Lost in a Book
by Jennifer Donnelly
“The second vulture screeched. He shook his head, and then his wings. Death’s pale cheeks flushed with indignation.
“I know there are rules, Truque!” she said. “I know I cannot go to the girl before her time. But what if she comes to me? What if I can bind her here? That changes things, doesn’t it?”
The vulture considered his mistress’s words, then dipped his head and grabbed the book with his sharp talons. Death opened a window, and the two birds swooped off into the night. As she watched them go, her sister’s words came back to her.
You have no idea how the story ends.
Death’s bloodred lips curved into a grim, determined smile.
“Oh, but I do,” she purred. Because I intend to write it!” “
Lost in a Book is a Disney sanctioned novel that I came across via FaceBook. The marketing for the book must be very good because ads for it popped up onto my feed multiple times a day! I follow several Beauty & the Beast groups and I guess those cookies are working in my favor. I am so glad I came across this sweet little book. It was really fun to read and a great perspective.
I don’t know much about Jennifer Donnelly other than she is very involved on her FaceBook page. I love it when authors take the time to interact with their fans, and she has many. There is something very charming about the back and forth between a fan giving a compliment and an author receiving it and responding. Social media is a great platform for celebrities and their adoring masses to come together, and the praise for this novel has been substantial.
Lost in a Book is the tale of Belle’s time as an unintended guest of the Beast’s enchanted castle. The time period (if you are going by the movie) is after she has arrived and tried to escape, only to be set upon by a pack of wolves in the forest and saved by her captor, the Beast. The Beast has gifted Belle with her very own library and she is determined to begin the task of tidying it up, along with the help of her friends and familiar faces – Cogsworth, Lumiere, Mrs. Potts and Chip. The library is a disaster of dust and grime and they spend a few days and many hours cleaning things up so that it can be a place for Belle to find sanctuary. Books have always helped Belle escape the tribulations of her life and she needs them now more than ever; being separated from her father is heartbreakingly difficult.
” “Reading became my sanctuary,” Belle continued. “I found so much in those books. I found histories that inspired me. Poems that delighted me. Novels that challenged me. . .” Belle paused, suddenly self-conscious. She looked down at her hands, and in a wistful voice said, “What I really found, though, was myself.” “
What Belle doesn’t know is that a trap has been set for her. Two sisters, Death and Love, have been playing with her life on their chessboard of fate, watching her from a veritable distance. Love, of course, is hoping that Belle will begin to see the good in the Beast, allowing the spell to be broken and for the both of them to live happily ever after. Death on the other hand is hoping to claim Belle’s life as part of her collection. They place a bet on Belle’s life, each hoping that their wish will become reality, but what Love doesn’t know is that Death has decided to cheat. She places an enchanted book in Belle’s library, one that will come to life and tempt her into another world. If Belle takes three things from this magical world inside the book titled Nevermore, and leaves three things in return, then she will be bound to the world forever and as such, meet her eternal end.
Belle finds the book in secret room within the library and cannot hold herself back from entering. In it, she finds a world that is amazing and all that she has ever dreamed of. Inside the book of Nevermore is the city of Paris and it’s outskirts, parts of her country that Belle has always dreamed of visiting but never had the means. She also encounters a handsome duke named Henri and a startlingly curious Countess who offers to take Belle under her wing and show her the lays of the land.
” Belle was taken aback by the countess’s title. “Terres des Morts. . .” she echoed. “Land of the Dead? I’m not sure I wish to meet her!”
The young man laughed. “It’s a horrible title, I agree. It was given to an ancestor of the countess’s. After he’d won a particularly bloody battle. It is much more fierce than she is, I promise you.”
Belle hesitated. “What is this place?” she asked.
“A bit of magic, like all good books,” the man replied. “An escape. A place where you can leave cares and worries behind.” He smiled. “At least for a chapter or two.” He offered her his arm.
Belle bit her lip. She cast a glance behind her. It wasn’t too late to leave. It wasn’t too late to run out of the chateau, down the drive, through the portal, and back to the Beast’s castle.
But there, she could only read stories. Here, it seemed, she could live one. “
Belle comes back from the book and is torn. She loved her adventure while visiting the magical land inside the book with the Countess and her new friends, but she also is finding a particular fondness for the inhabitants of the enchanted castle and the Beast. His behavior and demeanor are no doubt mercurial, but she is slowly beginning to see the good inside of him. He is making an effort and although it often feels as if he is taking one step forward and three steps back, everyone is hopeful that the Beast will honestly and valiantly earn Belle’s trust and eventually, her heart.
