Helpful Score: 1
The thing with retellings of famous stories isn't the suspense: it's how the author does to liven an oft-told tale. Alex Flinn does a respectable job of retelling the beloved "Beauty and the Beast." I was most impressed by Kyle/Adrian's transformation from spoiled rich brat to a caring and kind individual.
Unfortunately the book began to fall apart for me when Lindy, the "Belle" of the story, was introduced. I got no sense of chemistry between Lindy and Adrian. In fact, the more I learned about Lindy, the more annoyed I was with her character: this nerdy girl who initially seemed so resourceful and strong-willed dissolved into a pathetic, hot-boy-crushing damsel-in-distress at the end.
Lindy aside, I really enjoyed BEASTLY, with its approachable writing style and likable "Beast" protagonist. While I can think of a number of better "Beauty and the Beast" retellings that are out there, BEASTLY's simple writing and straightforward characters will appeal to middle schoolers and early high schoolers who enjoy fairy tale retellings with a dash of romance and a strong male protagonist.
Unfortunately the book began to fall apart for me when Lindy, the "Belle" of the story, was introduced. I got no sense of chemistry between Lindy and Adrian. In fact, the more I learned about Lindy, the more annoyed I was with her character: this nerdy girl who initially seemed so resourceful and strong-willed dissolved into a pathetic, hot-boy-crushing damsel-in-distress at the end.
Lindy aside, I really enjoyed BEASTLY, with its approachable writing style and likable "Beast" protagonist. While I can think of a number of better "Beauty and the Beast" retellings that are out there, BEASTLY's simple writing and straightforward characters will appeal to middle schoolers and early high schoolers who enjoy fairy tale retellings with a dash of romance and a strong male protagonist.
Reviewed by Cana Rensberger for TeensReadToo.com
"Kyle Kingsbury, you are beastly."
That's what Kendra said. Beastly. But Kyle had it all: popularity, good looks, money, and any girl he wanted. Kyle never missed an opportunity to let the inferior people know just how far beneath him they were, including his best friend, whose dad was merely a doctor. Kyle's dad was the nightly New York City news anchor. At Tuttle, an elite school for the richest of the rich, Kyle was a somebody.
Until the school dance. Until his stupid maid bought his girlfriend a rose instead of an orchid for her corsage, which Kyle tossed to a scholarship student. Until he deliberately set up Kendra to be embarrassed and humiliated when she realized that he, Prince of the dance, already had a date and never intended to be her escort.
Until Kendra appeared in his bedroom and he received his "comeuppance."
"You will know what it is like not to be beautiful, to be as ugly on the outside as on the inside..."
The clock struck midnight and Kyle was left a beast, with only a magic mirror for company.
Kyle's famous dad vows to spend whatever it takes to cure his son's affliction. When he realizes even his money isn't enough to find a cure, he banishes his son, with their maid and a tutor, to a New York brownstone.
Will Kyle ever be able to break the curse? Will he find true love's kiss or be forever doomed to roam the New York City streets in the dark of night, hidden as the beast?
BEASTLY, by Alex Flinn, is a modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast. This novel is just plain fun . Ms. Flinn creates the perfect romantic tension when Kyle finds his true love and then has to let her go. Like the fragrance of the perfect rose, BEASTLY will linger with the reader, leaving the feeling that life is indeed good long after the pages of the book have been pressed closed.
"Kyle Kingsbury, you are beastly."
That's what Kendra said. Beastly. But Kyle had it all: popularity, good looks, money, and any girl he wanted. Kyle never missed an opportunity to let the inferior people know just how far beneath him they were, including his best friend, whose dad was merely a doctor. Kyle's dad was the nightly New York City news anchor. At Tuttle, an elite school for the richest of the rich, Kyle was a somebody.
Until the school dance. Until his stupid maid bought his girlfriend a rose instead of an orchid for her corsage, which Kyle tossed to a scholarship student. Until he deliberately set up Kendra to be embarrassed and humiliated when she realized that he, Prince of the dance, already had a date and never intended to be her escort.
Until Kendra appeared in his bedroom and he received his "comeuppance."
"You will know what it is like not to be beautiful, to be as ugly on the outside as on the inside..."
The clock struck midnight and Kyle was left a beast, with only a magic mirror for company.
Kyle's famous dad vows to spend whatever it takes to cure his son's affliction. When he realizes even his money isn't enough to find a cure, he banishes his son, with their maid and a tutor, to a New York brownstone.
Will Kyle ever be able to break the curse? Will he find true love's kiss or be forever doomed to roam the New York City streets in the dark of night, hidden as the beast?
