Beasts and Beauty: Dangerous Tales

by Soman Chainani, Julia Iredale (Illustrator)

You think you know these stories, don’t you?

You are wrong.

You don’t know them at all.

Twelve tales, twelve dangerous tales of mystery, magic, and rebellious hearts. Each twists like a spindle to reveal truths full of warning and triumph, truths that capture hearts long kept tame and set them free, truths that explore life . . . and death.

A prince has a surprising awakening . . .                           

A beauty fights like a beast . . .

A boy refuses to become prey . . .

A path to happiness is lost. . . . then found again.

New York Times bestselling author Soman Chainani respins old stories into fresh fairy tales for a new era and creates a world like no other. These stories know you. They understand you. They reflect you. They are tales for our times. So read on, if you dare. 

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Short Stories, Retellings, Young Adult, Fairy Tales, Fiction

320 pages, Hardcover

First published September 21, 2021

About the author

Soman Chainani’s debut series, THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD & EVIL, has sold over 4.5 million copies, been translated into 35 languages across six continents, and has been adapted into a major motion picture from Netflix that debuted at #1 in over 80 countries.

His book of retold fairytales, BEASTS & BEAUTY, also debuted on the New York Times Bestseller List and is slated to be a limited television series from Sony 3000.

EverNever World, his decade-long franchise of fairy tales and fantasy, continues to expand. Together, these books have been on the New York Times Bestseller List for 50 weeks.

In 2026, Soman unveils a brand new universe with YOUNG WORLD, a global political thriller.

In his career, Soman has visited more than 800 schools around the world, where he continues to share his secret with students of all ages: that reading is the path to a better life.

Reviews

[Tola Grupa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Mischenko · Rating 5 out of 5]

After writing The School for Good and Evil series, Soman Chainani turned to write a collection of fairy tale retellings. Beasts and Beauty is a collection of twelve classic fairy tales--creatively retold with a fresh new twist.

Anyone who admires fairy tales as much as I do will get lost in this book. Original, twisted, dark, magical—I found most of the tales fascinating, and I’d go so far as to say that Beasts and Beauty is at the top of my favorite retelling books this year. The endings of some of these stories have the power to make your jaw drop, while others offer more of a beginning—somewhat of a prequel—originally left to the reader’s imagination. “Hansel and Gretel” had a twist I didn’t see coming. Not only that, some sparked up conversations between everyone in the room who was listening. We needed time to mull over them for a while, and we all had our own opinions to share. This was a welcome change of pace, and the uniqueness of these tales exceeded my expectations. The gorgeous illustrations (mostly color) add the perfect touch too.

With that said, I’m still surprised this came out of the children’s section at my bookstore. This is a book I’d ‘cautiously’ recommend to children because there’s darker content including brutal killing, etc. Unless children are used to reading stories like that, these might be haunting, but then maybe they’ll love them like my older kids. A few tales also have vague sexual innuendos, but I’m confident that won’t sink in with younger readers. My 8-year-old was able to follow along, but she was lost in places with some of the complexities and the advanced vocabulary, so most of the tales weren’t as enjoyable for her. I had to sort of pick and choose which ones to read with her; however, they were perfect for my older middle-graders and my fairytale-loving self.

This is a happy purchase earning 4.5 stars from me.

4.5****

Check out this review and others @www.readrantrockandroll.com

[destiny ♡ howling libraries]

I want this cover framed on my wall yesterday, please

[Jena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh god. Finally, a worth while read this year. This book has a ton of fairytale retellings, and if I talk about each one and it's merits, we're going to be here forever, so I'm going to try to sum up the essence of this book instead. I've never read anything by this author before, but I did know this book is middle grade, and I've read a ton of fairytale retellings, so my hopes going into this were somewhat low. Even if I went into this with unfairly high expectations though, it would have exceeded them. As someone who has taken various courses studying myth, legend and folklore, the easiest way I could sum up a fairytale is an adventure that confirms a moral position. These fairytale retellings have been completely restructured, and evidently, reflect today's social climate incredibly. This book is full of beautiful analogies regarding sexism, racism, grooming, abusive relationships and so much more. I didn't plan on annotating this book originally, but when within the first few pages there were already multiple quotes I felt like I had to step back and admire, I quickly changed my mind. I was floored at how well so many important issues were incorporated into this text, especially considering it's middle grade. I'm always so proud of how far activism has come when I see such deeply important messages like the ones in this book being incorporated into children's media, as they're important to learn about from a young age. Doing so honestly helps prevent some cyclic issues for the next generation. The world really is falling to shit, but the way this book addressed SO MANY social issues honestly gave me hope, not to mention had me crying a multiple times. There were so many stand out stories in this book, but the Peter Pan and BlueBeard stories get extra credit for making me bawl. Anyways, I'll try to wrap this up. I want to talk about each issue this book discussed in depth, but if I do so, we really will be here forever, so I'll just stick to my repetitive spiel and tell you to pick up this book!! I went into it honestly worn out of fairy tale retellings, but these are by far the most unique retellings I've ever read, not to mention overflowing with activism.

[Yeg · Rating 2 out of 5]

~2.5 stars~

To be completely honest with you all, this book wasn't what I initially expecting. this is a short collection of 12 fairy tale. Each of the stories is told with an enticing beginning, solid middle, and conclusive end, however there are a few that are vaguely open-ended. I'm not a big fan of this sort of books and this wasn't an exception. what I really think let me down the most was the promotion and the hype that soman chainai put himself.

