Synopsis
I am a beast. A beast. Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog, but a horrible new creature who walks upright – a creature with fangs and claws and hair springing from every pore. I am a monster.
You think I’m talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. It’s no deformity, no disease. And I’ll stay this way forever – ruined – unless I can break the spell.
Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and a perfect life. And then, I’ll tell you how I became perfectly beastly
My Review
Hmmmm, I'm in two minds about this book and can not get my feelings clear, I love Beauty and the Beast its a classic and I don't feel nothing can compare with those few Disney classics from my childhood but Alex Flinn did good with his modernisation of Beauty and the Beast in Beastly.
Alex Flinn writes with a simplicity that makes it an easy read and I think its length and pace was perfect anything longer and I am sure it would have got a little dull. Alex Finn sticks to the original a little too much during the book even though locations differ and a few characters are except i.e Mrs Pots etc I wish he would have changed things a bit more, I mean it would have been great for the story to take unexpected turns that would throw you off course a little, with me being a fan of the original I found it a little too predictable
The characters in Beastly where great I mean Mr Obnoxious surely got taught a lesson that there is so much more then beauty and behind all that hair is someone who is deeply beautiful in many other ways and our Beauty was not so perfect but she was inside and that's what brings the story together.
Overall Beastly is a good read one I would recommend all to read it before the release of the movie...although I do have a feeling that it will be very different from Book to Film but only time will tell.
Wonderful review. I grew up on a translation of the original French story so, to me, the Disney version seemed strange (even though it is a favorite). However, I do realize that all fairytales change to teach the lessons of the times.
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I enjoyed your review, but I did not find Flinn's interpretation at all like the Disney version which of course is not the original version. I really loved her version and am even hoping to use it in my classroom, I also like her version of Sleeping Beauty titled a Kiss in Time.
ReplyDeleteThank you - Man of la Books
ReplyDeleteJon Von Harz - Its not the original I know but it is a disney classic ;o) still love my disney films! I feel the story sequence of events flows the same as listed below
Book - Dad breaks into greenhouse
Disney Movie - Dad gets lost and trespasses into the castle
Book - Beastly takes Lindy in place of fathers punishment
D Movie - Bell' finds father and takes his place in Beast's company
Book - Lindy's love of books and the library
D Movie - Bells love of books and she was gifted a library by Beast
Book - The whole getting to know you and the playing in the snow chapters
D Movie - The snow garden scenes where they made snow angels and had snow fights
Book - Seeing her father ill in the gutters - in the mirror
D Movie - Seeing her father ill in the mirror
(both times sent home due to it)
Book - Beastly rescues her from the mean man curse gets broken
D Movie - Bell rescues beast from towns men and breaks the curse
Im tempted to order the original book so I can place my views against that. I did love Alex's version just wished it would have had more twists and turns
I really liked this book and am happy to see that you liked it too :) Great review.
ReplyDeleteGreat review! I liked how it stuck to the original though. :)
ReplyDeleteI was hoping for something a little different with this one as well, but I still enjoyed it a lot. And I am curious about the film..
ReplyDeleteThe lesson was that Kyle had to learn to be nice to people and not just get girls by looks. I also liked that I couldn¿t put down the book. It was so interesting; I read it in almost every class every day.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was a really tremendous book. It has a great moral.
I would recommend this book for anyone who likes to read romance, comedy, or if you liked the original Beauty and the Beast.