BEASTLY, by Alex Flinn, is a modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast. This novel is just plain fun . Ms. Flinn creates the perfect romantic tension when Kyle finds his true love and then has to let her go. Like the fragrance of the perfect rose, BEASTLY will linger with the reader, leaving the feeling that life is indeed good long after the pages of the book have been pressed closed.
Beastly was a really good book. it was basically a modern twist on the famous " Beauty and the Beast." this book was a quick and easy read and i loved it. it had so much detail andd was definitely a page turner. since it was definitley more modern itt made it that muchh better.=]]
Beastly is a retelling of the fairy tale, Beauty and The Beast.
Kyle Kingsbury is your classic pretty, spoiled, rich boy who attends ninth grade at an exclusive private school in New York City. He has just about everything a kid could want: a hot girlfriend, nice clothes, awesome apartment with the latest tech gadgets and newly elected as prince for the spring dance court. He is mean and spiteful, has a mother who abandoned him and a Dad who doesn't spend any time with him.
After playing a hateful trick on Kendra, an ugly "fat chick" at the dance, Kyle is cursed with becoming a beast. He will endure this for the remainder of his life unless he can have someone who loves him, and he loves back, kiss him within 2 years.
As the time frame gets smaller and smaller, we see Kyle change from a heartless brat into a very caring and compassionate young man. He meets and falls for Lindy, a girl who comes from a horrible home. Her Dad gave her up to Beast to save his own behind.
What I really liked about this story was that Kyle and Lindy didn't automatically fall in love, you could see it gradually building over time...months and months and months. Which, in YA fiction, is sometimes a rarity. They are very grown up for their age.
My favorite parts were during some online counseling sessions for Unexpected Changes. Among the chatters was SilentMaid (a mermaid who was contemplating a deal with a sea witch for the love of her life, but she would have to lose her voice), Froggie (a prince who now lives in a pond and types with webbed feet) and GrizzlyGuy (who has met 2 girls, RoseRed and Snow White, "but not *that* Snow White!"). Too funny!
Overall, very fun read and a nice change from the vampire books. I rated it at 4 stars.
Kyle Kingsbury is your classic pretty, spoiled, rich boy who attends ninth grade at an exclusive private school in New York City. He has just about everything a kid could want: a hot girlfriend, nice clothes, awesome apartment with the latest tech gadgets and newly elected as prince for the spring dance court. He is mean and spiteful, has a mother who abandoned him and a Dad who doesn't spend any time with him.
After playing a hateful trick on Kendra, an ugly "fat chick" at the dance, Kyle is cursed with becoming a beast. He will endure this for the remainder of his life unless he can have someone who loves him, and he loves back, kiss him within 2 years.
As the time frame gets smaller and smaller, we see Kyle change from a heartless brat into a very caring and compassionate young man. He meets and falls for Lindy, a girl who comes from a horrible home. Her Dad gave her up to Beast to save his own behind.
What I really liked about this story was that Kyle and Lindy didn't automatically fall in love, you could see it gradually building over time...months and months and months. Which, in YA fiction, is sometimes a rarity. They are very grown up for their age.
My favorite parts were during some online counseling sessions for Unexpected Changes. Among the chatters was SilentMaid (a mermaid who was contemplating a deal with a sea witch for the love of her life, but she would have to lose her voice), Froggie (a prince who now lives in a pond and types with webbed feet) and GrizzlyGuy (who has met 2 girls, RoseRed and Snow White, "but not *that* Snow White!"). Too funny!
Overall, very fun read and a nice change from the vampire books. I rated it at 4 stars.
Alex Flinn has a very special way of reintroducing old childhood tales. With this one, it was beauty and the beast. It's very well written and the characters are believable, as is the setting and plot (as believable as a fairy tale gets.) Similar to Robin McKinley (an author worth checking out if you enjoy Flinn's novels) in the aspect that retelling a fairy tale will get old if there isn't a talented writer behind it. When reading this, I felt like it made fairy tales more accessable and understandable to a teenager, reinforcing the ideals that fairy tales put into me as a child. It's as if when you grow up books will grow up with you. Writer will write more and it will be similar to what you've read as a child but applicable as an adult. It was a well thought out and well put together novel.
I loved this book. I thought the modern perspective, was creative and plausible. The characters were likeable and the parts with the internet were entertaining.
Very good. I think based loosely on Beauty and the beast. It was a quick read and i thoroughly enjoyed it.