I mean, just look at this teaser and then try to judge me cause I can't be the only one:


credit

I had fun time guessing the teaser countdown for each story that soman uploaded to his personal page and I feel like there are with this fallowing order: (starting from upper left to downer right)

• peterpan
• Rapunzel
• Beauty and the Beast
• little red riding hood
• Bluebeard
• Cinderella
• Snow white
• Jack and the beanstalk
• Hansel and Gretel
• the little Mermaid
• Rumpelstiltskin
• sleeping beauty

----⋐⋑----

The book does a wonderful job in being dark, gritty, and somewhat depressing. Virtue does not really triumph over evil in this volume because none of the characters are that virtuous to begin with. And most of the endings are more bitter than sweet, with princesses finding themselves unloved by their husbands and many of the fairy tale characters getting divorced. Presumably this makes the stories more realistic. But most people do not read fairy tales for the realism.

Style and skill aside, I would be remiss not to make mention of the overall collective moral of Beasts and Beauty: Dangerous Tales, and that would be that anything is possible. It is possible for a princess to be her own knight in shining armor. A prince need not marry the fairest maiden in the land, because it is possible to live happily ever after with a prince of their own.

It is possible to break the cycle of inequality and blind hatred if your will is strong enough to weather the storm. It is possible to find true love, but only after recognizing your self worth and loving the person you are inside.it is also possible to make friend with the villian of story, as if stories aren't always judged by good or bad.

In contrast, while this book is marketed as middle grade, there are some themes I’d say are targeted towards a more mature audience. The originality of each tale varies a lot and often the author seems to rely on a gender swap alone to make a story “new,” but without removing gendered stereotypes. The content, too, is too mature for a middle-grade book. I imagine most 8-12 year olds are not developmentally ready to read a book where cannibalism is depicted as either a neutral or a laudable act, and certainly not ready for one where sex is equated with violence and where apparent rape is depicted as the prelude to romance.

----⋐⋑----

Overall, I was not overly impressed with the collection. and simply my disappointment is my fault. I shouldn't have raise my exception so high and let everything go as the way it is. I might as well sound like prick to say this but it wasn't worth the wait at least for me .

Anyhow, Maybe read this one if you like dark tales where no one is the hero and everyone is the villain. But go in knowing that the content here is mature and that the book is not what most would typically call a middle-grade read.

[Avani ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beasts & Beauty by Soman Chainani, repsins and adds a new angle to the old stories we have all heard and grown up listening to. Stories like Red Riding Hood, Snow White, Rapunzel, Bluebeard, Sleeping Beauty, etc.

The book has some amazing illustrations drawn by Julia Iredale which explains and depicts the new twist of the old stories very beautifully through her drawings. The gorgeous cover does proper justice to each story written inside.

I feel these stories are for kids who have been reading for quite a while now and would wish to get into the new magical story world with some dark and twists tales. Older children would definitely like these tales, but may not be for every adult.

But me as a reader who loves reading fairytales and has her fair share of reading children's stories and go down the nostalgia, this one was equally good and amusing. The easy writing of Soman Chainani and beautiful illustrations of Julia Iredale is the perfect combination.

[Mara · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars - This feels like what you hand your kid when they're just old enough to process some of the more messed up elements baked into the European fairytale canon. I loved the subversive elements of this, along with the absolutely GORGEOUS illustrations from Julia Iredale. I'm not sure that many of these are super groundbreaking for adult readers, but as a lover of fairytale retellings, I still found this very enjoyable

[Fanna]

08.03.2021: "a beauty fights like a beast..." okay, I'm ready to read this right NOW.

[Thibault Busschots · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading Eustacia Tan’s Coming from Darkness series, I had a craving for more dark fairytales. That’s when Beasts and Beauty caught my eye.


This is a collection of dark fairytale retellings. We all know these stories, from Red Riding Hood to Peter Pan, and it’s fun to see them in a new jacket. Since there are multiple stories, naturally some will work better for you than others. Though I will say, I found most stories to be either a bit uninspired or simply a bit uneventful. The familiarity of the stories is definitely its biggest selling point. The stories however are quite short and while there are a few cool details changed here and there, in some stories not much new is actually added or changed compared to the original story.


There are no quotation marks denoting speech. I was a bit disappointed when I found that out to be honest. I know not everybody feels this way, but I definitely prefer dialogue with speech marks.


A cool collection of dark fairytales, hindered a bit by its writing style and the short nature of the stories.

[Bethany (Beautifully Bookish Bethany) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this! A fantastic collection of fairytale retellings in ways that are sometimes feminist, sometimes queer, and always interesting. They deal with trauma, healing, love, family, and choosing what you want even if it's not what the world thinks you should want. I generally like fairytale retellings, but this was a standout and the physical book is filled with STUNNING art. Really glad I finally picked it up!

[Майя Ставитская · Rating 4 out of 5]

An old, old fairy tale, the night is so long, the moon is in the sky
Well, to begin with, I'm not your fairy godmother," the old woman answers with a strong unfamiliar accent. – I am Svetlana, Countess Varenikovskaya from Russia.
Well, let's start with the fact that these are not quite familiar fairy tales from childhood. Although the characters and the plot outline of most coincide with those that we remember and love. Soman Chinani, the series on whose School of good and evil we are waiting for this summer (EBJ), turned to them to retell in a new way. And no, it's not the "old fairy tales in a new way" that are stuck in your teeth, but something qualitatively different. Systemically-a new look at archetypal heroes and situations. With breathtakingly beautiful illustrations by Julia Iridale, which Eksmo wisely preserved - I will add.

