The Princess Curse by Merrie Haskell

The Princess Curse, by Merrie Haskell, was a fun, light read.  The story is told from the point of view of Reveka, a young and sassy herbalist apprentice.  Though she is impatient with the conventions and restrictions of her role in life, she is an excellent herbalist, and attempts to use her plant knowledge to cure the mysteriously ailing princesses, who disappear every night and return exhausted and with their slippers worn through.

Her meddling brings her to the attention of the queen, who encourages her to keep trying.  As Reveka learns more about the history of the curse and the affect it's had on the entire kingdom, her worry increases, and she's drawn more and more intimately into the princesses' lives.

The story evolves about midway through to become a more recognizably Beauty and the Beast adaptation, with a strong flavor of Persephone thrown into the mix.  I loved the blend and the reasoning and the way the two tied together to make a strange underworld for Reveka to explore.

I think I would have liked more detail about the kingdom and its neighbors, and some more of the complexity of the political situation to come through in the story -- but I do think the book is suitable for younger readers and as such, readers who are (old) like me will find it a pretty quick read.

Definitely a delightful take on two of my favorite fairy tales.

Beauty and the Werewolf by Mercedes Lackey

The 6th entry in the 500 Kingdoms series, Beauty and the Werewolf came out in October 2011. (And I eventually got around to reading it.) Can I just say, before I say anything about the book itself, blech, what is with the cover art? I know these series has a penchant for fuzzy pictures of beautiful women and, normally, pastels, and while I do think you have to have a red cloak for a book so significantly featuring a Red Riding Hood motif, gah, this one just doesn't sit well with me. I think it's the way the model looks like she's uncomfortably holding her breath, waiting for the moment to end so she can relax....

Anyway. That aside, this is probably my favorite of the 500 Kingdoms books. It sneaks in the usual references to the Tradition and how We All Know More Than We Should -- except the main character doesn't, and other characters cut themselves off from revealing too much. So we, the faithful readers, know what they were about to say, but the character isn't wandering around trying to figure out how to manipulate people and events to her liking through most of the book. (Maybe just a little by the end.)

I also really like the blend of Beauty and Little Red. I've thought the two stories would combine well, and Lackey has done a solid job of putting the two stories together. And while the ending is not entirely unpredictable, Lackey has in this case done a good job of making the characters (at least the two main male characters) not entirely predictable. And Bella (of course she's named Bella, this IS a Beauty and the Beast story, after all) herself shows some moxie while not falling into the "I've got moxie because I'm STUBBORN" category.

If you liked the previous books in the series, I definitely recommend this one. It's not particularly deep but it is an enjoyable read.

Beastly Movie review

So I've had some time to mull over Beastly, and I figure you've either seen it by now or you're still trying to decide if it's worth seeing in theaters. And my thought on that is... meh. Aside from the rather remarkable makeup job (not necessarily as grotesque as they'd like to think, perhaps, but certainly impressive) there isn't a lot about this movie that screams "must see on big screen!" to me. It's a fairly typical paranormal romance, some of the sharper points in the book dulled down a bit.

Your story, of course, is Beauty and the Beast from Beast's perspective. He's a jerk, but we feel sorry for him because his father is even more of a jerk. He tries to pull one over on Kendra, but surprise! Those rumors about her being a witch: totally true. (It wasn't just a euphemism for a word that rhymed! Who knew?)

So suddenly he's all icky. He has a couple run-ins with Lindy both pre- and post-uglification, and the camera is definitely zoomed in on his affection for her. (HE IS ADMIRING HER AND SHE DOESN'T EVEN NOTICE! HOW ROMANTIC!)

Then, and here's where you can tell the marketing went "Well, what worked in Twilight?" he stalks her a bit, following her around town and watching her read at her window. Through his stalking, he is able to intervene when her father gets tangled with some drug-dealers, taking her away to his outside-the-city house for her protection. (I believe in the book, he had the traditional magic mirror on his side, making his stalking more of a mystical nature. I'm not sure that's better, but I had more trouble believing the chain of events in the movie than I did when I read the book.)

Neil Patrick Harris is definitely the highlight of the film. Every time he was on screen there was something to laugh about. From a blind guy throwing darts to he's caustic but useful advice, as far as I'm concerned, he was the star of the show.

The rest of the acting didn't hold up so well, and though it's always hard to say what's the acting and what's the directing, none of the three main characters (Mary-Kate Olsen, Vanessa Hudgens, Alex Pettyfer) pulled off anything spectacular or... believable.

For my money, if you want a supernatural romance, I'd check out I Am Number Four at the theater, which at least has the special effects to be worth the big-screen ticket (and I liked it a lot better in the end--it caters much more to the sci-fi/action crowd than the Twilight crowd), and save Beastly for your home system. And as for this story, if I care to revisit it, I will go by way of book, and not the movie.

Edit: Here is a really nice blog entry by Alex Flinn, with thoughts about the movie vs the book, and her excitement at the premier. Well worth reading!

Beastly by Alex Flinn Movie

Beastly is out today!

