As Old as Time

 

As Old as Time

 by Liz Braswell 

Disney Press, 2016, 484 pages, Young Adult Fiction, Fantasy 

 What if it was Belle’s mother that curse the Beast? Following the storyline of the beginning of the Disney movie Beauty and the Beast, readers also get alternating chapters of the story of Belle’s parents. Until the story diverges from the movie when Belle touches the Beast’s enchanted rose and is flooded with her mother’s memories, who is in fact the beautiful enchantress that cursed the Beast and the castle. With the time to save the castle inhabitants from the curse quickly dwindling, Belle and the Beast must quickly unravel a dark mystery that began 21 years ago or the Beast and his household will be lost forever. 

 Part of a series that reimagines classic Disney tales, this book is actually a stand-alone novel. I like that this book took Disney’s Beauty and the Beast story and added substantial depth to the original characters and their backstories, especially Belle’s mothers since mothers are notoriously missing from many Disney classics. Most Disney fans will appreciate this retelling, as well as readers of Young Adult fiction interested in fantasy. 

 ER