"Monsters and Beauties" is a collection that includes a dozen fairy tales, folk and author's, in a fundamentally new interpretation with a pronounced feminist and anti-racist sound. However, the agenda does not make the book any less interesting, and in general, it does not look like a desire to dance on the bones of old plots. Rather, look at them from the point of view of a more reasonable and rational era of Aquarius, which replaced the wet squelching era of Pisces, which proclaimed. that God is love and sacrificed the most loving (obviously, thus asserting the divine status).

Like any collection, "Monsters and Beauties" are heterogeneous and unequal: some stories cause delight, others emotion, sometimes you shrug your shoulders "nothing special", and sometimes you frown "well, he's completely in vain." Although with a considerable degree of probability, these reactions can be attributed to the subjectivity of perception. Which is also correct, no one can claim absolute objectivity. It is more correct not to judge everything together, but, telling about the works of the collection, to give a short description of each fairy tale.

"Little Red Riding Hood" is one of the most powerful stories in the collection, completely absorbs attention from the very first lines, where wolves eat the most beautiful girl on the first day of spring. This is their long-standing tradition. They put a notch on her door in advance and urinate on the porch. And this last detail instantly pulls you out of a relaxed calm, infuriating. Well, may the power of grace-filled anger be with us, and the heroine chosen this time. The finale is unpredictable, I can only say that s the girls are safe, I do not guarantee the satiety of the wolves with the same certainty.

"Snow White", Chinani said about her in an interview dedicated to the book, that with this story he was overtaken by an attack of writer's impotence. Here this story did not go, well, it did not go in any way. Until there was a fertile idea to make the heroine black. That is, the formula "white as snow, black as pitch, red as blood" - about skin, hair, lips changes the traditional application, making the whites of the eyes white. Hmm, it's bold, but the fairy tale itself, as for me, is one of the weakest in the collection.

The "Sleeping Beauty" story is, at least, strange (at most, very strange). And again, it does not do credit to the collection, as in my limited opinion. There is a prince tormented every night by demons who drink his blood, causing him to wither. There is a king and queen who do not believe their son and are mainly concerned about "being like people." There is an ambitious princess who wants to be related to a noble family. And there's someone else who loves the prince for the chance to suck his, uh, blood.

"Rapunzel", and this is milota. Someone who was so strangled by unreasonable parental love that he preferred to rid the world of another parent in his person and refused to create a family, instead taking up plant growing, achieved many successes in gardening, and what a rapunzel was born in his beds! Is it any wonder that the girl. named after this lettuce curling into a braid, will she give all the kingdoms of the earth for the opportunity to dance in the rain?

"Jack and the beanstalk" stands out quite strongly beyond the boundaries of morality, which says that "patience and work will grind everything", "you can't get fish out of the pond without difficulty" and "business is time, fun is an hour". Jack is just as lazy and sloppy as his dad, who went missing many years ago. A mother who is overworked, growing up broken, does not stand on ceremony in expressions and the guy is uncomfortable in her house (turned by his efforts into a kind of stable). I wish I could catch a lot of luck by the tail! He'll catch her, rest assured. And he will find his father. Yeah.

The action of "Hansel and Gretel" takes us to the ethnic homeland of the writer, to India, the boy and girl are called Rishi and Lakshmi, and the best pastry chef in the world for making sweets is their mother Shakuntala. And it does not matter, by and large, that the delicacies prepared by her are sold in her husband's shop as "Arthur's sweets". Or is it important? A true story with a thick Indian flavor.

"Beauty and the Beast" is one of my favorite fairy tales in this collection. Well, because the heroine's name is May, and because most of all she loves to read books, desperately needing solitude, and because, unlike older sisters who squander money donated by their father for outfits, the practical, diligent May puts her own aside, hoping someday to find peace in her book-filled house. Ah, the finale, that's just... Yes, I forgot to say, the action of this fairy tale has been transferred to China.

"Bluebeard" is another strange story of this book, full of unconventional charm and generally excellent. In a strange way, she reminded me of "Pavel Zhang and other river creatures" by Vera Bogdanova. And, yes, there is someone on every creature who has the power to punish it.

"Cinderella," and now let's go to Spain. You remember that mice played a significant role in the original fairy tale: before they helped the girl sort out the grain, and after they were turned into horses harnessed to her carriage (in general, terrible discrimination, why did the rat become a footman, and the poor mice horses? although, riding with a mane developing in the wind is probably nicer than hanging out on the carriage step). But I digress, and so, the local mouse Magdalena deserves the prince's favor no less than Lourdes-Cinderella. And true friendship, by her, is preferable to hormonal storms of love, which soon flare up and quickly fade away.

"The Little Mermaid", there are no surprises in the sense of location, as it should be, the place of action is at the bottom of the sea. And the young daughter of the sea king Dragon comes to the witch to ask her for a potion that will turn her mermaid tail into "two ridiculous props that people call legs and use to walk on the ground." And what will come of it. in general, you obviously did not expect this.

