My latest Goodreads review, this time for a second Beauty and the Beast tie-in novel.
Beauty and the Beast: Lost in a Book by Jennifer Donnelly
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
After seeing the live action treatment of Beauty and the Beast earlier this year, I bought the novelization, as it reminded me of the one I read as a nine-year-old (made for younger readers, of course). I saw this book while buying the tie-in novelization, and the title sounded intriguing enough to compel me to buy it.
This original story takes place within the plot of the story you already know. While exploring the library, Belle comes upon a book called “Nevermore.” She steps through it, and into a seemingly perfect world, filled with everything Belle could ever want – fascinating conversation, people, and above all, freedom. She doesn’t live as a prisoner here. Anytime she has to herself, she escapes to Nevermore to live this enchanted life. But as the saying goes, looks can be deceiving…is this the perfect world Belle craves, or is she simply getting lost in the perfect fantasy?
For me, this book started off slow. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it at first, and told myself it would pick up pace, that it would get interesting. And as Belle engages with her perfect Nevermore world consistently, the more Belle becomes detached from her current situation. In turn, the story becomes engaging. I was only halfway through the book earlier this week (I started it in mid-August), but the further along I got, the more I wanted to find out. My initial worry about the pacing and the story itself dissipated with each turn, each trip back to Nevermore, all leading up to a fascinating climax.
I’m glad I gave it the chance it deserved, as I wound up absolutely loving it. I love Belle and her bookworm, geeky ways, and this book showed that the world we escape to when we read can quite literally be that…an escape. And that escape may not always be perfect.
I highly recommend this one.
Related
“Beauty and the Beast” (Or, How I Defied Nostalgia and Learned to Love the Beast) – My story of giving the live action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast the chance it deserved.
Goodreads Review: “Beauty and the Beast” (Live Action Movie Novelization) – My Goodreads review of the tie-in novelization.
Majordomo – My own writing prompt, based on a word I saw in the tie-in novel!
Allison's Written Words