More of my reviews from the teenrc website. :)
Ok, Let me just start by saying that I love Disney. I am a huge Disney freak. I’m sure I’ve watched the ‘classic’ Disney princess movies at least 4 times each in the past few years, and I still know most of the Disney songs. My parents said that when I was younger (think 3-5), I wanted one of those $40.00 costumes from the Disney store so badly I cried for a good 30 minutes until my nana told me she’d get me one. She sewed it. Still, I got to be Ariel for a day.
-I'm not even joking. Really.-
Anyways, my point is that because I’m in love with fairy tales, my review may be slightly biased. …Very biased. Whatever.
On to the actual review: I liked this book, but I think it mainly had to do with the story. Obviously, I hated Kyle when he was introduced. He was egoistical, wrenched and a disgusting human being in general, however, no one really cares since he’s so wonderfully handsome. Scratch that, one person sees his ugly side, this is where the witch, Kendra, comes in. She places a curse on Kyle and gone is his lovely appearance, he is now nothing more than a beast. He has to find true love within a year’s time to reverse the effects, or he’s all claws and fur forever. His father is so ashamed that Kyle’s locked up. Lindy, AKA Belle, arrives and the two form a relationship together. This is the part of the book that you warm up to, when Kyle starts to slowly become human.
You get to experience his transformation from an awful person, to a tortured and depressed individual, to an actual, functioning human. When he becomes human internally by falling in love, he’s allowed to return to his actual human state externally. His outer self finally reflects what he is inside. Kyle is one of the real reasons I loved this book. You cannot help but 'love' him in the end.
Lindy was just a normal girl. I never hated her, and I don’t think I’d be able to stand it if I did. I could relate to her and the book. It's not something as fairy tale-ish as some people may perceive it to be. It happens in modern times, in a typical high school, so anyone can connect to the story and characters. Also, I thought the chat-room idea was especially clever. It really ties everyday teen life into the book.
Negatives:
The writing wasn’t necessarily poetic (some lines were VERY cheesy), and the plot itself wasn’t deep or complex in any way, but all in all, Beastly is a good re-telling of a classic fairy tale. Nothing will ever beat Disney though.
Final Verdict: 7.5 – 8.0/10
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