Must-Read lists abound. Let's create our own! For this task, read a book that is at least 300 pages and tell us whether it is a must-read or not and why.
Book Title/Author: Beastly by Alex Flinn
Publisher/Year Published: 2007 by HarperTeen
Where I got it: library
Rating: 4/5 stars
I stumbled into the book because of the movie coming out (now not until March 2011) but I am glad I did. This is a modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast from the Beast's perspective. Now, I can hear you already. "How the hell can you pull that off?"
Well she does. I firmly believed in his cursing, his transformation, his castle ... every thing was believable. The reason I didn't give it five stars is :
1) 5 star books change my life or resonate with me for a while and this won't because
2) it's a story I have heard 1000 times.
She puts a fresh twist on it that makes it interesting but I could see where she got some of the ideas for her story. Does this fact make it a bad book? No. I mean even Shakespeare took inspiration from something the classics. Overall I enjoyed it. Hell, I enjoyed it enough to finish it in an evening so there is that. This fairy tale holds a special place in my heart and so it was nice to relive the magic for the first time through the Beast's eyes.
have you read Beast by Donna Jo Napoli? http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/81130.Beast
ReplyDeleteI read it in high school, it's one of my favorites. It's from the beast's point of view and in a fairly different context/setting for most of the novel.
-Paula
No, I haven't heard of it! Just added it to my TBR list! Thanks so much for the rec!
ReplyDeleteAnother book that is Beauty and the Beast themed that I've heard so many good things about is Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast by Robin McKinley. Also on my TBR... :)