Beauty



Beauty is a young adult fantasy novel by Nancy Butcher.

Queen Veda of Ran does not believe in growing old gracefully. In fact, she will shun anything that makes her look or feel less than the fairest in the land--including her daughter, Ana.

Ana has both beauty and intelligence, and realizes the way to remain close to her beloved mother is to make herself ugly. So she does--eating all the wrong foods, not bathing, growing her hair out in tangles.

And it works. Veda loves her and Ana is content with it, even if she sometimes wonders what being beautiful is like.

But the Queen's Beauty Consultant informs Her Majesty that Ana may be beautiful yet. Ana is sent away to the academy of Ran to study with beautiful girls, including Ana's best friend. But if everyone else there is beautiful, why was she sent there?

Despite herself, Ana learns how to be beautiful again...and is unaware that she and the others are walking into a trap.

This book contains examples of:

 * Abusive Parents: Ana's convinced Veda will love her even though she'd be shunned were she beautiful.
 * Dragon-in-Chief: The Beauty Consultant supplies the Queen with information and ideas, which otherwise she'd be clueless about.
 * Driven by Envy: Veda's intensely jealous of anything/anyone beautiful.
 * Evil Old Folks: The Beauty Consultant, possibly. Veda, definitely.
 * Fairest of Them All: Veda is determined to stay this, and Ana is determined not to be this.
 * G-Rated Drug:.
 * God Save Us From the Queen
 * Kaleidoscope Eyes: The Beauty Consultant's eyes change color depending on his mood.
 * My Beloved Smother: Veda, when not wary of Ana, is overly protective and loving.