Fairest

Comfort reread.

I like pretty much all of Levine's work, but she doesn't skip the rough bits. This might not be a book to read if you're currently dealing with body image stuff. Like, the ending message of “you're beautiful how you are!” is great, but uh. There's a lot of internal monologue of self hatred before we get to that bit. I would love to have learned more about Aza's specific history and how she came to be a foundling, though, I think that would be fascinating.

I really enjoyed this. I went into it with slightly lowered expectations - a friend loaned it to me but said it wasn't as good as Ella Enchanted.

I actually can't clearly remember reading Ella Enchanted just now, so I can't compare the two, but I really enjoyed the way Levine worked an old tale. At first I was mildly put off by what felt to me like a hammering-in of the point that EVERYBODY LIKES TO SING HERE, OKAY???? Once that passed and became -part- of the story rather than a fact the reader needed to know, this was a very enjoyable read. I loved the details and the way it all wove together. I disliked Skulnik, somehow he just didn't come across to me as fully developed. I'm not sure why that is.

Overall, though, I loved it. I would certainly recommend it to someone looking for a book in this vein.