"Rumplestitschen", oh, what a beauty. that is, on the contrary. a beautiful girl pays the devil (namely, he appears time after time in the dungeon to help her in the trials appointed by the cruel king with the submission of the idiot father of the girl). So, she pays every time with a fraction of her beauty. What do. in life, after all, it happens: it is worth being dependent on someone, forced to tear veins, realizing the dreams of this someone, beauty leaves you. However, the finale is quite optimistic.

"Peter Pan" is the shock finale of the collection. The best of his fairy tales. Gentle, crafty, sad and beautiful. A story told by Wendy, in which Peter and his Island of Lost Boys appear without the romantic haze of the charm of an eternal carefree childhood, and every girl's dream of a handsome prince comes true. Even if the prince was a pirate, but in reality she had a husband named Harry: The family man, the football fan And your name is harry.

A great collection. Read it.

Старая, старая сказка, ночь так длина, в небе луна
Ну начнём с того, что я не твоя фея-крёстная, – с сильным незнакомым акцентом отвечает старуха. – Я Светлана, графиня Варениковская из России.
Ну, начнем с того, что это не вполне знакомые с детства сказки. Хотя персонажи и сюжетная канва большинства совпадают с теми, которые мы помним и любим. Соман Чайнани, сериал по чьей Школе добра и зла ждем этим летом (ЕБЖ), обратился к ним, чтобы пересказать по-новому. И нет, это не навязшие в зубах "старые сказки на новый лад", но нечто качественно иное. Системно-новый взгляд на архетипических героев и ситуации. С умопомрачительно красивыми иллюстрациями Джулии Айридейл, которые Эксмо благоразумно сохранил - добавлю.

"Чудовища и красавицы" сборник, включающий дюжину сказок, народных и авторских, в принципиально новой интерпретации с выражено феминистским и антирасистским звучанием. Впрочем, повестка не делает книгу менее интересной, и в целом, это не выглядит желанием сплясать на костях старых сюжетов. Скорее взглянуть на них с точки зрения более разумной и рациональной эры Водолея, сменившей влажную хлюпающую эпоху Рыб, которая провозглашала. что Бог есть любовь и приносила в жертву наиболее любящих (очевидно, утверждая таким образом в божественном статусе).

Как любой сборник, "Чудовища и красавицы" неоднородны и неравнозначны: одни истории вызывают восторг, другие умиление, иной раз пожмешь плечами "ничего особенного", а иногда нахмуришься "ну вот это он совсем напрасно". Хотя с немалой долей вероятности эти реакции можно списать на субъективизм восприятия. Что тоже, правильно, на абсолютную объективность не может претендовать никто. Правильнее не судить все скопом, но, рассказывая о произведениях сборника, дать короткую характеристику каждой сказке.

"Красная шапочка" из числа самых сильных историй сборника, целиком поглощает внимание уже с первых строчек, где волки в первый день весны съедают самую красивую девушку. Это их давняя традиция. Заранее ставят зарубку на ее двери и мочатся на крыльцо. И вот эта последняя деталь мгновенно выдергивает тебя из расслабленного покоя, приводя в ярость. Что ж, да пребудет сила благодатного гнева с нами, и героиней, выбранной на сей раз. Финал непредсказуем, могу лишь сказать, что ов девицы целы, сытости волков с той же определенностью не гарантирую.

"Белоснежка", о ней Чайнани говорил в интервью, посвященном книге, что с этой историей его настиг приступ писательского бессилия. Вот не шла эта история, ну никак не шла. Пока не явилась благодатная идея сделать героиню чернокожей. То есть, формула "белая как снег, черные как смоль, красные как кровь"- о коже, волосах, губах меняет традиционное приложение, делая белыми белки глаз. Хм, смело, но сама по себе сказка, как по мне, одна из самых слабых в сборнике.

"Спящая красавица" история, как минимум, странная (как максимум - очень странная). И снова не делает чести сборнику, как на мой ограниченный взгляд. Есть принц, терзаемый всякую ночь демонами, которые пьют его кровь, заставляя чахнуть. Есть король и королева, которые не верят сыну и озабочены главным образом, чтобы "усе как у людей". Есть амбициозная принцесса, желающая породниться с благородным семейством. И есть кое-кто еще, любящий принца ради возможности сосать его, хм, кровь.

"Рапунцель", а вот это милота. Некто, так задушенный нерассуждающей родительской любовью, что предпочел избавить мир от еще одного родителя в своем лице и отказался создавать семью, вместо того занявшись растениеводством, добился в огородничестве многих успехов, а уж какой рапунцель уродился на его грядках! Стоит ли удивляться, что девушка. названная именем этого завивающегося в косу салата, все царства земные отдаст за возможность танцевать под дождем?

"Джек и бобовый стебель" достаточно сильно выдается за границы морали, твердящей, что "терпение и труд все перетрут", "без труда не вытащишь и рыбки из пруда" и "делу время, потехе час". Джек такой же бездельник и неряха, как его папаша, пропавший без вести много лет назад. Мать, которая надрывается, растя раздолбая, не церемонится в выражениях и парню неуютно в ее доме (превращенном его стараниями в подобие хлева). Вот бы поймать за хвост большую удачу! Он ее поймает, будьте спокойны. И отца обретет. Мда.

