by Kay | Oct 21, 2011 | Reviews |
Beastly by Alex Flinn
Published by HarperTeen
Pages: 304
Genres: Fairytale Re-tellings, Paranormal YA, Young Adult
Source: Purchased myself
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Rating: 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.
Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and a perfect life. And then, I’ll tell you how I became perfectly beastly.
Before you read: Apparently Alex is a she. Huh. So, note that this review was written before Jan set me straight!
Thoughts: Alex Flinn was never a teenager. He went straight from 12 to 20. It’s true. How do I know? Well, I read his book Beastly.
Despite what some people may believe, writing about teenagers is like dealing with teenagers… not easy. You have to write about their hormone-fueled decisions without making them seem completely irrational. It’s really hard, and your “research” cannot be limited to watching She’s All That 30 times. Which is what Alex Flinn did… I can’t think of any other explanation.
Beastly just fell flat. Its characters were illogical, one-dimensional creatures, even though they were based off of the brilliant characters from the Beauty and the Beast tale. In short, Flinn’s Beauty is an idiot and his Beast a real ass. I mean, would the Beauty we all love – who loves her family as much as they love her – risk her future for a drug-addict Daddy? I think not. And would Beast ever purposefully lie to Beauty? No, because he’s a straight-forward ass… not a backstabbing one! *shakes fist* And don’t even get me started on the Beast’s entourage. I mean, what self-respecting teacher would condone kidnapping a teenage girl for some spoiled hermit? Seriously? Seriously?
Ok, so while Flinn completely missed the mark with his characters, there were some things that I liked in this book. I liked the fact that the novel is told from the Beast’s point-of-view. It’s a perspective I honestly had never considered. I also liked how Flinn transferred the tale to modern Manhattan – Beast goes to plastic surgeons looking for a cosmetic cure, and he dresses as a Muslim woman in order to go out in public… isn’t that just ingenious? Shame it didn’t make the characters any more likable.
So… I am giving this book 2.5 stars despite everything I’ve just written. Why? Well, it’s still Beauty and the Beast. And anything Beauty and the Beast is inherently brilliant – even when it misses the mark.
Bottom line? Not worth reading unless you’re a die-hard Beauty and the Beast fan. And even then…
by Kay | May 13, 2011 | Reviews |
Beauty by Robin McKinley
Published by HarperTeen
Pages: 272
Genres: Fairytale Re-tellings, Young Adult
Source: Purchased myself
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Rating: Beauty has never liked her nickname. She is thin and awkward; it is her two sisters who are the beautiful ones. But what she lacks in looks, she can perhaps make up for in courage.
When her father comes home with the tale of an enchanted castle in the forest and the terrible promise he had to make to the Beast who lives there, Beauty knows she must go to the castle, a prisoner of her own free will. Her father protests that he will not let her go, but she answers, "Cannot a Beast be tamed?"
Robin McKinley's beloved telling illuminates the unusual love story of a most unlikely couple: Beauty and the Beast.
Thoughts: Two things you should know before reading Beauty:
1 – Beauty was written in 1978, about 15 years before Disney’s Beauty and the Beast came out.
2 – This is Robin McKinley’s very first book.
Now, the first point is key, as there are a number of details with which the book seems to overlap with the Disney film. In fact, as I was reading McKinley’s book, I couldn’t help but wonder if the Disney epic had been based on her novel. Since I adored the film, I had absolutely no problem reading a similar (yet very, very different) version of the Disney tale. Still, it is important to remember that any Beauty/Disney overlaps are not at all the fault of McKinley.
In regards to the second point, I found it rather reassuring to know this was not the pinnacle of McKinley’s achievements. Although I enjoyed Beauty, it was not a breath-taking literary achievement. Having heard so many great things about McKinley’s writings, it was good to know that she’s had 30-odd years since the publication of Beauty to refine her style.
Now on to the good bits. Although I have no knowledge of the first Beauty and the Beast tale, McKinley’s style made me feel like I was reading the original version of the story. It was almost as though I were reading the un-filtered first version of the tale – without the weight of an author behind it, visibly guiding the story. Instead, this book just… was. You know what I mean, right? When you read Beauty, you can’t even begin to imagine someone actually writing it. The book, surely, just came into existence by itself.
And, because of that, I feel rather odd describing my issues with the plot – or rather the lack thereof. Even though, yes, this is Beauty and the Beast, everything still felt rather mundane. Beauty does this, then that, then the other, and then things work out to be such-and-such. It was more of a historical account than a dramatic novel, with none of the twists and curves you’d expect in “real” book.
But still, I really did enjoy Beauty. My unwavering love of the tale probably made me more forgiving of its dull moments… yet, I’ve no doubt that McKinley is a skilled author worth of praise.
Bottom line? Beauty is a must if you are a fan of the Beauty and the Beast tale. But if you’re not, I’d try something else from McKinley’s repertoire.
