Review Detail

Alex Flinn really brought me back to childhood with Beastly. I really enjoyed her modernized version of my Disney favorite Beauty and the Beast. It was a very captivating retelling. There is nothing I love more than a romantic happily ever after.

Kyle Kingsbury had it all, the fame, the looks, and the fortune. The only thing missing, his lack of compassion. I was drawn to Kyle’s character. He was stuck in a world that drains us of sensitivities. We all grow up to mimic an environment we were raised in. Kyle was just too blind to notice that looks and money are not everything. Cruelty blackens a soul, and for Kyle, his cruelty and insensitivities lead to the desecration of his handsomely good looks. I was upset to see his reaction to his curse. He just took it as another situation to talk or buy your way out. Although, I was extremely excited to see him turn a 360, and in the end, I hoped for his success.

Lindy was a unknown for me. There was not much to learn about her which made it hard to relate to her character. She was also slightly childish in the book to me. I did sympathize with her character. I also had an addicted father in my life early on. If you have ever had an addict in your life, you know you do not ever really have much, shelter nor money wise. I was glad to see her attempts to rise above it all, though. Lindy also shared a love of books with me. This boosted her up ever so slightly on my likable character list. I just wish her character was more developed during the story.

If you have ever seen Beauty and the Beast, then you pretty much have a decent idea how this story goes. It does have its differentiations, though. This is a more modern and mature version. There is also a movie based on this book. I watched that movie also, and let me say, it was nothing like this book! I was extremely disappointed. This book, though, was pretty great.

There were a couple of things I liked about this book that stood out the most for me. The chat room messages throughout the book were extremely interesting. It was really fascinating watching the “fairy tale” creatures communicating. I was eager to read more about their struggles in their “transformations”. The second part that stood out to me was Will’s character. He was the savior that Kyle needed. It was refreshing to see so much ambition and determination in a character. He too suffered with an abnormality. The last thing that really stood out for me about this book was the symbolism of the roses in this story. To me, they symbolized Kyle’s growing as an individual. Although there are many sizes, shapes, colors, and types, a rose is still a rose.