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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
“Bethany looked up at the fifteen-story house which was as wide as a dozen elephants. She shrugged her shoulders and returned to reading the comics.
“Aren’t you going to say ‘Whoa!’ or ‘Gosh!’?” asked Ebenezer.
“Nah,” said Bethany. “There’s nothing impressive about a waste of space.”
I want to thank Dave @ The Write Reads, Egmont Books, and the author for sending me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!
I’m going to be honest with you, reader. I’m having a difficult time starting this review. Why, you ask? Was it so ghastly that I can’t find the words to describe it? Was it so horrific that my mind boggles just thinking about it?
Well… yes and no.
It was ghastly and horrific but in all the right ways! In this book, we follow our main character, Ebenezer Tweezer, who is about to celebrate his 512th birthday. Yes, you read that right. How has he managed to reach such an unfathomable age? With the aid of the beast that lives in his attic. And all he has to do to receive the secret to eternal youth is feed it. Seems like an easy trade, right? Sure… until the beast starts asking for more and more exotic things to eat. Like performing monkeys, parrots capable of carrying on compelling conversations, and, now… a nice, plump child. Ebenezer, though, has it all figured out! He’ll just find a nasty, unlovable child that no one will miss and feed it to the beast. Enter Bog Off Bethany. She’s obnoxious, she’s cruel, and she seems the perfect meal. But, as Ebenezer gets Bethany ready for dinner (not hers, of course), pesky things like emotions and friendship start messing up his plan.
This book, with its tongue-in-cheek humor and its unlovable-yet-strangely-endearing characters, was just a treat! I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun reading a book. I loved the humor, I loved the sneaky references to other children’s tales, and I loved the overall tone. This is a book that even a reluctant reader would find hard to put down. It’s creepy, it’s scary, but it has a lot of heart, as well. I think it was the perfect blend of funny and touching, with a wonderful message squirreled away inside (though don’t let Ebenezer or Bethany know, okay?).
Speaking of Ebenezer and Bethany, it was wonderful watching them grow throughout this book. I loved both of their characters so much! I mean… as characters in a book. As actual people, I would probably stay far away from them. At least as they were at the beginning of the book! But I can’t wait to see more of them and watch their continued growth as the series continues.
Oh, and can we talk about the illustrations?! I had no idea I would be graced with such vibrant and lovely pictures throughout the book! They really helped to bring the characters to life. Any adult who says they don’t like pictures in their books is lying and does not remember what joy is. (Just kidding, you can hate pictures in books all you like, it’s your life!)
I will say that I have one teensy, tiny gripe and that’s the fact that this book felt too short! I know that there will be more books, but I was left feeling like I had left half the meal on my plate for no good reason. I was hungry for more, but I suppose I’ll just have to wait!
Final thoughts: This is a funny, dark, and gruesome book with two main characters you kind of want to strangle at first. It’s filled with wit, heart, and some stunning illustrations to make the reading experience that much more captivating! If you have a kid that maybe isn’t the biggest fan of reading, give them this book. I’ll bet they’ll be laughing out loud within the first few pages and begging for more! And, if you’re an adult that’s looking for a quick bit of fun, you can’t go wrong with The Beast and the Bethany.
“Aren’t you going to say ‘Whoa!’ or ‘Gosh!’?” asked Ebenezer.
“Nah,” said Bethany. “There’s nothing impressive about a waste of space.”
I want to thank Dave @ The Write Reads, Egmont Books, and the author for sending me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!
I’m going to be honest with you, reader. I’m having a difficult time starting this review. Why, you ask? Was it so ghastly that I can’t find the words to describe it? Was it so horrific that my mind boggles just thinking about it?
Well… yes and no.
It was ghastly and horrific but in all the right ways! In this book, we follow our main character, Ebenezer Tweezer, who is about to celebrate his 512th birthday. Yes, you read that right. How has he managed to reach such an unfathomable age? With the aid of the beast that lives in his attic. And all he has to do to receive the secret to eternal youth is feed it. Seems like an easy trade, right? Sure… until the beast starts asking for more and more exotic things to eat. Like performing monkeys, parrots capable of carrying on compelling conversations, and, now… a nice, plump child. Ebenezer, though, has it all figured out! He’ll just find a nasty, unlovable child that no one will miss and feed it to the beast. Enter Bog Off Bethany. She’s obnoxious, she’s cruel, and she seems the perfect meal. But, as Ebenezer gets Bethany ready for dinner (not hers, of course), pesky things like emotions and friendship start messing up his plan.
This book, with its tongue-in-cheek humor and its unlovable-yet-strangely-endearing characters, was just a treat! I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun reading a book. I loved the humor, I loved the sneaky references to other children’s tales, and I loved the overall tone. This is a book that even a reluctant reader would find hard to put down. It’s creepy, it’s scary, but it has a lot of heart, as well. I think it was the perfect blend of funny and touching, with a wonderful message squirreled away inside (though don’t let Ebenezer or Bethany know, okay?).
Speaking of Ebenezer and Bethany, it was wonderful watching them grow throughout this book. I loved both of their characters so much! I mean… as characters in a book. As actual people, I would probably stay far away from them. At least as they were at the beginning of the book! But I can’t wait to see more of them and watch their continued growth as the series continues.
Oh, and can we talk about the illustrations?! I had no idea I would be graced with such vibrant and lovely pictures throughout the book! They really helped to bring the characters to life. Any adult who says they don’t like pictures in their books is lying and does not remember what joy is. (Just kidding, you can hate pictures in books all you like, it’s your life!)
I will say that I have one teensy, tiny gripe and that’s the fact that this book felt too short! I know that there will be more books, but I was left feeling like I had left half the meal on my plate for no good reason. I was hungry for more, but I suppose I’ll just have to wait!
