2.) Beauty

        I am reading the book Beauty by Robin McKinley. I am about three-fourths done with the book now.

        Since my last post a lot has happened. Beauty has gone to live with the Beast in his castle so that she could spare her father's life. She was terrified at first and wouldn't even touch the Beast. She's gotten over her fear and has learned that she is very fond of him. The castle is enchanted so everything obeys Beauty and serves her needs. She can always feel two "breezes" when she is in the castle and has learned from the Beast that they are invisible maids. Their names are Linda and Bessie and they take care of her in the castle. They often talk to each other about the enchantment but are never clear on how it got put on the castle. Beauty can hear them talk even when they think that she can't. Beauty has had a couple of meltdowns when she really misses her family. She hinted to the Beast that she wanted to go home, but he said that he couldn't let her. She fainted and later ran to her room. Now, Beauty doesn't know what she would do even if he let her go. She would want to see her family but couldn't leave him alone. This shows how much she likes him now. Also, after dinner every night, the Beast asks her to marry him. Beauty always says no even though it hurts her to deny his offer.

        I really like this book now and I think it is very interesting. It has gotten a lot better and grabs my attention. Now that I am towards the end, it is hard for me to put it down sometimes. I thought that it would be a lot like Beauty and the Beast, but it is a lot different and has a lot more detail than the movie. I think that Robin McKinley wrote this book because it was a good way to combine romance, adventure, and action into one. Maybe she based Beauty off of herself or someone she knew. I still think that the theme is that beauty doesn't always mean anything. Just because you aren't beautiful, doesn't mean that you aren't a good person or someone worth getting to know. I think that McKinley wanted her readers to think about this because it is a good lesson and possibly something that she really believes in.

        I think that the best character is still Beauty because she is so kind and courageous. Even though she goes through so much pain in missing her family, she know that she can't leave and accepts that. She also doesn't hate the Beast just because he is ugly. She looks deeper than how he looks and is starting to love him. She has grown a lot in many ways. Beauty is more thoughtful now and feels more and more empathy for the Beast. She doesn't want to hurt him and always apologizes when she realizes that she was wrong or ungrateful for is care toward her.

        I think that a cool quote is, "You may think what you like of course, butI shan't give up and neither will he." I think that this is a good quote because even though thinks look impossible for the Beast ever turning back into a man, Lynda won't give up because she believes anything s possible. I think that a lot of people would benefit from think like this because it helps brighten how you look at things.

        I only have a few questions that I think will be answered at the end of the book. One is that I want to know if Beauty will ever leave the castle and return home. I also want to know if the Beast will ever turn back into a man. Lastly, I want to know if Beauty will ever actually see Linda and Bessie.