Library & Literary Miscellany

Beastly by Alex Flinn (2007 hardcover, 2008 paperback)

“What’s going on here?”

“I told you. Comeuppance. You will know what it is like not to be beautiful, to be as ugly on the outside as on the inside. If you learn your lesson well, you may be able to undo my spell. If not, you will live with your punishment forever.”

All his life Kyle Kingsbury has gotten special treatment because he looks good on the outside–physical beauty, wealth, intelligence (albeit frequently not applied to school). When he decides to invite Kendra Hilferty, the new scholarship student at his privileged school to the upcoming dance (as a joke with the intent of humiliating her and not in sincerity mind you), his special treatment works against him. Post-dance humiliation scene, Kendra turns up at Kyle’s house. Kyle quickly discovers Kendra is actually a witch with the power to treat him the way he has treated others most of his life–as less than human–as beasts. She turns him into a beast (the run away screaming, lots of fur and claws kind).

At first Kyle and his famous newscaster father try to “fix” his outer/inner ugliness by pleading with medical specialists to do something, but they plead to no avail. Unfortunately for Kyle, his beastliness is a part of him–a manifestation of who he has been on the inside for many years. Fortunately for Kyle, Kendra saw him perform one kindness the night of the dance when he gave a rose to the ticket taker (neither he or his date found a mere rose worthy), so she gives him a chance: “You’ve lived your life being cruel. But in the hours before your transformation you performed one small kindness. It is because of this one bit of goodness that I see fit to offer you a second chance, because of the rose.”

Since it wasn’t much of a kindness, it isn’t much of a chance, but Kendra does tell Kyle that he has “two years to find someone willing to look beyond your hideousness and see some good in you, something to love. If you will love her in return and if she will kiss you to prove it, the spell will be lifted, and you will be your handsome self again. If not, you’ll stay a beast forever.”

When Kyle’s dad washes his hands of Kyle and ships him off with a housekeeper and a tutor to a house in a more rural locale, Kyle begins to change (some may argue a little too quickly and unrealistically, but change he does). He changes his name (who knew that one meaning for Kyle is “fair and handsome“?) to Adrian, he changes his lifestyle (he takes up gardening and reading as pastimes), and he changes his attitude (adding a dollop of humility and a smattering of empathy and compassion).

He also joins a chat group from which transcripts of the chat sessions are interspersed throughout the story. Joining BeastNYC in the chat room are SilentGirl, Froggie, and GrizzlyGuy. Having creatures from other tales populate the group and share their own worries and woes creates entertaining discussions. These sessions add comic relief and help reveal Kyle/Adrian’s changing attitudes and feelings.

The longer Kyle/Adrian exists as a beast on the outside, the less beastly he becomes on the inside. Of course, there is the whole kidnapping of Lindy (who incidentally was the impetus for his good deed involving the rose), but that’s a necessary plot point paving the way to the inevitable happy ending. After all, it’s going to take a girl awhile to adjust to that much hair on a guy, and he’s only got two years.

As mentioned, it is an inevitably happy ending and a retelling that lacks much in the way of surprise elements and plot deviations, so it may come off to some as a bit predictable. Still, for those who enjoy retellings in general, retellings from new points of view, modernized retellings, and/or for those who enjoy stories with character transformation (physically and attitudinally), then Beastly will be a quick and enjoyable read (it was for me anyway ).

If you’re looking for more, try some Donna Jo Napoli (e.g., Beast (B & B), Zel (Rapunzel)), Robin McKinley (e.g., Rose Daughter (B & B), Beauty (B & B), Deerskin (Donkeyskin), Spindle’s End (Sleeping Beauty)), or Jane Yolen (Briar Rose (Sleeping Beauty)). Or take a look at Little Willow’s Fairy Tales Retold Booklist which has some useful suggestions for a variety of age groups.

Update: Booklinks Casting a Spell: Fairy Tales in Novel Form (July 2008) offers another list of related-reads

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The Secret History of Tom Trueheart by Ian Beck (2006 in Great Britain, 2007 in US)

“‘You’ll need courage,’ is what the crow had said, courage. That meant he would really have to face danger and trouble, and he was frightened of danger, and he was frightened of trouble. But they seemed to have come calling anyway, both for him and his brothers.”

Our “once upon a time, long ago” story begins with Tom Trueheart on the brink of turning 12, the age when he’ll be eligible to follow in the footsteps of his six brothers–Jack, Jacquot, Jacques, Jackie, Jackson, and Jake. His brothers “were very tall, very beefy, very brave, and very noisy young men”; they are all famous adventurers in the Land of Stories.

Just before Tom’s birthday, his brothers are all called away on their respective adventures which all turn out to be familiar stories such as Cinderella, the Frog Prince, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, Snow White, and Jack and the Beanstalk. So off they go with promises to return in time for Tom’s birthday celebration while Tom remains behind with his mother (his father has been lost somewhere in the Land of Stories long ago which just cries sequel doesn’t it?).

Left behind as usual, Tom suffers from bad dreams about scary adventures, diffidence in himself, and worries about a secret he keeps locked up tight inside–”He was not at all brave“. When his brothers do not return, however, he is forced to confront his fears.