Действие "Гензеля и Гретель" преносит нас на этническую родину писателя, в Индию, мальчика и девочку зовут Риши и Лакшми, а лучший в мире кулинар-кондитер по приготовлению сладостей - их мама Шакунтала. И неважно, по большому счету, что приготовленные ею лакомства продаются в лавке мужа как "сладости Артура". Или важно? Правдивая история с густым индийским колоритом.

"Красавица и чудовище" одна из моих любимых сказок этого сборника. Н-ну, потому что героиню зовут Мэй и потому что больше всего она любит читать книги, отчаянно нуждаясь в уединении, и потому что, в отличие от старших сестер, которые транжирят подаренные отцом деньги на наряды, практичная рачительная Мэй свои откладывает, в надежде когда-нибудь обрести покой в своем, наполненном книгами, доме. Ах, финал, вот только... Да, забыла сказать, действие этой сказки перенесено в Китай.

"Синяя борода" еще одна странная история этой книги, исполненная нетрадиционного очарования и в целом отличная. Странным образом, она напомнила мне о "Павле Чжане и прочих речных тварях" Веры Богдановой. И, таки да, на всякую тварь находится кто-то, , имеющий силы наказать ее.

"Золушка", а теперь поедемте в Испанию. Вы ведь помните, что в оригинальной сказке значительную роль играли мыши: прежде помогали девушке перебрать зерно, а после превращены были в лошадей, впряженных в ее карету (вообще, страшная дискриминация, отчего это крыса стала лакеем, а бедные мышки лошадьми? хотя, скакать с развивающейся по ветру гривой, наверно приятнее, чем торчать на приступке кареты). Но я отвлеклась, так вот, здешняя мышка Магдалена ничуть не меньше Лурдес-Золушки заслуживает благоволения принца. А настоящая дружба, ей-ей, предпочтительнее гормональных бурь любви, скоро вспыхивающих и быстро затухающих.

"Русалочка", здесь без сюрпризов в смысле локации, как положено, место действия - на дне морском. И юная дочь морского царя Драгона приходит к ведьме просить у нее зелья, которое превратит ее русалочий хвост в "две нелепые подпорки, которые люди называют ногами и используют для того, чтобы ходить по земле". А что из этого получится. в общем, вы такого, явно, не ожидали.

"Румпельштицхен", ах, какая красотища. то есть, наоборот. красивая девушка платит дьяволу (а именно он является раз за разом в темницу, чтобы помочь ей в испытаниях, назначаемых жестоким королем с подаче идиота - отца девушки). Так вот, платит она всякий раз толикой своей красоты. Что же. в жизни ведь так и бывает: стоит оказаться в зависимости от кого-то, вынужденной рвать жилы, осуществляя мечты этого кого-то, красота тебя покидает. Впрочем, финал достаточно оптимистичен.

"Питер Пэн" ударный финал сборника. Лучшая из его сказок. Нежная, лукавая, печальная и прекрасная. История, рассказанная Венди, в которой Питер и его Остров потерянных мальчишек предстают без романтической дымки обаяния вечного беззаботного детства, а мечта всякой девушки о прекрасном принце воплощается. Хотя бы даже принцем был пират, а в реальности у нее был муж по имени Гарри: The family man, the football fan And your name is harry.

Отличный сборник. Почитайте.

[Mizuki · Rating 5 out of 5]

(1) Sleeping Beauty and a gay romance.

(2) Snow White is a nice retelling.

(3) Little Red Ridding Hood, the story and its ending make sense.

(4) I like that the story of the Ginger Bread House is now set in India ( or an India look-alike fantasy world). It's a nice Hansel and Gretel retelling, I like it's now a story of a suppressed wife and motherly love to her children.

(5) Beauty and the Beast and it ends tragically and women are as flawed as men, not bad.

(6) I am glad while social injustice and gender inequality is addressed, there is hardly any over the top 'men=bad, women=good' cheap justification.

(7) I like the Cinderella retelling and women used their wit to save themselves in a few different stories.

(8) A very good Peter Pan retelling! I like Peter's selfishness and Wendy's struggles of growing up and trying to live in both worlds are highlighted.

Overall it's a truly delightful fairytale retelling.

[Nour (FREE PALESTINE) Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beasts and Beauty

OVERALL: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.75
I wish I could give this a full 5 stars but there were just some stories (*ahem* sleeping beauty) that weren’t that great. HOWEVER this was one of the best retellings I’ve ever read (except for sleeping beauty…). I love how there is so much diversity and different cultures. I would have loved to see a hijabi but that’s ok. I thought it was really cool that there weren’t any "quotation marks" it made it different.
Let me just say I’m very impressed Soman and I CANNOT WAIT for the Netflix series!!!!!

TOP 3:
1. Peter Pan
2. Beauty and the Beast (close second)
3. Hansel and Gretel

Least favorite: Sleeping Beauty (pls someone explain the story to me 🙏)

RATINGS OUT OF 5
- Red Riding Hood: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ So clever! Usually the man saves the day but this ending was amazing and so well thought out, and I love how everything doesn’t go back to "normal" but the girls who are treated like that have a place just to be themselves. Wow.

- Snow White: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I love Snow White in this, GIRL POWER TO THE MAX. "Black that shines brighter than gold" man that really got me. I love when she just sat on her throne 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻

- Sleeping Beauty: ⭐️⭐️.5 ummmm tbh I’m not really sure what that was about… can- can someone please explain?? I’m VERY confused. Um yeah.

