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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
It took me a good 150 pages to get into the swing of the book. After that it was really good.
Not a bad book at all, and I did enjoy this much more than the movie. Yet, it seemed to waver between wanting to follow the true fairy tale and the Disney version.
What can I say? I enjoy a good fairytale retelling and this certainly was a good version of that. All the familiar elements of the Beauty and the Beast fairytale are present-but with two major twists. One being that the story is set in modern-day New York City and the other is that the Beast is the one telling us the story.
Now, see, I'm a person who thinks, that in the original fairytale and in countless adaptions since, the Beast character gets criminally overlooked. He's supposed to be one of the main characters and more often than not, the guy doesn't get a freaking name! *glares at Disney*
So, in this novel, Flinn changes that narrative a little. Meet Kyle Kingsbury, a handsome boy with a very wealthy newscaster for a father. Since this is YA lit, Kyle of course has issues with his father, who is far more interested in his image, work and public persona than he is in his own child. Cue the daddy issues, in other words. Because of this, he shapes Kyle to be desperate for his attention as well as shallow himself, which of course is what attracts the attention of the witch.
Kyle meets her in the guise of a student, going by the name of Kendra. She calls him out in class during Homecoming elections about how shallow he is, and since she's an "outcast" at the private school they attend, he decides to play a rather cruel trick on her. He invites her to be his date to Homecoming, while planning, in reality to go with his beautiful, but mean girlfriend Sloane and embarrass Kendra publicly as a result.
Kendra then gives Kyle an ominous warning, but his night goes on as he expects. With one exception, since Sloane threw a hissy fit over the corsage not being an orchid, as she wanted, but a white rose, Kyle gives it to one of the scholarship students who was working at the dance.
So, later that night, when Kendra shows up in Kyle's room and curses him into a beast, she gives him a lifeline because of his supposed act of kindness to the girl at the dance. He has two years to find someone to love him and prove said love with a kiss and if he can do that, he'll be human again. If not, he will stay a beast for the rest of his life.
All in all, the story is very much a straight foward Beauty and the Beast retelling. Beast makes witch angry for his unkind, vain nature and is turned into a beast for his actions. Has X amount of time to find love in spite of what he looks like to become human again. In some ways, minor ways but still, the story is a bit different.
The Beauty-character, Lindy is a bookish girl, but she's not all the beautiful. She's really more of a plain Jane sort of girl. In this, I liked that aspect, because as the story goes on and she and Kyle (whom she only knows as Adrian, he changed his name) fall in love, she becomes more beautiful to him, not based on how she looks, but because of how well he knows her as a person.
Another notable change, is the reason she comes to live with Kyle in the first place. As with many retellings, her father steals a rose from his garden (he picks up the hobby since he has pretty much been locked in a house since being transformed) and in an attempt to get out of trouble, offers his daughter. This dad isn't from Disney. This dad is a drug addict who was willing to sell his own daughter to save his own skin, not for a moment knowing what would happen to her if she came and not caring either.
I had read, in an author's note, that Flinn described this change as "un-sugar coated" because, in many versions, Belle is a beloved daughter and yet still given up willingly. I liked this change to Flinn's story as frankly, it made more sense to me as to why her father would let her go so easily. In this story, it was because his drugs mattered more than his kid.
This, along with a love of reading and gardening bond Lindy and Alex, another aspect I enjoyed. I could see them relating to each other and finding common ground, though they have different backgrounds economically speaking.
So, given the praise, some might wonder why I only gave it three stars. For that, I have three reasons.
One would be the prose. It was very, very purple at times. This bugged me for two reasons, one is that, simply it was purple at all. "Now that the beauty of my old life is gone, I want take beauty like this rose and swallow it up...." that's one example, but that was throughout the majority of the book and, then you have the fact that Kyle is a teenage boy who hasn't even graduated high school yet. Why would he talk like that? These combined elements left me looking something like this as I read over certain sections of the novel.
