner Middle Grade Awards.

Iā€™m pretty sure Iā€™m about to die in space. And I just turned twelve and a half.

Blast off with the four winners ofā€¦

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