Book Review: Belle by Cameron Dokey.

 Belle by Cameron Dokey.
Book Summary: Belle is convinced she has the wrong name, as she lacks her sisters' awe-inspiring beauty. So she withdraws from society, devoting her time to wood carving. Secretly, Belle longs to find the fabled Heartwood Tree. If carved by the right hands, the Heartwood will reveal the face of one's true love.During a fierce storm, Belle's father stumbles upon the mysterious Heartwood—and encounters a terrifying and lonely Beast. Now Belle must carve the Heartwood to save her father, and learn to see not with the eyes of her mind, but with the eyes of her heart.

Liana's Summary: Belle is insecure. She's worried that her name does not match her face, for she thinks she is no 'Beauty.' When they start to get poor, they have no other choice but to sell all their belongings and move to a new home in the country. Her father goes to work, and he doesn't return until two weeks later. He tells them about his trip- and they find out that Belle has to go repay his debt to the Beast who lives in the Wood. Cameron Dokey writes an enjoyable retelling of Beauty and the Beast.

Rate(1-10): 7

Like I've said in the past Cameron Dokey books (or maybe I haven't said it, we never know, and I'm too lazy to check), I wanted to read more of her books after reading GOLDEN. I loved Golden. Like, a lot. A LOT ALOT. But then the rest of Dokey's retellings were a bit of a disappointment. D: I have one more Cameron Dokey book to finish and that's all I have access to. :c

So then, as you know, this story is actually a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Usually I enjoy retellings if they're really unique and different from the original story, like, in Incend, I have said it's a Rapunzel retelling. But I'm adding a bunch of stuff. I hope it's going to be good. Gah! In this book, Dokey adds a bit of extra stuff. The plot isn't that different. We all know that Belle is going to go back home, and the Beast is going to be heartbroken, and then she goes back and admits she loves him, and then he gets alive again, and then he turns into a charming young man, prince or not, doesn't matter, and they live happily ever after. SO expected. In GOLDEN, though, what caught my attention was that Rapunzel wasn't trapped in a tower. And she wasn't the girl with long, flowing hair. She was bald, and she knew the witch wasn't her mother, and the witch was NICE. That's why I liked it.

Well. Uh, I suppose it's good. I prefer Alex Flinn's retellings. (: Not that I don't like Cameron Dokey's, though.

So uh, yeah. It IS a really good CLEAN romance that I enjoyed. Even though the romance is a bit awkward and sudden. It's not as bad as the romance in Shadow by Jenny Moss. (Every single time I run into a not-bad-but-not-so-good romance, I just mention Shadow by Jenny Moss. I'm such a mean book critic. D: It is meant for little kids.. Ugh.)

What got me confused was that the Beast would ask her to look him in the eyes and she would say "No, I can't." But I don't know WHY! It's so darn confusing.

Now that I've talked about retellings (mostly to myself since no one looks on this blog. D:), I realize that Disney's versions are hardly accurate. They're made appropriate for little girls. But then no one would know Sleeping Beauty got raped.

Enough babbling. Time for quotes!

"Maybe I don't want to," she answered.
"And maybe you're a phony," I replied.

(x Good comebacks!

"And perhaps I could flap my arms and fly to the moon.."
Absurd imagination. o_o

"Will you give me the pleasure of taking you in to lunch, ma Belle?"
MAH BELLE? I just thought of Justin Bieber. (mah, babeh, babeh, babybaby!)

"Why does anyone ask a question? Because I want to know the answer."
YES. THE STUBBORNNESS. I LIKE.

"Celeste was sitting there, a young man by her side."
Gasp! Oh wait, you mean the dumb one? Eww.

"You're the youngest. You get blamed by default."
Whoa, whoa! Hold on there. OPPOSITE WAY AROUND. I'm the older one, so I KNOW.

"..'till I dripped a great puddle of water on the floor and heard my stomach growl."
You know what kind of visual image I just had?

"..will find anything at all. I may not, but we all know Papa cannot. In which case perhaps and if may be stronger than they sound.."
This is my favorite line. For now. (:

"Company, for one thing," the Beast replied.
Ugh. Really?

"Look at me, Annabelle," he demanded in that fierce, compelling voice. "Look into my face, into my eyes for the span of time it takes to count to five. Look at me and let me see you. Look at me and free us both."
Look at him... uh. (Annabelle! She's named after you, Annabelle, if you're reading this. ;D )

"..calling my name, begging me to answer, and cursing me, all at once."
LOL. This is so funny though. "WAKE UP! I NEED YOU! CURSE YOU SO BAD ANNABELLE!"

"Gaspard."
Okay. That name isn't cute.
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Besides my protest to the name Gaspard, I liked this book. (Like I've said a billion times in this review.)

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 Now, I'm moving on to The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston, since I've had a long, long, long, break from classics and historical books. It looks pretty good!