Beautiful

By: Juliet Marillier

Narrated by: Gemma Dawson

With the Nordic fairy tale East of the Sun and West of the Moon as her inspiration, Juliet Marillier weaves a magical story of a young princess’ search for her true self.

Hulde is a queen’s daughter and lives in a palace. But her life is lonely. Growing up atop the glass mountain, she knows only her violent and autocratic mother and a household of terrified servants.

Then a white bear named Rune comes to visit, and Hulde learns what kindness is.

But the queen has a plan for Hulde. When she turns 16, she will wed the most beautiful man in all the world. Hulde has never met her intended husband, and her mother refuses to explain the arrangement. Hulde becomes desperate to find out more and seeks the help of a magic mirror. Perhaps someone is coming to her rescue.

On her wedding day, Hulde’s existence is turned upside down. For the first time she leaves the glass mountain behind, setting out to be as brave as the heroines in her beloved storybook.

The journey will test Hulde to the limit. Can she overcome her fears and take control of her own life?

©2019 Juliet Marillier (P)2019 Audible Originals, LLC.

Fairytale Retold from A Different Perspective

This is a young YA retelling of East of the Sun, West of the Moon a Norwegian fairytale, but done from the perspective of the troll queen's daughter. I enjoyed the character development, the story, and the narration. The main character has been sheltered so is naive and ignorant of the world, which I feel makes the story feel more like a younger YA. The writing and world building were wonderful. It felt like a fairytale, classic and magical.

Fantastic fairy tale.

I really enjoyed this expanded version of East of the Sun, West of the Moon. It has all the best things a good fairy tale should have, along with a feisty female protagonist. There were a few awkward bits, but not enough to quibble about.

So fun!

Loved this story a ton! No spoilers but excellent fun turning some tropes on their heads.

A Unique Continuation for What Came After

"East of the Sun and West of the Moon" along with "White Bear King Valemon" have been two of my most favorite Nordic folktales and I have read many of the iterations of these tales, including "East," "Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow," and "Once Upon a Winter's Night," but I have never read a version that was this unique. Juliet Marillier essentially fast forwards to the end of the folktale, while also telling the story from the perspective of the Troll Princess, the one who was supposed to marry the bear prince.

While in most versions, the Troll Princess is depicted as being just as horrible as the Troll Queen, or she's a pitiable, ugly creature who just wants the affection of the bear prince. In "Beautiful," Hulde is not as horrible as her mother and doesn't want to be. In fact, she loathes her mother's behavior and treatment of others, and after having a fit of rage and breaking a precious gift, she vows to never be like the Troll Queen. Hulde is simply a young girl who has been isolated her whole life, who was not taught how the world works, who had not been given the skills to live in the world outside her castle and who has had her heart broken by the bear who taught her how to read, and the girl who gave her wonderful gifts. Determined to make her own story (now that the folktale has ended), she ventures off into the northern world and encounters the fear humans have towards her kind, she learns how to be brave and she learns that her kinsfolk turn out not to be as terrifying as she'd first thought. Throughout her journey, Hulde comes to understand love and friendship, she learns how to rely on herself, but also accept the help of others when it is needed, and she learns to appreciate the gifts she has deep inside her as well. She is a kind girl by nature, but she learns to be strong, authoritative when it's called for, and she learns that courage and hope are powerful weapons against injustice and terrible acts. She learns what love truly is and eventually believes that even a troll like her can be deserving of love.

I was entranced by this retelling, as Juliet Marillier wove a beautiful story about a normal girl (relatively speaking) finding her own place in the world. Hulde is much like woodcutter's daughter or the princess who rescues her white bear, as they both take journeys to find that which they hold precious and come out a stronger person in the end. It was fascinating that I was rooting for a character that I once found terrible and foul, and I was elated when she succeeded and became sad when she was alone or heartbroken. While the Troll Princess will still be horrible or pitiable in other iterations of the tale, Hulde will continue to be beautiful in her own way, with her own friends. She is not defined by the actions of her mother, or the curse that bound her to a human: she is defined by her courage, even when she scared, and bolstered by the strength of those around her.

Overall, an enjoyable listen that tackles difficult themes in a way that even the young can understand, with a narrative that can relate to any individual struggling with self-image, love, injustice, death, mistreatment, isolation and finding a place to fit in. I will come back to this story just as much as I go back to other tales of "East of the Sun, and West of the Moon."

A good story

I enjoyed listening to this story. Solid narration. Solid plot and characters. There were a few things here and there that could've been better or didn't quite work for me, so I can't give it 5 stars. It is a good concept and worth the time.