Second reason for the three star-rating-while I love fairytales, I love retellings that really add something knew to the story. This one really didn't. Now, this didn't make it a bad story, but rather, just failed to make it into something really new to YA fantasy genre. There were no surprising twists that kept me on the edge of my seat at all while I read. Again, doesn't make the book bad, just predictable, which sometimes is good for relaxing reads, but not good for a book to be impacting and stick with you.
And thirdly, the mellow drama at the end. Too much Jane Eyre, too much drama, too much convenient magic use to get out of a situation. Wasn't a fan of how the ending came together-wish it would've been different.
Still, despite this, it was an enjoyable, one afternoon read and a charming story overall.
Now, see, I'm a person who thinks, that in the original fairytale and in countless adaptions since, the Beast character gets criminally overlooked. He's supposed to be one of the main characters and more often than not, the guy doesn't get a freaking name! *glares at Disney*
So, in this novel, Flinn changes that narrative a little. Meet Kyle Kingsbury, a handsome boy with a very wealthy newscaster for a father. Since this is YA lit, Kyle of course has issues with his father, who is far more interested in his image, work and public persona than he is in his own child. Cue the daddy issues, in other words. Because of this, he shapes Kyle to be desperate for his attention as well as shallow himself, which of course is what attracts the attention of the witch.
Kyle meets her in the guise of a student, going by the name of Kendra. She calls him out in class during Homecoming elections about how shallow he is, and since she's an "outcast" at the private school they attend, he decides to play a rather cruel trick on her. He invites her to be his date to Homecoming, while planning, in reality to go with his beautiful, but mean girlfriend Sloane and embarrass Kendra publicly as a result.
Kendra then gives Kyle an ominous warning, but his night goes on as he expects. With one exception, since Sloane threw a hissy fit over the corsage not being an orchid, as she wanted, but a white rose, Kyle gives it to one of the scholarship students who was working at the dance.
So, later that night, when Kendra shows up in Kyle's room and curses him into a beast, she gives him a lifeline because of his supposed act of kindness to the girl at the dance. He has two years to find someone to love him and prove said love with a kiss and if he can do that, he'll be human again. If not, he will stay a beast for the rest of his life.
All in all, the story is very much a straight foward Beauty and the Beast retelling. Beast makes witch angry for his unkind, vain nature and is turned into a beast for his actions. Has X amount of time to find love in spite of what he looks like to become human again. In some ways, minor ways but still, the story is a bit different.
The Beauty-character, Lindy is a bookish girl, but she's not all the beautiful. She's really more of a plain Jane sort of girl. In this, I liked that aspect, because as the story goes on and she and Kyle (whom she only knows as Adrian, he changed his name) fall in love, she becomes more beautiful to him, not based on how she looks, but because of how well he knows her as a person.
Another notable change, is the reason she comes to live with Kyle in the first place. As with many retellings, her father steals a rose from his garden (he picks up the hobby since he has pretty much been locked in a house since being transformed) and in an attempt to get out of trouble, offers his daughter. This dad isn't from Disney. This dad is a drug addict who was willing to sell his own daughter to save his own skin, not for a moment knowing what would happen to her if she came and not caring either.
I had read, in an author's note, that Flinn described this change as "un-sugar coated" because, in many versions, Belle is a beloved daughter and yet still given up willingly. I liked this change to Flinn's story as frankly, it made more sense to me as to why her father would let her go so easily. In this story, it was because his drugs mattered more than his kid.
This, along with a love of reading and gardening bond Lindy and Alex, another aspect I enjoyed. I could see them relating to each other and finding common ground, though they have different backgrounds economically speaking.
So, given the praise, some might wonder why I only gave it three stars. For that, I have three reasons.
One would be the prose. It was very, very purple at times. This bugged me for two reasons, one is that, simply it was purple at all. "Now that the beauty of my old life is gone, I want take beauty like this rose and swallow it up...." that's one example, but that was throughout the majority of the book and, then you have the fact that Kyle is a teenage boy who hasn't even graduated high school yet. Why would he talk like that? These combined elements left me looking something like this as I read over certain sections of the novel.