- Rapunzel: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ the sass!!! Dangggg. She was burning the prince like crazyyyy. And the ending, I hope her dad learnt his lesson. I love how they planted the rapunzels to get to each other ❤️🥹

- Jack and the Beanstalk: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75 I really liked the story, but I’m just not really understanding who that man was… why he looked like his dad?? what happened to his mom and milky white??? idk but the ending was so cute… just- why does jack sleep with the cow? Kinda weird, but hey, I won’t judge.

- Hansel and Gretel: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Hansel and Gretel was definitely one of my favorite fairy tale BUT THIS ONE DOESNT EVEN COMPARE TO THE ORIGINAL. I- I just- I just don’t know what to say. That was amazing. And the moral was so much more meaningful than the original. Is it weird that I want a pet crow now? Seriously tho when Rishi was like 'stay there' and Laxmi was like ’We’ll come back for you'. I was like 'no- you didn’t. YOU DID NOT JUST SAY THAT.' no line could top that. I know the crows were proud.

- Beauty and the Beast: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Another amazing story. If I’m being completely honest… I cried. And if you didn’t cry reading that ending YOU HAVE NO HEART. The ending!!! Usually I hate endings like that, but as much as I hate to say it… it was spot on. There couldn’t have been any better ending. Ahhh it brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it 🥹🥹

- Bluebeard: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 Okay, wow. That was so good. I never heard of bluebeard before this story but if I’m not mistaken I think bluebeard kills his wives?? Idk. The only reason this isn’t 5 stars is… Pietro, I’m sorry he is so smart, but he is so weird, I just- I don’t know… I know someone named Pietro and I don’t know if I will ever seen him the same… But seriously tho, that scene at the dinner table, oooffff. Pietro, brooo HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THAT. It was genius. He loves his brothers all right. When BB saw that he must have been like 'SHOOT I messed up BIG TIME'

- Cinderella: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 It was a cute story but I’m kinda confused by the ending.

- The Little Mermaid: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ not what I expected. Its very different that other retellings.

- Rumpelstiltskin: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I never really thought why Rumpelstiltskin never wanted people to know his name but Soman made a great point. I really hoped that Rumpelstiltskin would win the son, maybe he’d have someone to love but oh well…

- Peter Pan: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ AHHHHHH OMGGG STOPPP I’M CRYING. Someone send help PLEASE that was too much for me to handle. I can’t believe I saw LITTLE BABY HORT!!! And I am 1000000000% team scourie BRUHHHHHHHHH that was so good

[curtis :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5* - this was so fun :) short story anthologies aren’t always my thing bc I normally like all the loose ends being tied up and one cohesive narrative, but I still liked this - I enjoyed some stories more than others but it was overall still pretty enjoyable, the illustrations were so cool and I can’t wait to see what the author does next

______________________


the cover 😩😩😩



(on a serious note, I can't wait to see what soman does outside the world of The School for Good and Evil)

[Kev di oltre foresta · Rating 5 out of 5]

PETER PAN IS A FUCKING MASTERPIECE. I'VE CRIED ALL MY TEARS. my fluid reserves have dried up.

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

For the most part this collection of adapted fairy tales was unsettling and uncomfortable, with a persistent sense of vaguely sexual predation throughout. While most of the stories explicitly call out the implied-sexual nature of many fairy tales (an established trope that, to be fair, Chainani has not invented), they tend to do so with a wink and a nod that requires the protagonists to participate in rather than simply subvert (for example, Red Riding Hood continues to demand a tribute of beautiful girls albeit for more altruistic reasons, Hansel & Gretel murder and eat their stepmother, and the sole surviving male victim of Bluebeard must also traffic in young boys/men in order to free them). Sensitive readers (a group I include myself in) should be aware of trigger warnings for implied rape, violence, emotional abuse, racial trauma, psychological distress, child abuse, and cannibalism among others.

[Książkomanka · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 / 5 ⭐

Zdecydowanie najlepsza spośród książek, jakie przeczytałam w tym miesiącu. Soman Chainani zabiera nas w magiczny świat, pełen przygód, leków, niesprawiedliwości na świecie i magii. Porusza aktualne problemy, splatając je z dobrze wszystkim znanymi historiami. Żałuję, że zbiór tych opowiadań nie ma kontynuacji, jest on tak genialny. Jest to absolutnie moja książka, przedłużałam jej czytanienjak tylko mogłam, bo nie chciałam jej kończyć. Pod względem wizualnym zachwyca do cna - jest po prostu przepiękna. Ilość ilustracji była miodem na me czytelnicze serce. A opowieści! Jakie one były cudowne, wciągające, zmuszające do refleksji. Po Pięknej i Bestii dosłownie musiałam odłożyć książkę i przeanalizować, co tam się wydarzyło. Choć minął nieco ponad tydzień od przeczytania tej książki, już chcę do niej wrócić. I teraz jeszcze bardziej chcę nadrobić Akademię dobra i zła!

[Mina]

خب خب توی این کتاب نویسنده اومده ۱۲ تا از داستان‌های معروف رو به سبک خودش بازنویسی کرده. با توجه به مجموعه‌ی دیگه‌ای که نوشته من فکر می‌کردم این کتاب خیلی خاص‌تر از این حرفا باشه ولی در حقیقت خیلی معمولیه. زیادی معمولیه اصلا‌.😂 من دو سه تا داستان رو خوندم و به نظرم کافیه. بقیه رو وقتی خیلی بیکار شدم می‌خونم!