In her retelling of Beauty and the Beast, Flinn retells the story from the Beast's perspective, in a decidedly modern setting. I think this is a lot like the way that Shakespeare's stories can be so effectively set in high schools -- emotions run high, everything that happens feels vital and -- whatever the reason, the setting and point of view are very effective in this retelling.

As I recall, this was a quick and engaging read. Not too complex, being aimed at high schoolers, and after all, we already know the bones of the story. Flinn did a nice job of fleshing out the characters believably, with a few twists to keep things interesting.

There's an excerpt and more reviews for Beastly here:

http://www.alexflinn.com/html/beastly.html

And of course, the film is out in theatres today. Remember, the best way to make sure we have more fairy tale movies on the horizon is to support them as they come out!

Disney's Beauty and the Beast

Well... I don't imagine there are many people reading this blog who haven't seen Disney's Beauty and the Beast. (If you haven't seen it, here's my review: if you like Disney, you'll like it.) However, I am covering film versions, and I haven't watched a couple of the really obscure ones I've seen listed.

So instead I thought I'd offer you this: Advice from a Cartoon Princess.

Enjoy!

Cannon Movies Beauty and the Beast

Since Beastly, based on Alex Flinn's book, is coming out this Friday, I thought I'd take this week to look at some of the previous incarnations of Beauty and the Beast in cinema.

I have to give Cannon a solid "meh" on this one. Sticking close to the Madame de Villeneuve version of the story, Beauty's family is loving but incompetent. Her father's business experiences a run of bad luck, leaving the family poor, and just as he thinks his luck will turn, he finds that his last ship and his last hope have been lost. Wandering home he comes on the Beast's castle... gets treated for the night... picks a rose in the morning--you know where it goes from here.

Starring Rebecca de Mornay and John Savage, the acting is a bit stilted (could be due to the directing as well). Very much aimed at children, instead of being for children, if you take my distinction.

It's worth a viewing if you're a big fan of B&B, otherwise you might pass this one in favor of the other Cannon Movie Tale films.

Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre: Beauty and the Beast

Since Beastly, based on Alex Flinn's book, is coming out this Friday, I thought I'd take this week to look at some of the previous incarnations of Beauty and the Beast in cinema.

OMG, this is almost a straight-up rip-off of the Jean Cocteau film. I MEAN, this is La Belle et la Bete, on fast forward.

I... can't say much else about it than that. From the costumes and settings, to the special effects, this is a direct nod to Cousteau. Watching them in such proximity was actually quite fascinating. The story was very close, so it was interesting to see what was cut for time. Only a couple of the confusing story elements were dropped--the bit about the random smoking beast (I mean like he was ON FIRE smoking) was still there.

Starring Susan Sarandon and with Angelica Houston in a bit role, this is a pretty fitting (timewise) entry in the Faerie Tale Theatre collection.

Jean Cocteau's La Belle et la Bête

Since Beastly, based on Alex Flinn's book, is coming out this Friday, I thought I'd take this week to look at some of the previous incarnations of Beauty and the Beast in cinema, starting with Jean Cocteau's La Belle et la Bête.

First of all let me say: this is a beautiful piece of cinematography, and if you haven't seen it, what are you waiting for?

We meet Belle with some Cinderella-esque sisters, complaining and leaving Belle to do all the housework after their father's financial misfortunes leave the family in difficulty. Belle has a persistent suitor, Avenant, but she's not interested because she doesn't feel she can leave her father. Of course, as we all know the story, when it turns out that she must leave him to save his life, she does, going to live with the Beast in his enchanted castle. They don't really... fall in love, they just spend a lot of time together, have some strange smoky encounters, and when she goes home and sees him dying in the mirror, she realizes she loves him.

Now, I have to take it somewhat with a grain of salt, based on what it was made. I don't think there's any way this screenplay would have gotten greenlighted in today's movie-making world. (I could be wrong...) There are bits of the story that don't really seem to fit into anything, like the Beast's smoking hands (it's unclear if this is because he feels guilty about killing, or if it's part of the magic powers he has).

Aside from some minor confusion, though, the story is familiar, and as I said, the film itself is just beautiful, full of rich costumes, delightfully archaic special effects, and the written plea at the beginning to suspend your disbelief and enjoy the magic.

The Book of Lost Things by John Connelly

I was really hesitant to read this when I heard about it, because I am wary of books about children that claim to be for grown-ups. Not that that's a recipe for failure, by any means, but it made me set it aside, mentally, until it popped up again in my life in the form of my friend Annamarie.

Annamarie is not a BIG reader. She loves books about horses, and fairy tales where everything comes out okay in the end. I have recommended a lot to her; she had never returned the favor--until The Book of Lost Things. Which she insisted emphatically that I read. And dragged me to a bookstore, and bought it for me, and put it in my hands, and sat me down, and forced me to read the beginning so that I would be hooked and read it right away.

Which I did, nearly in one sitting. And oh my. What an excellent recommendation.

This is the story of David, a 12-year-old boy who's just lost his mother. When his father remarries and has another son, David retreats into his books and fairy tales, but gets much more drawn in than he expected.