Age R: 15+
Release Date: 2007
Thoughts:
First off, LOVE the cover! :)
Okay then, Beastly is a modern day tale of Beauty and the Beast. Kyle is a very very selfish, beautiful boy, but he's a major asshole. Of course that just can't do. He pisses off a witch, who turns him into the beast he is inside. The only way break the curse is to have someone fall in love with him, even with his beastly looks, and kiss him before two years or else he will spend the rest of his life as a beast, never able to walk among regular people for fear of who they will react. Not only that but he can't have good ol' daddy's (sarcasm) reputation damaged. Hopefully Kyle can manage to get a girl to love him, and he can manage to love her back...
Love it! Absolutely loved it. I am a fan of anything Beauty and the Beast so of course after reading about this book and its awesomeness from So Many Books, So Little Time I had to go buy it (lucky for me I ended up with some extra cash that week hehe). I knew I was going to like it since I liked Alex Flinn's Breaking Point when I read it four years ago and because this is a story about love and loving someone for what's on the inside, not the outside. I ADORE books/movies and such about that particular topic, it's just ..whoa! :)
Alex Flinn, oh Alex Flinn you can truly tell a love story. I really enjoyed reading this retelling of BATB (haha bat b hehe). I couldn't put it down until I reached the end and when I did, I was greatly satisfied.
I enjoyed how much Kyle, who changed his name to Adrian, changed throughout the story. He became such a great person by the end. Before he used to take everything and everyone for granted, he didn't even speak to you if you weren't beautiful. tsk tsk He really grew as a person which helped make the book so much better.
I wasn't a huge fan of the fact that Alex Flinn had Kyle/Adrian go to a chat room. I understand what she's going for, making it more of a modern tale, but I just did not like it, I'm sorry. I also thought it was pretty creepy that Kyle basically kidnapped someone (I won't go into detail, don't want to ruin it for anyone). I understand why he did it, but still it was creepy.
Sneek Peek:
I thought of this poster a girl I'd known had on her room- a picture of a butterfly with the words IF YOU LOVE SOMETHING, SET IT FREE. Needless to say, I'd thought it was superdumb.
Sweetness:
Apparently there will be a movie of Beastly soon, soon as in next year. Yippie!! I'm looking forward to that very much especially since Alex Pettyfer is rumored to star in it, he's soo adorable! Unfortunately Vanessa Hudgens is definitely going to be in it, ugh I do not like her acting, I'm sorry. But whatever I'm still watching it :)
-tvandbookaddict.blogspot.com
Release Date: 2007
Thoughts:
First off, LOVE the cover! :)
Okay then, Beastly is a modern day tale of Beauty and the Beast. Kyle is a very very selfish, beautiful boy, but he's a major asshole. Of course that just can't do. He pisses off a witch, who turns him into the beast he is inside. The only way break the curse is to have someone fall in love with him, even with his beastly looks, and kiss him before two years or else he will spend the rest of his life as a beast, never able to walk among regular people for fear of who they will react. Not only that but he can't have good ol' daddy's (sarcasm) reputation damaged. Hopefully Kyle can manage to get a girl to love him, and he can manage to love her back...
Love it! Absolutely loved it. I am a fan of anything Beauty and the Beast so of course after reading about this book and its awesomeness from So Many Books, So Little Time I had to go buy it (lucky for me I ended up with some extra cash that week hehe). I knew I was going to like it since I liked Alex Flinn's Breaking Point when I read it four years ago and because this is a story about love and loving someone for what's on the inside, not the outside. I ADORE books/movies and such about that particular topic, it's just ..whoa! :)
Alex Flinn, oh Alex Flinn you can truly tell a love story. I really enjoyed reading this retelling of BATB (haha bat b hehe). I couldn't put it down until I reached the end and when I did, I was greatly satisfied.
I enjoyed how much Kyle, who changed his name to Adrian, changed throughout the story. He became such a great person by the end. Before he used to take everything and everyone for granted, he didn't even speak to you if you weren't beautiful. tsk tsk He really grew as a person which helped make the book so much better.
I wasn't a huge fan of the fact that Alex Flinn had Kyle/Adrian go to a chat room. I understand what she's going for, making it more of a modern tale, but I just did not like it, I'm sorry. I also thought it was pretty creepy that Kyle basically kidnapped someone (I won't go into detail, don't want to ruin it for anyone). I understand why he did it, but still it was creepy.
Sneek Peek:
I thought of this poster a girl I'd known had on her room- a picture of a butterfly with the words IF YOU LOVE SOMETHING, SET IT FREE. Needless to say, I'd thought it was superdumb.
Sweetness:
Apparently there will be a movie of Beastly soon, soon as in next year. Yippie!! I'm looking forward to that very much especially since Alex Pettyfer is rumored to star in it, he's soo adorable! Unfortunately Vanessa Hudgens is definitely going to be in it, ugh I do not like her acting, I'm sorry. But whatever I'm still watching it :)
-tvandbookaddict.blogspot.com
