Beauty and the Beast Novelization (Disney) by Elizabeth Rudnick

Beauty and the Beast Novelization (Disney) Book Review

Amazon Synopsis: Belle has dreamt of adventures like the ones she reads in her books, of traveling the world outside her small town. But when Belle's father is taken prisoner by a beast in an enchanted castle, her path is forever changed. Enjoy this tale as old as time about adventure and love, about looking past first appearances, and about the inner Beauty and Beast in all of us in this beautiful novelization of the upcoming star-studded film!

My Review: Argh, I really didn't enjoy this novelization as much as I though I would, which was disappointing. There were a few things I enjoyed, like the French names of people, because their translations matched, but this really wasn't that good. Belle herself was nice enough, but whenever the author wrote thoughts in her head, they came out sounding annoyingly pathetic. I didn't even pity Belle, to be honest, because her character didn't really connect with me. Her father was an okay character, there wasn't too much character development with him, but Gaston was awesomely portrayed. He was very vain and selfish, just like the original story, and made parts of the book funny. His sidekick, Le Fou, was too naive for me, but he did pick the right side to work with at the end. The Beast himself was pretty well done, along with his staff in the castle. The story was a bit fast-paced in the middle, though. I suppose my real disappointment, however, was really just with Belle, because I expected her to be a lot better than she was in the novelization. I'd give this story 3 stars overall. I still think I'll watch it in theaters, though, because a novelization is just a summary of the movie, and can't always provide enough detail for the audience.