Roses

October 1, 2013
A lyrical, remarkably unusual retelling breeds new life into the "Beauty and the Beast" tale. Beauty is an ill-fitting name for a child whose silver-colored skin, white hair and amethyst-colored eyes elicit fearful reactions from nearly everyone who crosses her path. Raised with cruelty by her distant aunt, Beauty finds solace in her friendship with a groom named Owaine and the horses he cares for. When danger threatens their city, Owaine obtains permission to adopt Beauty and take her back to his homeland in the faraway hills, where she finds purpose helping him tame wild horses. But Beauty is plagued by dark dreams and visions, and when Owaine returns from a trip dying but bearing a rare rose, Beauty journeys into the forbidden forest to parley with the Beast who cursed her foster father. Mannering's beautifully written, third-person prose unfolds at a nearly perfect pace, cleverly placing scenes that shed light on various mysteries at the beginning of each of the five sections of the story. The ending, which feels rushed and is plagued by incongruity and unanswered questions, does not diminish the impressiveness of this debut. A great choice for fans of high fantasy and fairy-tale retellings; they will hope for a sequel. (Fantasy. 12 & up)

COPYRIGHT(2013) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

November 1, 2013

Gr 9 Up-Born into a world that despises those with Magic Blood, Beauty finds little but cruelty and rejection. With dazzling silver hair and skin, she stands out but finds acceptance only in the stable of her aunt, Ma Dane, with the horse master, Owaine. Her cousin, Eli, watches her constantly but offers no friendship. When the Magical Cleansing begins, she flees with Owaine into the hills. Once again she confronts fear and rejection. Finding solace in working with the wild horses with Owaine, she settles into a hard but simple life. But everything changes when Owaine returns from a trip with a beautiful rose and a curse. Forced to flee from her cousin who has reappeared, Beauty determines that she will take Owaine's place in the curse and face the beast. But she is unable to completely escape the devastation of war or the prophecy that seems to describe her role in it. The descriptive writing leads readers through an unusually powerful retelling of "Beauty and the Beast," reminiscent of Robin McKinley's Rose Daughter (HarperCollins, 1997). Themes of the power of love and loss stand out in a story of hate and ethnic cleansing and war. Some gruesome scenes of violence depict the awful nature of racial conflict that, in this story, focuses on nonhuman creatures and those with magical blood.-Heidi Grange, Summit Elementary School, Smithfield, UT

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.