Robin McKinley's Rose Daughter tells the story of Beauty and the Beast, which she has already told before, and in my opinion, better, in [Book:Beauty]. She claims she felt she had to retell the story when she learned more about roses, after cultivating them. Never have I read a book before where I felt so much like the author was simply marking time until she got to the bit with the compost. Manure provides an important climactic moment. She certainly manages to convey what roses mean to her, but sadly, I'm afraid they don't have quite that importance to me.

Not to say this is a bad book. I'd loan it to a friend without qualms, but I wouldn't let anyone buy it new. The plot is a bit of a mess; it feels like she wasn't quite sure what was happening herself, so she threw in a lot of details in the hope that some of them would fall in a story-shape. There's no attempt at a real explanation for any of what happens, which to me is sort of the point of retelling fairy tales.

It is, however, remarkable for being a book that addresses one of the most common complaints about Disney's [b:Beauty and the Beast|41424|Beauty A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast|Robin McKinley|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1169613617s/41424.jpg|2321285]. But telling you that complaint might constitute a minor spoiler, so stop reading now if that is a concern for you: in the end, the interesting beast is not substituted for the boring prince.