Second reason for the three star-rating-while I love fairytales, I love retellings that really add something knew to the story. This one really didn't. Now, this didn't make it a bad story, but rather, just failed to make it into something really new to YA fantasy genre. There were no surprising twists that kept me on the edge of my seat at all while I read. Again, doesn't make the book bad, just predictable, which sometimes is good for relaxing reads, but not good for a book to be impacting and stick with you.
And thirdly, the mellow drama at the end.
Spoiler
When Lindy leaves, keeping in line with the fairytale, Adrian, somehow finds her because he hears her calling his name and runs halfway across the city to save her from a drug dealer and gets shot, but is saved because magicStill, despite this, it was an enjoyable, one afternoon read and a charming story overall.
Eh, this book was fine..maybe closer to 2.5 stars. Really cute, but definitely a simple, YA story. It lacked detail, character development, and anything to actually pull me into the story. I feel like I spent the whole time just comparing it to Disney's Beauty and the Beast without ever seeing this as its own, stand alone story. Although I did like seeing it from the beast's point of view, I found his character annoying a fair amount of the time, and don't get me started on Lindy's constant squealing.
Periode Baca : 01/01/2014 - 01/01/2014
Dari judulnya saja sudah bisa ditebak jika buku ini merupakan re-telling dari kisah dongeng lawas “Beauty And The Beast”. Kisah cinta dimana si buruk rupa harus mencari seorang gadis yang tulus mencintainya agar kutukan buruk rupanya dapat sirna, dan ia kembali menjadi sediakala.
Kyle Kingsbury adalah cowok paling tajir, paling ganteng, dan populer di sekolah. Ia juga angkuh, suka memandang rendah orang lain, dan suka memberi julukan-julukan buruk pada orang lain. Maklum saja. Ayahnya seorang pembaca berita terkenal di seluruh negeri.
Suatu ketika, ia mengerjai seorang penyihir yang menyamar menjadi murid di sekolahnya, SMU Tuttle. Si penyihir mendapat tugas untuk menyadarkan Kyle dari tingkah buruknya selama ini. Akibat perbuatannya mengerjai si penyihir, Kyle pun mendapat kutukan. Ia berubah menjadi seorang monster buruk rupa, yang saking jeleknya, Ayah Kyle sendiri pun menolak untuk tinggal bersamanya.
Sang Ayah memberi Kyle sebuah rumah besar untuk dihuni bersama pembantu dan tutor yang buta. Si tutor bertugas mengajari Kyle karena semenjak dikutuk menjadi monster, ia tak lagi bersekolah. Sebelum menghilang, si penyihir yang bernama Kendra itu mensyaratkan jika Kyle ingin kembali normal ia harus mematahkan kutukan dalam waktu 2 tahun dengan cara mencari seorang cewek yang benar-benar tulus mencintainya.
Tapi bagaimana caranya sementara Kyle, yang kini berganti nama menjadi Adrian, tak boleh bersosialisasi dengan orang lain kecuali tutor dan pembantunya. Kyle mengambil jalan praktis dengan menggunakan koneksi internet. Ia bergabung dalam banyak situs pertemanan demi mencari gadis idamannya.
Ketika waktu dua tahun itu mulai mendekati masa kadaluarsanya, Kyle bingung harus mencari kemana lagi karena tak satu pun cewek di situs pertemanan itu yang membuatnya tertarik. Di saat seperti itu Lindy muncul menyelamatkannya. Cewek penerima beasiswa di sekolahnya yang dulu itu hadir di rumah Kyle demi menggantikan ayahnya yang mencuri di rumah Kyle. Di sekolah Kyle tak pernah peduli pada Lindy, karena statusnya yang hanya seorang anak penerima beasiswa. Satu-satunya interaksi mereka hanyalah sewaktu di prom night Kyle memberikan korsase mawar putih kepada Lindy karena Sloane, pacar Kyle, tak menyukai korsase itu.