The normal way of things is that the Story Bureau assigns the adventurers a story with a beginning and the adventurers enter the Land of Stories to complete the tales. Unfortunately, this time Tom’s brothers have not returned because of the diabolical scheming of one Story Bureau writer, Julius Ormestone. Ormestone decides that he’s sick and tired of creating beginnings for which the adventurers get to complete the stories and he takes drastic measures to change things (i.e., kidnapping assorted adventurers with the last name Trueheart).

Fortunately, the Master of the Story Bureau appoints Tom to his brothers’ rescue. When the Story Bureau assigns a Trueheart a story, a Trueheart steps up to the task and discovers an ending for the tale. So Tom enters the Land of Stories where he will need all of the courage he can muster in order to save his brothers from the man who is trying to destroy his family and the Land of Stories itself.

The Secret History of Tom Trueheart is full of adventures and adventurers, of familiar tales and new twists, of nefarious plotters with wicked schemes and helpful comrades with ready aid, of evil and of good, of greed and of generosity, of cowardice and of courage. For those who enjoy The Secret History of Tom Trueheart, the sequel, Tom Trueheart and the Land of Dark Stories, was published on March 06, 2008 in the UK and the US edition will be available May 27, 2008. Read the Times Online review for more on the sequel.

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Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale (2007)

“I’ve decided. We’re going to live. It’s such a relief! I begin to feel more my mucker self just to settle my mind on it. A mucker survives. No matter that we’ve not enough food. We’ll find a way.”

As a mucker (the simplest of commoners and people of the wild steppes), Dashti is a survivor. She survives the death of her mother by moving to Titor’s Garden and becoming a Lady’s Maid. Now, she must survive as a Lady’s Maid which in this particular case is much tougher than it sounds.

Dashti’s oath of fealty to her lady, Lady Saren, entails spending the next seven years locked up in a tower with her lady. Lady Saren has chosen imprisonment over marriage to Lord Khasar, lord of Thoughts of Under, the most powerful of the Eight Realms. Because Lady Saren has refused (and is deathly afread of) Lord Khasar and because she has already pledged her hand to Khan Tegus of the Song of Evela, she and Dashti are tower bound.

Fortunately, in Dashti’s lady’s maid training, she learned to write, and she occupies some of her tower time in chronicling her experiences. The quote that opens this review comes from Day 918 of their seven year forced imprisonment in a tower.

Without giving to much away, Dashti continues to record the events as rats threaten their food supply, as Lord Khasar and Khan Tegus pay visits to the tower, and as she and Lady Saren eventually escape the tower only to find devastation in the land outside. Much of the plot revolves around Lady Saren’s fear of, well, everything and, by consequence, Dashti’s impersonation of her lady. Dashti must use all of her knowledge of the healing songs and all of her resourcefulness in order to save herself and her lady. Dashti is a strong protagonist and her strength is eventually rewarded.

In Book of a Thousand Days, Hale has provided a reworking of the Grimm brothers fairy tale “Maid Maleen” while adding some elements from medieval Mongolia. Romance, dark fantasy, a strong protagonist, and a richly imagined landscape coalesce to make this a satisfying read. Readers who enjoy entering into other lands and following the adventures of strong and talented female protagonists who face and overcome challenges will gravitate towards Book of a Thousand Days.

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Once Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris (hardcover 2002, softcover 2004)

Once upon a Marigold there lived a cursed princess, an evil queen, an eccentric troll, and a handsome foster son of the troll. Subtitled “Part comedy, part love story, part everything-but-the-kitchen-sink,” Once Upon a Marigold is all parts a light-hearted, fun read. Princess Marigold has an independent spirit and refuses to tolerate the unwelcome suitors her evil queen mother sends her way. Instead, Marigold wishes to marry for love and to take an active part in ruling her kingdom.

Speaking of love, Marigold’s plight does not go unnoticed by Christian, the young man living across the river with his foster father the troll Edric (Ed for short). Christian’s past is mysterious (albeit somewhat predictable), since he ran away from home and was adopted by Ed when he was but a young lad of six. Christian and Marigold begin with p-mail (pigeon mail) and their seemingly improbable commoner-princess relationship blossoms into full-fledged love.

Just to be near Marigold, Christian finds menial work at the castle. At first he doesn’t tell Marigold that he is her p-mail pal, but he changes his mind when he overhears her evil mother discussing yet another evil plot. Through a series of misfortunes and adventures and the use of his inventor’s prowess, he wins the princess and defeats the evil stepmother.

Replete with awful jokes, a humorous plot, magical creatures (including a single-minded troll bent on breaking up the monopoly of the overworked, ineffectual tooth fairy), a smattering of Greek mythology, and many a time-tested fairy tale convention, Once Upon a Marigold holds its own in the realm of comedic fairy tale lore and will particularly appeal to young girls who dream that someday their prince will come (and possibly to young boys who don’t mind the romance thrown in with the troll-talk and invention action).

The end is apparent from the beginning, and I personally found the tale to be a little too predictable. Still, readers (myself included) will likely continue to turn pages just to make sure Marigold and Christian do indeed find true love and that Ed commences his part of the tooth fairy enterprise (and also so as not to miss out on any awful jokes) .

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