Beastly, by Alex Flinn

• Pub. Date: October 2007
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Pages: 320

Rating: 4/5

 

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

I'd like to start out by saying that the movie is NOT consistent with the book. I watched it first and then read the book, but the differences are enough for the reader to notice them regardless the order. Now, I liked the movie AND the book, but I think the book was more realistic - you know, assuming a witches and spells and magic are real.

Flinn twists the classic story of Beauty and the Beast and sets it in a current, urban background. Cliche Aesop moral that you can see coming from a mile away? Heck, yes. Still worth reading? Heck, yes. I know this is mainstream and a lot of us avid readers are above all that hype, but sometimes, mainstream is good. I liked the description and all the tiny details and conversations and thoughts Flinn inserts and the tie to the original. If you have time, go watch the movie and look for changes the producers made -  in my opinion, it feels like a different story altogether, especially the characters. Now, I kind of feel like watching me an old Disney film...