Agar ayahnya tak masuk penjara, Lindy harus tinggal bersama Kyle hingga batas waktu yang tak ditentukan. Bagaimana bisa Lindy jatuh cinta pada Kyle sementara ia begitu benci pada sosoknya yang telah memisahkan dirinya dari sang ayah. Harapan Kyle untuk kembali normal sepertinya hanya mimpi belaka.
Karakter
Kyle Kingsbury / Adrian King. Sebagai Kyle Kingsbury, ia adalah cowok dengan kelakuan paling menyebalkan. Suka mengerjai teman-teman sekelas yang tidak populer. Suka memberi julukan-julukan jahat kepada mereka. Dan menganggap semua orang tak sekelas dengannya hanya karena ayahnya salah satu donatur tetap di SMU Tuttle. Ia tajir, ganteng dan populer baik diantara siswa cewek maupun siswa cowok. Ia juga punya pacar seorang kapten cheerleader.
Pergantian nama Kyle menjadi Adrian juga diikuti perobahan tingkah lakunya meskti berlangsung tidak secara drastis. Ia mulai dapat menerima kondisi tubuhnya yang buruk rupa. Ia mulai menghormati orang-orang yang dulu dianggapnya tak sepadan untuk dirinya seperti Magda, pembantu di rumahnya. Ia pun juga punya kebiasaan baru, menanam mawar di rumah kaca.
Linda “Lindy” Owens, cewek penerima beasiswa di SMU Tuttle. Tidak pernah masuk dalam daftar cewek-cewek populer di SMU tersebut. Tinggal di lingkungan yang penuh dengan pengedar-pemakai narkoba. Tetap setia mengurus ayahnya meski kerjanya hanya mabuk dan memakai narkoba. Pelan-pelan ia mulai jatuh cinta pada Adrian karena sifat Adrian yang lembut.
Plot, PoV, Setting
Beastly beralur maju. Meski merupakan dongeng klasik tapi diadaptasi dengan tepat ke era modren oleh Alex Flinn. Salah satu adaptasi modren yang dimasukkan Alex Flinn adalah penggunaan internet dan chatting, prom night di sekolah, serta adanya kereta api bawah tanah. PoV seluruhnya diambil dari sisi Kyle/Adrian, sementara dari sisi Lindy diceritakan dalam novella “Beastly : Lindy’s Diary”. Settingnya pada jaman sekarang di kota New York .
Ide cerita
Merupakan kisah dongeng klasik “Beauty and The Beast” yang diadaptasi ke era modren.
Cover dan terjemahan
Cover bisa dibilang nggak banget. Sepasang remaja cewek dan cowok bergandengan tangan di sebuah ruangan penuh kursi-kursi panjang berjejer seperti di dalam gereja. Gambar setangkai mawar merah *serasa lagu* di judulnya lumayan bisa mempermanis covernya. Tapi kan seharusnya mawarnya putih bukan merah. Mawar yang diberikan Kyle ke Lindy warna putih. Mungkin karena perjalanan jauh dari Amerika sono ke Indonesia yang beriklim tropis, warna mawarnya pelan-pelan berubah kali ya #yakaliput --"
Terjemahannya nyaman dibaca dengan typo yang minimal.
Bagian favorit
Tidak ada adegan yang benar-benar menjadi favorit bagi saya tapi saya agak terganggu dengan adegan saat Adrian berusaha membebaskan Lindy dari cengkraman penjahat. Aksi heroiknya justru terkesan sinetron banget. Malah tidak heroik bagi saya. Rasa belum tepat saja remaja seusia Adrian melakukan hal seperti itu.
Rekomendasi
Buku ini saya rekomendasikan pada remaja dan juga pada penggemar dongeng-dongeng ala Disney. Bisa juga buat mereka yang mencari bacaan-bacaan ringan.
