The dialogue present felt like real conversations it felt like I had walked in on, and that gave the story a breadth of emotion. Not that I didn't enjoy the present chapters, being in Belle's head was a joy and Braswell gave us such a real and human narrative, filled with sarcasm and doubt and hesitation. until they didn't, to balance out the more familiar scenes in the book until the plot begins to run its own course. But what Braswell does is give you the fresh storyline of Belle's parents, a different village were the magically gifted "les charmantes" lived in happiness with the "normal" townspeople. The flashes back in time are perfect, because much of the general storyline in Belle's present is similar to the original and on it's own it might have felt a bit slow, a tad boring. It is not just Belle's story that is being told, after all the question glaring at you from the cover of the book is WHAT IF BELLE'S MOTHER CURSED THE BEAST? Two parallel stories get told, a dip in the past that shows her father Maurice, her mother Rosalind, the life they lead and how it linked to the Beast's story and Belle's current situation.
it's a beautiful gift and one I was extremely grateful for, bringing them to life in a way all the colored animation in the world could not.Īs soon as you get past the opening hook, the story begins to bubble over with change. This exploration of familiar characters, this ability to see nooks and crannies of their beings. Belle is her brilliant, adventurous, bookish self but she is often confused, doubtful of her own abilities and where she fits into a world. Potts, they are the same in character but there is something more to them, moments of somber grief, of fear for their futures. The transformed staff of the castle Cogsoworth, Mrs. I liked Liz Braswell's retelling so much because it took us through raw emotion, moments where the Beast was frustrated and ashamed by his form and in his inability to function like the human he once was. When you think about a Disney movie, there's less time to tell a story in visual format, and most of the time intense emotional opportunities are foregone and sort of shifted into a swift montage scene set to cheerful music and an upbeat song.
It's appropriate for teens, mature philosophy and undertones of a more grown up nature, but at the same time violence, romance and language is completely PG and I could easily see this book being more than appropriate for a fifth or sixth grade reader as well. There were so many familiar scenes and ideals from the Beauty and the Beast that I grew up with, but they were expanded upon, given more depth and emotion, shifted into a story that was a little bit more grown up than the animated film, but still accessible to a wide range of readers. The hook for this story is familiar, and that's one of the things I loved the most about AS OLD AS TIME: A TWISTED TALE. If you do not learn to love another - and be loved in return - by the time the last petal of this rose falls, you, your castle, and all within, will be cursed and forgotten forever."Īshamed of his monstrous form, the Beast concealed himself inside his castle, with a magic mirror as his only window to the outside world.Īs the years passed, he fell into despair and lost all hope - for who could ever learn to love a beast?
"You have until the eve of your twenty-first birthday to become as beautiful on the inside as you were on the outside. As punishment she transformed him into a hideous beast and placed a powerful spell on the castle and all who lived there. The Prince tried to apologize, but it was too late, for she had seen that there was no love in his heart. And when he dismissed her again, the old woman's ugliness melted away to reveal a beautiful enchantress. Repulsed by her haggard appearance, the Prince sneered at the gift and turned the old woman away - although she warned him not to be deceived by appearances, for true beauty is found within. Although he had everything his heart desired, the Prince was spoiled, selfish, and unkind.īut then, one winter's night, an old beggar woman came to the castle and offered him a single blood-red rose in return for shelter from the bitter cold. O NCE UPON A TIME in a faraway land, a young prince lived in a shining castle.
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