And, oh, the references and rewritings. With many stories twisted into new shapes (including a Beauty and the Beast where the Beast is the woman--and the Beauty does not free her from her spell--and a Sleeping Beauty where the sleeper awakens every night and is more of a danger to the princes than any thorns ever were), David explores a new land where the greatest danger will be the ones he calls from his own imagination.

Try to figure out who the villain is before the reveal at the end. (Yeah, I totally did.)

This is now one of my favorites books. (I don't say that too often, do I???) Check it out!

I do recommend the paperback edition with the red cover, as there's a section of notes at the back of the book, with Connelly's thoughts on the fairy tales he used, as well as original versions of the tales.

AND

I know that I say "This is one of my new favorite books!" far too often, especially here where I am talking about my favorite kind of book. But I really want to back that up this time, with this exceptionally good book.

SO.

A GIVEAWAY!

Post a link back to this blog on your blog for 1 entry, or on twitter for 1 entry. (If you have multiple blogs you can have an entry for each blog you post on, but only one entry per blog.)

Be sure to put a comment on this entry so I can see your links!

I'll draw a random winner on Friday, December 3rd, and I'll send the winner a copy of The Book of Lost Things.

Enchanted: Erotic Bedtime Stories for Women by Nancy Madore

I love looking at the amazon.com reviews for sexy books. I always read all the one star reviews because it's fascinating to me to contrast the ones who thought the book was too sexy with the ones who thought it wasn't sexy enough....

But anyway. Nancy Madore's Enchanted: Erotic Bedtime Stories for Women is the first in a series of short story collections, focusing on fairy tales. The second book seems to mainly draw from nursery rhymes, the third from a more general fantasy background. The stories are gently erotic--you won't find anything harshly graphic in this collection.

The collection includes these stories:

Beauty and the Beast

Bluebeard

Cat and Mouse

Cinderella

East of the Sun and West of the Moon

Goldilocks and the Three Barons

Mirror on the Wall

Mrs. Fox

Snow White in the Woods

The Empress' New Clothes

The Goose Girl

The Sheep in Wolves' Clothing

The Ugly Duckling

I quite enjoyed the twists on Beauty and the Beast and The Goose Girl. The rest of the stories I found less memorable; some were more clever than others.

Beastly by Alex Flinn

It's actually been a couple months since I read Beastly, by Alex Flinn, but it left me with a good impression even a few months later. In her retelling of Beauty and the Beast, Flinn retells the story from the Beast's perspective, in a decidedly modern setting. I think this is a lot like the way that Shakespeare's stories can be so effectively set in high schools -- emotions run high, everything that happens feels vital and -- whatever the reason, the setting and point of view are very effective in this retelling.

As I recall, this was a quick and engaging read. Not too complex, being aimed at high schoolers, and after all, we already know the bones of the story. Flinn did a nice job of fleshing out the characters believably, with a few twists to keep things interesting.

There's an excerpt and more reviews for Beastly here:

http://www.alexflinn.com/html/beastly.html

Heart's Blood by Juliet Marillier

Heart's Blood is Juliet Marillier's newest fairy tale retelling, and she's turned out a masterful Beauty and the Beast, keeping the bones of the story while bypassing the cliches of one of the most frequently retold tales there is.

Honestly, this may be my new favorite Marillier book (although Daughter of the Forest, as my first book of hers, will always hold a special place in my heart). With her usual graceful prose, she's created an original and strange telling of the familiar story. I don't want to give too much away, but I REALLY loved the concept behind this one.

So as far as plot goes, all I want to say is: Juliet Marillier's Beauty and the Beast.

As far as the writing goes, well, I'm completely in love with Marillier's style, and this one was more quick paced than some of hers -- while I love her writing I do occasionally find parts of the story to drag a little, not so in this one. She brought in a lot of unexpected elements, was really creative with the story in a way I haven't seen in other versions. I think a lot of retellings like to really focus on character development while keeping an old story absolutely in it's original frame. This version is just... more creative -- which is not to say she shortchanged her character development at all.

Agh! Just go read it! You won't regret it!

Out of the Wild by Sarah Beth Durst

This continues the tale of Julie, 11-year-old daughter of Rapunzel, and her "brother," Puss in Boots. Having undone the wish that brought the Wild (a fairy tale forest that forces people to act out stories again and again) into power, Julie thinks that things will go back to normal, until one of the Three Blind Mice accidentally (he's blind, after all) runs into the Wild where it's stored under her bed. But instead of growing, the Wild takes the opportunity to trade -- as the mouse enters, Rapunzel's Prince, Julie's father, is set free, and the consequences take both Julie and Rapunzel by surprise.

Tons of fairy tale characters and events, a race across the country, and a surprising foe keep this story zipping along. I admit I did get a little exasperated with the boneheadedness of one of the characters, but that part of the story doesn't last too long and I enjoyed the rest of the book.

This is aimed at younger kids, probably in the grade school range, but I also recommend the duology (start with the first one!) if you love creative mashups of fairy tales.

More information about Sarah Beth Durst's writing and fairy tale adaptations at her website: http://www.sarahbethdurst.com/