@ Medan
11012014
Dari judulnya saja sudah bisa ditebak jika buku ini merupakan re-telling dari kisah dongeng lawas “Beauty And The Beast”. Kisah cinta dimana si buruk rupa harus mencari seorang gadis yang tulus mencintainya agar kutukan buruk rupanya dapat sirna, dan ia kembali menjadi sediakala.
Kyle Kingsbury adalah cowok paling tajir, paling ganteng, dan populer di sekolah. Ia juga angkuh, suka memandang rendah orang lain, dan suka memberi julukan-julukan buruk pada orang lain. Maklum saja. Ayahnya seorang pembaca berita terkenal di seluruh negeri.
Suatu ketika, ia mengerjai seorang penyihir yang menyamar menjadi murid di sekolahnya, SMU Tuttle. Si penyihir mendapat tugas untuk menyadarkan Kyle dari tingkah buruknya selama ini. Akibat perbuatannya mengerjai si penyihir, Kyle pun mendapat kutukan. Ia berubah menjadi seorang monster buruk rupa, yang saking jeleknya, Ayah Kyle sendiri pun menolak untuk tinggal bersamanya.
Sang Ayah memberi Kyle sebuah rumah besar untuk dihuni bersama pembantu dan tutor yang buta. Si tutor bertugas mengajari Kyle karena semenjak dikutuk menjadi monster, ia tak lagi bersekolah. Sebelum menghilang, si penyihir yang bernama Kendra itu mensyaratkan jika Kyle ingin kembali normal ia harus mematahkan kutukan dalam waktu 2 tahun dengan cara mencari seorang cewek yang benar-benar tulus mencintainya.
Tapi bagaimana caranya sementara Kyle, yang kini berganti nama menjadi Adrian, tak boleh bersosialisasi dengan orang lain kecuali tutor dan pembantunya. Kyle mengambil jalan praktis dengan menggunakan koneksi internet. Ia bergabung dalam banyak situs pertemanan demi mencari gadis idamannya.
Ketika waktu dua tahun itu mulai mendekati masa kadaluarsanya, Kyle bingung harus mencari kemana lagi karena tak satu pun cewek di situs pertemanan itu yang membuatnya tertarik. Di saat seperti itu Lindy muncul menyelamatkannya. Cewek penerima beasiswa di sekolahnya yang dulu itu hadir di rumah Kyle demi menggantikan ayahnya yang mencuri di rumah Kyle. Di sekolah Kyle tak pernah peduli pada Lindy, karena statusnya yang hanya seorang anak penerima beasiswa. Satu-satunya interaksi mereka hanyalah sewaktu di prom night Kyle memberikan korsase mawar putih kepada Lindy karena Sloane, pacar Kyle, tak menyukai korsase itu.
Agar ayahnya tak masuk penjara, Lindy harus tinggal bersama Kyle hingga batas waktu yang tak ditentukan. Bagaimana bisa Lindy jatuh cinta pada Kyle sementara ia begitu benci pada sosoknya yang telah memisahkan dirinya dari sang ayah. Harapan Kyle untuk kembali normal sepertinya hanya mimpi belaka.
Karakter
Kyle Kingsbury / Adrian King. Sebagai Kyle Kingsbury, ia adalah cowok dengan kelakuan paling menyebalkan. Suka mengerjai teman-teman sekelas yang tidak populer. Suka memberi julukan-julukan jahat kepada mereka. Dan menganggap semua orang tak sekelas dengannya hanya karena ayahnya salah satu donatur tetap di SMU Tuttle. Ia tajir, ganteng dan populer baik diantara siswa cewek maupun siswa cowok. Ia juga punya pacar seorang kapten cheerleader.
Pergantian nama Kyle menjadi Adrian juga diikuti perobahan tingkah lakunya meskti berlangsung tidak secara drastis. Ia mulai dapat menerima kondisi tubuhnya yang buruk rupa. Ia mulai menghormati orang-orang yang dulu dianggapnya tak sepadan untuk dirinya seperti Magda, pembantu di rumahnya. Ia pun juga punya kebiasaan baru, menanam mawar di rumah kaca.
