Beastly by Alex Flinn: Book review

Book title/ Author:Beastly by Alex Flinn

Publisher/ Year: September 23rd 2008 Harper Teen

Genre: YA Paranormal

Series: No

Pages: 300

Source/ Format: Paperback Bought with my own money

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

*This review may contain spoilers!*

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.

My review

DISCLAIMER: Even though he changed his name, I will be calling Kyle/Adrian Kyle in this review, as that was his original name.

At first, it was quite hard to get into the book as I was doing the exact opposite that I normally do. Usually, I read the book before watching the film, and compare the film against the book. However this time I was comparing the book against the film.

I really loved the whole idea of this book - the fact that Kyle is having to take on a whole new mindset and opinions towards beauty, but only because it's gone to such an extreme where that's the only thing he can do. I liked how the chapters were short, it left no room for the author to go off on something unimportant (not saying she does!) I also liked the build-up of the story; watching Kyle slowly becoming more and more attached to Linda without even noticing.

I have to say, this book is VERY different from the film, but I like them both in their own ways. In the book, Kyle was more of a beast than in the film, which I liked; he has claws and fur instead of just strange tattoos.

The conversations on the chat site used as interludes were interesting. I think it would've been amazing if they all met up! Can you imagine it, a bear, a mermaid, a frog, and a beast?

It intrigued me to see how long Kendra had hated Kyle for, that it wasn't just a new-found thing. I was a bit surprised when I read about Kendra feeling sorry for Kyle, that he had to suffer the consequences of the old Kyle's curse when he really wasn't anything like him any more. I was so glad that Kendra kept to her part of the bargain; allowing Will to see again.

Speaking of Will, I really liked him. He made Kyle see how some people are just genuinely nice and he could be too. He made Kyle into a nicer person, bit by bit.

A lot of different factors come together throughout the book and they explain why Kyle was such an arrogant idiot. I hate how he played Kendra and toyed around with her, like he had the right just because he's rich and popular. However, I thought it was really sweet how Kyle made sure that everything was perfect for Lindy and it was so cute seeing Kyle develop actual feelings for Lindy. Normally we read about girls falling in love so it was nice to read about a boy being utterly head over heels for someone, when you wouldn't expect them to be. Seeing their relationship slowly grow and morph from a friendship into something more was really nice because it didn't seem fake or forced whatsoever, it seemed absolutely genuine. I loved the connection between the Linda that Kyle knew and the Lindy he was given, how they were the same person. Because of this, I felt sad seeing Kyle just give up, living his life around the roses and nothing else. His revelation near the end of the book when he said that being a beast for the rest of his life would be better than who he was before was my favourite part because it really showed that Kyle had become a completely different person.

I could not believe the major plot twist at the end. My jaw dropped when I found out about Kendra's little secret.

At the end I had given up hope of Lindy and Kyle ever ending up together, and I know Kyle had too. The ending built up a lot of emotions from the reader and I was so joyful at the happy ending. It may have been a bit cliche, but come on, it's a fairytale retelling. What did you expect?

I actually enjoyed this more than I thought I would, so I'd recommend this if you're looking for a short book fit for October.

Izzy