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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
I LOVE THIS BOOK. It's a spin on the classic fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast, not the disney movie. It's amazingly written and very realistic!
i expected this to be really really bad but actually it’s fairly well-written and engaging. i think the character development was fairly impressive and believable!
Great fluff book---especially for right now!! I'm still reading The Kite Runner, writing papers, and doing projects for school so this was a nice diversion! I can't wait for the movie next March---I think it has a great message and wish more young adults/teenagers would read the book and watch the movie. Hopefully it will be a good adaptation! I've seen the previews and it looks pretty good so we shall see!
I loved the quote "All living things needed protection." That was the sweetest quote and tugged at my heart. It was the true theme of the book.
I loved the quote "All living things needed protection." That was the sweetest quote and tugged at my heart. It was the true theme of the book.
An enjoyable retelling of the classic story, beauty and the beast. A cute story and an easy read. My favorite Alex Flinn book so far.
The promotional materials I'd read about this book made a point of stressing that "this wasn't a fairy tale," and so, although I knew it was a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, I expected the connection to be a little more tenuous than it actually was. Instead, it's more-or-less a by-the-book retelling with the main element of newness coming from it being set in modern New York City. But even with this premise, the vehicle of the spell, the transformation, and the story are surprisingly traditional.
I did like that the modern setting allowed the exploration of what kind of modern teen would deserve to undergo such a curse, and I have to say, Kyle Kingsbury was certainly in need of "a lesson." Deepening the "spoiled rotten" stereotype was the fact that he lived with his dad, his mother having left when he was younger, and that his dad really idealized superficiality, so that even his relationship with his son was totally superficial. The father-son dynamic is the one bit that did make me feel sympathy toward Kyle even before he started to soften his heart. And seeing how his image-obsessed father dealt with his transformation also added a new element to the B&B story.
Perhaps it's this dynamic that made the first half of the story more enjoyable to me than the second half, which became much more traditional. The love story is sweet, but the love interest sort of got on my nerves (although she was a really wonderful person and deserving of the good that came her way -- I think she was perhaps "too good" and too innocent, which is why I'd have trouble being friends with her.) I liked that she was a redhead, though, and that she was supposedly "plain" -- she wasn't described as beautiful until after the Beast began falling in love with her. There are times during his "courtship" that his desire for her struck me as a little creepy, and I wasn't sure if that was intentional or not. He was beastly, after all.
Oh, Alex Flinn must either love classics or think all teenagers should be reading them. She crammed so many references to classics into this book that I made a whole book display around Adrian and Lindy's reading list at the library! Another nice "gateway" book, even if it is a little fluffy.
I did like that the modern setting allowed the exploration of what kind of modern teen would deserve to undergo such a curse, and I have to say, Kyle Kingsbury was certainly in need of "a lesson." Deepening the "spoiled rotten" stereotype was the fact that he lived with his dad, his mother having left when he was younger, and that his dad really idealized superficiality, so that even his relationship with his son was totally superficial. The father-son dynamic is the one bit that did make me feel sympathy toward Kyle even before he started to soften his heart. And seeing how his image-obsessed father dealt with his transformation also added a new element to the B&B story.
Perhaps it's this dynamic that made the first half of the story more enjoyable to me than the second half, which became much more traditional. The love story is sweet, but the love interest sort of got on my nerves (although she was a really wonderful person and deserving of the good that came her way -- I think she was perhaps "too good" and too innocent, which is why I'd have trouble being friends with her.) I liked that she was a redhead, though, and that she was supposedly "plain" -- she wasn't described as beautiful until after the Beast began falling in love with her. There are times during his "courtship" that his desire for her struck me as a little creepy, and I wasn't sure if that was intentional or not. He was beastly, after all.
Oh, Alex Flinn must either love classics or think all teenagers should be reading them. She crammed so many references to classics into this book that I made a whole book display around Adrian and Lindy's reading list at the library! Another nice "gateway" book, even if it is a little fluffy.
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
First, let me say that I hate getting books with the movie poster cover! But I found it at Half Price and I wanted it, so that's what I got. Also, I think this is the first time I've ever liked the movie better than the book. Possibly because I saw the movie first, I'm not sure.
Okay, this is the redone story of The Beauty & The Beast set in New York City in modern times. Kyle Kingsbury is the hot, popular jerk at school who makes fun of everyone just because he can. Until he makes the mistake of picking on Kendra, the "fat, ugly girl" who happens to be a witch. Funny how in the book they call her fat and ugly but in the movie she's an Olsen twin. O_o
Kendra puts a spell on Kyle, turning him into a (literal in the book) beast until he can find someone who loves him for what he is. He understandably freaks, but it's even worse when his dad, the handsome newscaster, does too. He ships him off to Brooklyn or something to live in a house with just the housekeeper and his blind tutor. Until some crackhead guy tries to break into his house and instead of turning him in to the police, he agrees to take the guy's daughter. (What kind of dads are these??)
They get to know each other and of course fall in love. Lots of predictability but there was a surprising twist at the end. I'm not sure how I feel about it. Overall, I did enjoy it and I'm glad I bought it. I still want to buy the movie too though. :)
Blogged: SeeJennRead
Okay, this is the redone story of The Beauty & The Beast set in New York City in modern times. Kyle Kingsbury is the hot, popular jerk at school who makes fun of everyone just because he can. Until he makes the mistake of picking on Kendra, the "fat, ugly girl" who happens to be a witch. Funny how in the book they call her fat and ugly but in the movie she's an Olsen twin. O_o
Kendra puts a spell on Kyle, turning him into a (literal in the book) beast until he can find someone who loves him for what he is. He understandably freaks, but it's even worse when his dad, the handsome newscaster, does too. He ships him off to Brooklyn or something to live in a house with just the housekeeper and his blind tutor. Until some crackhead guy tries to break into his house and instead of turning him in to the police, he agrees to take the guy's daughter. (What kind of dads are these??)
They get to know each other and of course fall in love. Lots of predictability but there was a surprising twist at the end. I'm not sure how I feel about it. Overall, I did enjoy it and I'm glad I bought it. I still want to buy the movie too though. :)
Blogged: SeeJennRead
I got 22 minutes into this......and you should not let 1) your daughters read this, 2) yourself read this, or 3) your sons read this. Just don't let anyone read this piece of crap. Wow. Wow. Wow. True Twilight-like drivel. I am still reeling with the amount of time he refers to a girl as "ugly, "fat," "witchy" and other pleasant adjectives. No. I don't even care that he gets what he deserves in the end, which I am sure he will
Flinn did a nice job of modernizing one of my favorite stories of all time. It's a tale as old as time, girl falls in love with creature and must kiss him to break a curse. Flinn addresses his motivations for the story by citing several old versions of fairy tales in this author's notes at the end. He punctuates the story by interspersing chat sessions led by a "Mr. Anderson" with people who have been affected by transformation. I liked these little sessions as they were all a clever nod to Hans Christian Anderson's beloved fairy tales. The story is told from the perspective of the Beast. I enjoyed seeing the situation through his eyes, as opposed to the way we have always seen it in the movie. Now his decision to have the beauty move in as his "prisoner" and you can tell that he truly fell in love, and not just to break the curse. All in all you know how the story is going to go, but it is interesting to see the direction Flinn will take the modernization. I definitely enjoyed reading this one.
I absolutely loved this book, Beauty and the Beast is my favorite fairytale.