Linda “Lindy” Owens, cewek penerima beasiswa di SMU Tuttle. Tidak pernah masuk dalam daftar cewek-cewek populer di SMU tersebut. Tinggal di lingkungan yang penuh dengan pengedar-pemakai narkoba. Tetap setia mengurus ayahnya meski kerjanya hanya mabuk dan memakai narkoba. Pelan-pelan ia mulai jatuh cinta pada Adrian karena sifat Adrian yang lembut.
Plot, PoV, Setting
Beastly beralur maju. Meski merupakan dongeng klasik tapi diadaptasi dengan tepat ke era modren oleh Alex Flinn. Salah satu adaptasi modren yang dimasukkan Alex Flinn adalah penggunaan internet dan chatting, prom night di sekolah, serta adanya kereta api bawah tanah. PoV seluruhnya diambil dari sisi Kyle/Adrian, sementara dari sisi Lindy diceritakan dalam novella “Beastly : Lindy’s Diary”. Settingnya pada jaman sekarang di kota New York .
Ide cerita
Merupakan kisah dongeng klasik “Beauty and The Beast” yang diadaptasi ke era modren.
Cover dan terjemahan
Cover bisa dibilang nggak banget. Sepasang remaja cewek dan cowok bergandengan tangan di sebuah ruangan penuh kursi-kursi panjang berjejer seperti di dalam gereja. Gambar setangkai mawar merah *serasa lagu* di judulnya lumayan bisa mempermanis covernya. Tapi kan seharusnya mawarnya putih bukan merah. Mawar yang diberikan Kyle ke Lindy warna putih. Mungkin karena perjalanan jauh dari Amerika sono ke Indonesia yang beriklim tropis, warna mawarnya pelan-pelan berubah kali ya #yakaliput --"
Terjemahannya nyaman dibaca dengan typo yang minimal.
Bagian favorit
Tidak ada adegan yang benar-benar menjadi favorit bagi saya tapi saya agak terganggu dengan adegan saat Adrian berusaha membebaskan Lindy dari cengkraman penjahat. Aksi heroiknya justru terkesan sinetron banget. Malah tidak heroik bagi saya. Rasa belum tepat saja remaja seusia Adrian melakukan hal seperti itu.
Rekomendasi
Buku ini saya rekomendasikan pada remaja dan juga pada penggemar dongeng-dongeng ala Disney. Bisa juga buat mereka yang mencari bacaan-bacaan ringan.
@ Medan
11012014
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An interesting retelling. It's not really my thing because it was very sappy, but the message is heartwarming.
I thought Beastly was nice. I liked watching the morality of Kyle/Adrian evolve, from cringe-able at the beginning to noble at the end, very believably, I thought.
I really like a retelling of a fairy tale too - it's like they somehow manage to reach deeper into our cultural heartland - like a visit to hallowed ground.
It wasn't a "great" book, but it is a well told parable and an entertaining read which I think will appeal to most teens, though I think boys would not expect to enjoy it as much as they actually would, and might be reluctant to choose it.
For myself, I was offended (intentionally of course, by Flinn) at Kyle's ethics, and the descriptions made me assess the book as unsuitable for the under 13s, but I am thinking that the book is actually OK even for roughly the 12+ age group, because it doesn't really show the "fast and free" lifestyle of Kyle as in any way desirable.
I really like a retelling of a fairy tale too - it's like they somehow manage to reach deeper into our cultural heartland - like a visit to hallowed ground.
It wasn't a "great" book, but it is a well told parable and an entertaining read which I think will appeal to most teens, though I think boys would not expect to enjoy it as much as they actually would, and might be reluctant to choose it.
For myself, I was offended (intentionally of course, by Flinn) at Kyle's ethics, and the descriptions made me assess the book as unsuitable for the under 13s, but I am thinking that the book is actually OK even for roughly the 12+ age group, because it doesn't really show the "fast and free" lifestyle of Kyle as in any way desirable.