Rose and the Beast by Francesca Lia Block

Again with the short stories and books that I didn't think I liked the first time but LOVED the second time.

Francesca Lia Block retells favorite fairy tales in her own characteristic style. The stories and what they are based on are as follows:

Snow- Snow White
Tiny- Thumblina
Glass- Cinderella
Charm- Sleeping Beauty
Wolf- Little Red Ridinghood
Rose- Rose White/ Rose Red
Bones- The Singing Bone (I think)
Beast- Beauty and the Beast
Ice- Ice Maiden

What I found so exciting this time around is that I just finished those Hans Christian Anderson fairy tales. I bet that I didn't recognize the Ice Maiden story the last time I read this. Now I know the story because it was one of stories that I was absolutely enchanted with. It was interesting to see a modern twist on the stories and it was, as always, a fast and enjoyable read.

However, I'm starting to see a pattern in a lot of FLB's content. More when I get into the newer stuff.

Hans Christian Anderson's Fairy Tales

My goodness. This took me FOREVER to read. Do you know why? It's because the fairy tales you know are the good ones. The rest are really long, boring, and/or confusing. And the fairy tales you know, they are completely different which actually makes them better to read.

The tales I ended up liking the most were the Ice Queen and The Little Mermaid. You know, Ice Queen was really strange and I bet that I couldn't really tell you what it was about but it was written so beautifully that I couldn't help but be drawn into it. I liked the Little Mermaid because it was very different from the Disney version, and kind of bad ass, excuse my language.

On one hand, I am really interested in fairy tales, myths, and legends. Sometimes they are just too hard to get through, though.