[Rothan · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5⭐️

[Aida · Rating 1 out of 5]

پایان: ۱۴۰۲/۲/۲۶ بشدت عصبانی از کتاب وقتتون رو سر این کتاب نزارید!!!
من دارپش کردم، تا آخر نخوندم. خب این چه کتاببه؟؟
هیچی یه کتاب که هر داستانی که خیلی معروفه و از بچگی شنیدید رو داره کلا ۱۸۰ درجه عوض میکنه که بگهه نگاهههه من از دید غیر تبعیضی و غیر جنسی نگاه میکنم....

خفههه شووووو!!!

ابن آخر تبعیض بوددد!!!!

یه داستان رو میگم سفید برفی
سفید برفی پوستش مثل برف سفید بود، لب‌هاش قرمز خونی بود، موهاش سیاه بود. این چیزی هست که همه‌مون میدونیم
حالا داستان رو اینجوری عوض کرده
پوست او سیاه بود خیلی سیاه، لب‌های قرمز و موهای سیاه....
این خودش توهین نیست؟؟؟
یه آدم سیاه‌پوست اسمش باشه سفیدبرفی؟؟؟
این کار خودش توهینه به افراد سیاه پوست!!!

من کلا ۳ تا داستان خوندم که دوتاش شدید اینجوری عوض کرده بود و آدم رو اذییت میکرد.
سومان چینانی عزیز اگه قراره داستانی بنویسی که بگه تبعیض جنسیتی نباشه و LGBTQ رو حمایت کنی نیاز نیز حتما روی داستان‌هایی پیادش کنی که همه‌باهاش خاطره دارن!!! میتونستی یه کتاب داستان دیگه بنویسی نه اینگه گوه بکشیی به خاطرات و داستان‌ها و آدم‌ها رو بیشتر زده کنییی!!! [بله عصبانی‌ام!]

بسه اینجوری کارها مخصوصا که داخل کارتون‌های دیزنی داره میاد و بقول معروف کودکی ما رو داره خراب میکنه باعث میشه مردم بیشتر بدشون بیاد از سیاه پوست‌ها و اعضای خانواده LGBTQ.
چرا سعی نمیکنید داستان و کارتون‌های دیگه‌ای بسازید [منظورم اینکه خودشون داستان بسازن نخوان بیان داستان‌های قبلی و شخصیت‌های قبلی روداغون کنن] که نخوان اینجوری خراب‌کنن روحیه مردم رو!!
الان چند روز دیگه میان میگن سندرلا لزبین بود و اصلا دلش نمیخواست با شاهزاده ازدواج کنه. ولم کنید با این رفتارهاتون. هیچکس بیشتر از من عاشق خانواده LGBTQ نیست از کتابهایی که هم دارم میخونم هم پیداست. ولی اصلا اینجور رفتار رو قبول ندارم.

من خیلی مشتاق بود سر خوندن ولی واقعا ناامیدوم ‌کرد!!!

[Gavin Hetherington · Rating 3 out of 5]

I spent a week reading all of the Goodreads Choice Awards finalists in the Middle Grade category, complete with my entire thoughts on each book, and which books I think should have won and in what order. You can check out my vlog here: https://youtu.be/d7or1qfinfo

[Mrukbooki · Rating 3 out of 5]

„Piękno i Bestie” Somana Chainaniego jest zbiorem retellingów znanym nam już od dziecka baśni.
Nie wszystkie muszą się kończyć dobrze, prawda?
Nie każda dziewczyna musi zostać księżniczką, a nie każdy Kopciuszek musi być człowiekiem.
Jak byście się czuli gdyby ktoś pewnej wiosny oznakował wasze drzwi i kazał wejść do lasu na pożarcie wilków?
A gdyby wasz nowy opiekun pozwalał wam na wszystko i dawał wszystko, ale surowo by zabronił wejścia do pewnego pomieszczenia?

Było to pouczające

Szczególnie, że każde działanie bohaterów niosło ciężkie konsekwencje, a nie każda baśń kończyła się happy endem.

[Sepidaar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairy tale retellings with some twists. It was fun.
Red Riding Hood: 2.5
Snow White: 2.5
Sleeping Beauty: 3
Rapunzel: 4
Jack and the Beanstalk: 3
Hansel and Gretel: 3
Beauty and the Beast: 5
Bluebeard: 3
Cinderella: 3
The Little Mermaid: 4
Rumpelstiltskin: 3
Peter Pan: 3.5

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like I go moan about how much I hate 90% of all new fairy tale retellings like twice a day. On a good day maybe only once a day.
This book fell into my lap (quite literally) just after I had finished reading For the Wolf (yikes) and this e-arc was graciously provided by HarperCollins and MBC: thank you! All opinions are my own.

What this collection of fairy tales offers is a brand-new look at all the classic ones you know. Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Hänsel and Gretel, The Little Mermaid. Most of the stories in this collection are based on The Complete Grimm's Fairy Tales with some other well-known European fairytales thrown into the mix as well.

