Everyone knows the story of Beauty and the Beast. What makes McKinley's Rose Daughter different is the treatment of Beast. Yes, the moral of the story still stands that true love is blind and even a beast can find love...eventually. Yes, Beauty is selfless and kind, a lover of all nature (even bats and toads), but missing is the feeling she is a prisoner; that she is trapped with the beast. In Rose Daughter she can go home at any time. All she has to do is tend to the Beast's roses to repay him for the dark red one her father stole. The other major difference is that Beauty does not end up with a charming prince at the end. I greatly appreciated the choices she had to make, especially the one at the end.
As an aside: Straight away you know you are in for a treat when a bad-tempered dragon on a leash is introduced on the very first page. ( )

200

I loved this story and felt that it was a great re-telling of the story Beauty and the Beast. This book has many interesting elements to it and is a great book to read. ( )

Beauty-ful, and not at all beastly. ( )

Roses, roses, everywhere! I love it, very appropriate for spring!

Robin McKinley’s second retelling of Beauty and the Beast was better than the first, in my opinion. I loved the relationship between the three sisters, and how they supported each other and discovered their own talents after their change in fortune. And I’m a big fan of magical gardens — they just feel very fairy tale-like and they make me happy! The actual breaking of the curse and the backstory of how it was cast in the first place was kind of confusing and unclear, but it was unique and interesting. And I really liked the ending. ( )