Review: Beastly by Alex Flinn

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 the perfect life. And then, I'll tell you how I became perfectly . . . beastly.

Review:


Beastly is the retelling of the classic fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast in the modern world. Beauty and the Beast is my favorite fairy tale, so I was excited to read this book. It starts off with a chat room that our Beast, Kyle/Adrian has joined along with some other fairy tale characters. I enjoyed these chats that were placed throughout the book (I think there were six total). In fact, I would say that they were my favorite parts of the book.

When we first meet Kyle, it is so easy to hate him. He is such a jerk! I really did not like him. He was way too conceited and cocky. After being turned into a beast by Kendra, the witch, Kyle later decides to go by Adrian instead because it means "dark one."

I liked that Lindy, the Beauty in this story, was a strong, independent, young woman. I also liked that she loved to read, and how her love of reading seems to rub off on Adrian.

Overall, this was a fun, easy book to read. It made me smile with its happy, fairytale ending. I thought that Flinn did an excellent job incorporating the story of Beauty and the Beast into the modern world. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants a fun, easy read. Perfect for the summer!

The movie version of Beastly will be released in March 18, 2011 (I thought it was supposed to be released in July, but it looks like they pushed it back). From the trailer alone, it looks like it has some major differences starting with how Adrian looks. In the book, he is described as a beast with fur and claws, but as you can see in the trailer, he looks completely different:



I think I will like Vanessa Hudgens as Lindy. She fits the role well. Even with the differences, I am looking forward to seeing the movie.

Rating: 4/5

Swords are for fighting,