Title: Beastly

Author: Alex Flin

Publisher: HarperTeen 2007

Genre: YA Fairy Tales

Pages: 304

Rating: 4 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Telling Tales; Book2Movie; Read Your Name - F

How I Got It: Library Loan

I am a beast. A beast! Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog but a horrible new creature who walks upright. 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 the perfect life. And then, I'll tell you how I became perfectly . . . beastly.

If I was 15, I would have loved this book. As I am 30, I liked it. Overall a cute read, but nothing I will gush over. I liked Lindy, Will, Magda, and Kendra. All were great characters. Kyle/Adrian was so-so. I get that he was supposed to be the villain in the beginning and find redemption in the end, but I never found him charming, at any point in the book. This maybe my 30-year-old self not being attracted to 15-year-old boys. But I also think part of it lies with his personality. The change seemed rather abrupt and disgenuine. I just didn't believe him. Oh and the chat room transcripts... seemed really hooky and silly.

Movie

I have to confess that I saw the movie before reading the book. After watching the movie, I would have rated it 3 stars. But after reading the book, I now give the movie 4 stars. Raising the age of the main characters made the true love romance feel real. I just can't believe in 15-year-olds finding their one love. While I am not a fan of Vanessa Hudgens in general, she did a decent job as Lindy. I loved Alex Pettyfer as our Beast. He had the right amount of vanity in the beginning, but we also really get to see his gradual change. I could have done without Olsen twin (which one?) as Kendra. She's supposed to be ugly at the beginning. She was just too glamorous to be believed. Neil Patrick Harris' Will was great. And the change in makeup really did it. He was still a Beast, just an interesting looking Beast.