The main reason why I accepted this arc was that I was told that the author is not only POC but queer as well (yes, that’s right, I hadn’t heard of Soman Chainani before). I was hoping that he would bring a unique perspective to the fairy tales we all know and that he did. The tales in this book are much, much darker than the stories Disney appropriated and closer to the original fairy tales with one important difference:

In this collection of tales of the dark, ugly, and mysterious, Chainani righted many of the wrongs the original stories presented us with. In this book, women are not always the source of all evil. Here, they do not draw the short end of the stick. Here, we have stories in which the princess saves herself, in which two girls form an alliance and become the best of friends instead of fighting each other over the same man.
Beasts and Beauty: Dangerous Tales highlights topics such as sexual and emotional abuse, racial trauma, psychological distress that many of the OGs implied but didn’t feel the need to comment on or actively invoked but never discussed.

When you take away the theme of the damsel in distress, the evil stepmother, the good prince, and kind father that never do anything wrong and are tricked by a wicked witch, that previously served as uniting factors for many western/Grimm’s fairy tales, you will quickly notice that the original fairy tales don’t have much in common. What Chainani managed is to weave the different aspects of love and its representations into each and every one of these stories: platonic love, romantic love, the love between siblings, queer love, characters that can be read as aromantic. “Love actually is all around”, to quote one of my favourite films.

And yet, and this should not be forgotten, these reinvented tales are still very macabre and dark. The writing plays its part in that and makes the stories sound like they were written a hundred years ago. Chainani stuck really close to the dictionary and style the original fairy tales are written in.

All in all, this was a fresh, entertaining, a little creepy and a little unsettling but still fulfilling reimagining of some of the most well-known fairy tales in the world. I think this book would be excellent to study in middle-grade but it would also be a great read that parents can discover together with their children (of an appropriate age) to discuss how the age-old themes of misogyny and denigration of women and girls appear again and again in Grimm's tales and how stories like Chainani’s cleverly manage to avoid stereotyping fictional female characters and coding all relationships as strictly heterosexual.

[N.F. Afrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I see the point. However, it's not because the book and stories delivered it to me, but because I was told that it would be so.

I love fairytale retellings but honestly, it's a tricky thing to make a unique yet based retelling. The huge reason fairytales are well-loved is because of the nostalgia attached to it so a retelling would need to create its own nostalgia without veering too far... so that's actually a very hard thing to do. Plus, with well-known stories like Cinderella, it's hard to come up with alternate endings and situations that people haven't pondered about. The bulk of this book was just a rendition of a "what if" I had thought of before.

Another reason why fairytales have the vibe that they hold is the fact that they have a message to send across, albeit how wrong or deceitful the message are sometimes. The stories in this book serve no purpose of that other than solely being a different version of the original stories. Turning villains into misunderstood heroes, making weak princesses strong... All good, but it's just a deviation, not something that could stand on its own.

Also, I get that the men in fairytales are too oftenly jerks. Especially the love interests and prince charmings. We all know that, it's not news. Having it emphasised is not a retelling for me.

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 I love a good fairytale retelling and I thought that this was very well done with a fresh and interesting perspective on well known tales. I’m really glad I did not read the reviews on this before picking it up, being completely beguiled by the pretty cover and finding it on Book Outlet for a very good price. It’s always curious to me when I love something that the majority do not and likewise loathe while the majority feel otherwise. It just seems to be that way for me as a reader more times than not. So for me, it’s good to go into a book without reading reviews. It can lead to pleasant surprises. I liked all the stories, though my favourites were Hansel and Gretel and Cinderella, which had me laughing. I appreciated that in the retelling, Cinderella’s cheerful passivity in the face of such abuse was confronted with sarcasm and humour. As a kid, I thought her cheerful acceptance of the horrible things happening to her the gold standard of a good person and thought much less of myself for failing to live up to it, so I enjoyed reading Cinderella get called out on it. I’m a pretty happy camper. Pretty cover, low cost and a story I really enjoyed. I love when it all comes together like that.

[Eva Gavilli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una meraviglia, 12 fiabe, che non hanno niente di fiabesco, raccontate in modo nuovo, da punti di vista inusuali e mettendone in luce aspetti oscuri, inquietanti e quanto meno attuali. Un libro che parla di violenza domestica, di serial killer, di pedofilia, di crudeltà, di indifferenza della comunità al destino tragico dei meno fortunati. Semplicemente da leggere.
***
A wonder, 12 fairy tales, which are nothing “fairy” at all, told in a new way, from unusual points of view and highlighting dark, disturbing and at least current aspects. A book that talks about domestic violence, serial killers, pedophilia, cruelty, the community's indifference to the tragic fate of the less fortunate. Simply to read.

[Sarah Swann · Rating 4 out of 5]

These tales were interesting. I enjoyed the majority of them with a few that I didn’t really enjoy. The Beauty and the Beast story was my favorite. Very creative and I liked the different takes on them. I didn’t like that there were no quotation marks for speaking parts. That always stilts me when I’m reading trying to figure out if it’s speaking or narratives. And some of the illustrations didn’t match the descriptions. For example, a boy in the Bluebeard story was described as wearing a bathrobe and towel in his hair. But in the illustration for that scene, he was wearing a full outfit with his hair down. Overall it was good.

[jagodasbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was wild ride

[Samira♥ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Soman Chainani can do no wrong. SGE is my favourite middle-grade series and I just knew I would love this book. It was absolutely beautiful. The last story, Peter Pan, had me SOBBING. because it was about the parentage of a MC from the school for Good and Evil.

My fave stories:
1. Peter Pan
2. Beauty & The Beast
3. Rapunzal
4. Red Riding Hood


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this beauty got a cover reveal on Instagram and I am in loveeeee