Final thoughts: This is a funny, dark, and gruesome book with two main characters you kind of want to strangle at first. It’s filled with wit, heart, and some stunning illustrations to make the reading experience that much more captivating! If you have a kid that maybe isn’t the biggest fan of reading, give them this book. I’ll bet they’ll be laughing out loud within the first few pages and begging for more! And, if you’re an adult that’s looking for a quick bit of fun, you can’t go wrong with The Beast and the Bethany.
This was a really cute and well done spoopy middle grade! I was pleasantly surprised to find this in my mailbox courtesy of Simon and Schuster and even more surprised to find myself enjoying the story! Bethany is such a fiery little creature and the beast was truly unsavory.
Fantastically funny, warm-hearted and with great characters. The fast-paced plot means it's target audience (ages 8+) will never get bored, and the illustrations help immensely.
The Beast and the Bethany is also a lovely morality tale that manages to convey its message (nice is much better than nasty) in a way that's not preachy or worthy.
I'm genuinely looking forward to the sequel coming in 2021.
The Beast and the Bethany is also a lovely morality tale that manages to convey its message (nice is much better than nasty) in a way that's not preachy or worthy.
I'm genuinely looking forward to the sequel coming in 2021.
Hirviö ja Helmikki kertoo orvosta Helmikistä, jonka 512-vuotiaan Ebenezer Pinsetin hirviö haluaa syödä. Helmikki on keppostelija ja Ebenezer on syöttänyt hirviötä surutta ja saanut vastalahjaksi tältä kaiken mitä vain mielii keksiä (noidan luudan, flyygelin, rahaa)... Roald Dahlin ja David Walliamsin jalanjäljissä kulkeva kirja kertoo ystävyydestä ja siitä, kuinka voi opetella olemaan kiltti.
Sopinee hyvin 10-vuotiaasta eteenpäin. Meno on paikoin aika hurjaa, eli ihan pienimille ja herkimmille en suosittelisi.
Sopinee hyvin 10-vuotiaasta eteenpäin. Meno on paikoin aika hurjaa, eli ihan pienimille ja herkimmille en suosittelisi.
Click on the link to read the full review on my blog - The Beast and The Bethany Review
This was a damn cute book, the writing style was immersive and really whimsical. I found myself getting lost in the writing style.
The Illustrations are damn good, they capture cute as as well as weird moments perfectly and the artist captured facial expressions perfectly.
Talking about the plot
We start with meeting Ebenezer Tweezer and the beast and we a glimpse of what kind of creature the beast it, he is an evil, greedy and hungry grey blog monster and we also get to know what sort of person Ebenezer is and the story begins. When the beast asks Ebenezer thathe wishes to eat a child in exchange of the youth potion, Ebenezer sets out to obtain a child to feed the beast and in comes Bethany.
This was a very whimsical story, at the beginning you could see how different both the main characters were, Bethany is a poor, orphan who used being mean as a defense mechanism whereas Ebenezer is a rich, spoiled brat who never had to work for a day in his life.
When their worlds collide, sparks fly between the undisciplined Bethany and kinda oblivious Ebenezer but through the story you see both of them grow, they find a friend in each other and connect in a way that they haven’t with anyone and I loved reading about that.
My favorite part of the book was seeing how adopting a child changed Ebenezer from a brat to an actual human being and how Bethany went from keeping people away to letting someone into her life. Both the characters had a very positive influence on each other and I adored them so much.
The ending of the book did get quite intense, it had me at the edge of my seat of my seat wondering what was gonna happen to the characters and I adored the way it ended.
But the ending left the story open and set it up for a sequel, hopefully.
Overall, this was a very cute story with great characters, a good plot, some awesome character development and growth and a few magical sequences and I had a fun time reading it, I legit finished it in one sitting.
I would recommend this book to anyone look for a quick to read middle grade fantasy with a good and important message, I would recommend picking this up.
This was a damn cute book, the writing style was immersive and really whimsical. I found myself getting lost in the writing style.
The Illustrations are damn good, they capture cute as as well as weird moments perfectly and the artist captured facial expressions perfectly.
Talking about the plot
We start with meeting Ebenezer Tweezer and the beast and we a glimpse of what kind of creature the beast it, he is an evil, greedy and hungry grey blog monster and we also get to know what sort of person Ebenezer is and the story begins. When the beast asks Ebenezer thathe wishes to eat a child in exchange of the youth potion, Ebenezer sets out to obtain a child to feed the beast and in comes Bethany.
This was a very whimsical story, at the beginning you could see how different both the main characters were, Bethany is a poor, orphan who used being mean as a defense mechanism whereas Ebenezer is a rich, spoiled brat who never had to work for a day in his life.
When their worlds collide, sparks fly between the undisciplined Bethany and kinda oblivious Ebenezer but through the story you see both of them grow, they find a friend in each other and connect in a way that they haven’t with anyone and I loved reading about that.
My favorite part of the book was seeing how adopting a child changed Ebenezer from a brat to an actual human being and how Bethany went from keeping people away to letting someone into her life. Both the characters had a very positive influence on each other and I adored them so much.
The ending of the book did get quite intense, it had me at the edge of my seat of my seat wondering what was gonna happen to the characters and I adored the way it ended.
But the ending left the story open and set it up for a sequel, hopefully.
Overall, this was a very cute story with great characters, a good plot, some awesome character development and growth and a few magical sequences and I had a fun time reading it, I legit finished it in one sitting.
I would recommend this book to anyone look for a quick to read middle grade fantasy with a good and important message, I would recommend picking this up.
Dorian Grey - for kids! Ebenezer and Bethany are a lot of fun - will definitely be reading the sequel.
