This is one of the better adaptations I’ve seen. Very enjoyable. ( )

Few grammatical errors ( )

Adorabile! Se amate la bella e la bestia non potete assolutamente lasciarvelo scappare! Un must have ( )

Grade Level: 3 - 7

A novelisation of the 2017 live-action Disney film is not something I’d usually consider reading but I was curious after hearing about some of the descriptions.

I only finished this because it was short. The film’s strengths lie in things which do not translate easily to a book: the songs, the visuals and the actors’ delivery of their lines. When the book has an opportunity to fill in gaps with what characters think and feel, it relies too much on obvious observations, unnecessarily simplistic language and telling rather than showing.

I realise that this is aimed at younger readers, but it should still be possible to convey nuance and complex ideas. (Some picture books and children’s novels are excellent at just that.) And if younger readers are expected to understand “grand doors [....] intricately carved with reliefs” and “a multitude of deep cushioned chairs”, then surely they can deal with a larger vocabulary for emotions.

In addition to the phantom music, there was something infinitely sad about the space. It was a room meant for joy and was now a room of disrepair and sadness. ( )