Belle had stood there for a long moment, staring at the empty doorway.
The gift the Beast had bestowed upon her was so incredibly generous, it was almost unbelievable. She felt as if the Beast, who had caused her so much sorrow, was now doing everything in his power to undo it.
Everything, that is, except letting her go.
“What are you?” she’d whispered.
Was the Beast the snarling savage who’d imprisoned her father, then herself? Was he the cultivated reader who could recite lines from a sixteenth-century poem? Was he her adversary? Her friend?
Or was he somehow all of these things? “
Despite the Beast’s best efforts, something always seems to go wrong in his attempts to woo and romance Belle. He plans an outing to take her ice skating and ends up coming down with a cold. He tries to hold a polite conversation with her and he cannot control his temper. The enchanted objects of the castle try to smooth things over but between the Beast’s rages and the sorrow Belle is feeling over the absence of her father in her life, she has a very hard time resisting the temptation that is the magical book and world of Nevermore. The Beast however, continues to try and connect.
Something was wrong — very wrong. The Beast could feel it.
“Why aren’t you eating, Belle? Are you not well?” he asked.
“I’m fine, thank you. Just not terribly hungry,” Belle said, giving him what was clearly a fake smile. She laid her spoon down. “I didn’t sleep well last night. In fact, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll take my leave.”
The Beast raised an eyebrow. “Where are you going?”
“To the library.”
“Would you like to go for a walk through the grounds instead? The brisk air will put some color back into your cheeks. You look so pale this morning. Surely you’ve noticed.”
“How could I?” Belle asked. “There aren’t any mirrors here.”
“True.”
“Because you broke them all.”
The Beast cleared his throat. “Also true,” he said. “Personally? I like books better than mirrors,” he added, trying to lighten the mood. “Mirrors only show us what w are. Books show us what we can be.” “
Little does she know, but her new best friend inside the book is none other than Death herself, working her own brand of magic against any love Belle may feel in the real world. She is able to persuade Belle into tasting several things from Nevermore which half binds her to the book, and she cunningly begins to try and find ways to steal things from Belle which will finish the trap. Belle is finding so much joy and solace in what she believes to be the perfect world that she ignores the warnings that Love has sent her way. She continues to go back and forth between the worlds and ignores the physical attachment she is beginning to form to the book. Each time she goes back and forth it proves to be more difficult to get back into the real world.
” “Goodbye, Madame Comtesse,” Belle said as they stepped into the drive. “And thank you again for everything.”
There was a note of melancholy in Belle’s voice. The countess noticed it. “What’s the matter, child?” she asked.
“Nothing,” Belle said wistfully. “At least, nothing that doesn’t make me sound like a complete ingrate. I just. . . I wish I didn’t have to leave. Ever. I wish Nevermore was real.”
The countess smoothed a stray piece of hair off Belle’s forehead. Her touch was as cool as marble. “Does it matter if it’s not?” she asked. “Life can be so difficult, and stories help us escape those difficulties. It’s all right to lose yourself in one, Belle. Isn’t that what you’ve always done? And this one is your own story, for goodness’ sake! What harm can there possibly be in that?” “
Belle is being further manipulated by Death each time she enters the book and finally, things come to a head. She has bound herself to Nevermore by leaving three things and taking three things, and she must embark upon a perilous journey to escape if she wants to keep her life intact. Relying on Love’s emissaries and her own wits, she struggles through puzzles and problems to try and find her way out and back to her Beast — someone that she now realizes she cares more for than she did before.
Jennifer Donnelly brings a bright and appropriate new story to the beloved world of Beauty & the Beast; one that can be enjoyed by a wide range of ages. The narrative is such that a 10-year old and a 30-year old can each enjoy the story and appreciate the addition to a world they already love. I especially loved the nod to the original author of Beauty & the Beast’s tale, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve. The author wrote the story of Beauty and her Beast in the 1700’s and although it has been cut down and penned under other names as well, Donnelly used the original author’s last name Villeneuve as the name of the village Belle comes from.
Please note that Lost in a Book follows the storyline of the live-action film and not the cartoon. As a result, if you have not seen the live-action movie, you may find a few discrepancies. I really enjoyed this addition to my favorite fairy tale. I give Lost in a Book 4.5 out of 5 stars, and recommend it for any and all age groups interested in learning more about Belle’s time in captivity at the Beast’s enchanted castle.
