Beauty reborn

Lowham adeptly wrangles classic elements of "Beauty and the Beast" to craft a sensitive and slow-burning retelling that tackles issues of sexual violence. As recompense for the rose her merchant father plucked from the castle garden, 18-year-old Beauty--so named by her deceased mother, who "valued handsome appearance above all other virtues"--delivers herself to the enchanted residence of the mysterious Beast. Intellectual Beauty, who is still coping with having been sexually assaulted by her former suitor, a lord baron's heir, secretly hopes the Beast will devour her, as she "would rather die" than have to face the suitor again. Instead, the magical, inexplicably empty estate provides an environment in which she and the Beast slowly develop a rapport through reading and philosophy. Beauty finds solace in the castle, and the distance from her family helps her reevaluate her complex relationships with them. Via intense flashbacks to Beauty's life before living with the Beast, Lowham addresses Beauty's harrowing history. While this lavish version of the original tale is comfortingly familiar, the creator's narrative stands out in its portrayal of themes surrounding trauma and recovery alongside familiar musings on perceived differences between humans and monsters. Characters read as white. Ages 13--19. (May)

This retelling of "Beauty and the Beast" adds a #MeToo backstory. Youngest, brightest, and prettiest of three sisters, Beauty is beloved by her brother and widowed father. Her sisters aren't fans--especially jealous Astra, whom Beauty ridicules. When their father's financial losses force the family to downsize to a run-down cottage near an enchanted forest, Beauty's relieved--she has her reasons. Caught in a storm while hunting in the forest, her father stumbles upon a mysterious castle where he's magically fed and housed for the night, but when he plucks a rose in the garden for Beauty, despite a sign forbidding it, the Beast appears, demanding his life as payment; instead, Beauty takes his place. The castle--more sanctuary than prison and thick with enchantments--intrigues her, as does the shy, smitten Beast she teaches to read in the castle library. A parallel plot addresses why Beauty longs to leave her old life behind (it's no fairy tale) in suspense-building flashbacks. The book's soul-searching, cautionary realism doesn't fit comfortably with the didactic clarity and black-and-white ethics of fairy tales, but despite the stylistic disconnect, Beauty herself is an intriguing, well-crafted original, her story building on the tale's perennial theme of consent: She goes willingly to a Beast who does not force her into marriage though his life and humanity depend on it. In that respect, this iteration does not disappoint. Characters present White. Readers who appreciate narrative risk-taking are well served. (Fantasy. 13-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.