Beastly (Kendra Chronicles #1)

Reader reviewed by gonkat93

I absolutely give this book two thumbs up. If you are a fan of the original Beauty and The Beast, then you will loove Beastly.
This book is set in modern time New York City and from the "Beasts" point of view. This teenage boy finds himself to be revolved around looks and money to get what he wants. This witch casts a spell on him and makes him ugly in the outside. The only way for him to go back to normal is to make someone fall in love with his inner self dispite his outer flaws.
You must read this book to see the twists added to this version of the story.
Also, this book is being turned into a movie. Dont miss it!!

Reader reviewed by Lena

Beastly is a modern adaptation of the tale Beauty and the Beast. It's told through the "Beast" aka Kyle Kingston's point of view. The setting? Where else? New York City, baby! Anyway...

Kyle Kingston has it all. Popularity, looks, money, the works. He doesn't care who he hurts. In fact, he takes pleasure in it. Then he meets Kendra, the goth girl. He decides to play a cruel joke on her. Of course, what goes around usually comes around. Kendra is actually a witch and casts a spell on Kyle. She turns him into this hideous beast. The only way to turn him back is for him to find someone to love him and love her in return. Sound familiar? I hope so.

When I first started Beastly, all I could think about was what an jerk Kyle is.  He's arrogant, proud and takes pleasure in hurting others.  He's that person you see walking down the hall and want to trip. 

As the story continues, you meet the "Belle" in the story. I would say who she is, but I don't want to spoil it. Just like the fairy tale, she's very distant and very uncooperative. As they start getting to know each other, their friendship grows. Kyle starts to change. For the first time in his life, he cares for someone other than himself. Dare I say, Kyle has fallen in love with her? Oooh la la! The only thing is, can someone like her fall in love with the Beast?

The book is broken down into several different sections. You get the beginning, pieces of the middle and the conclusion with an epilogue. There are certain things I liked about the story. I like watching the relationships develope. Not just the relationship between the Beast and Belle, but also with the other people in Kyle's life. I like to think of those people as the "Mrs. Pots" and "Lumiere." I also liked how the witch played a more significant role in this retelling.

The negatives: There are things that bothered me. The main thing I didn't like is Kyle himself. Even when he changed, he still bothered me. And the internet conversations? I mean, really? Cute, but utterly reaked of cheese.

For the most part, I did enjoy the story. It's short, it's sweet, it's a fairy tale. I finished it in one sitting, and I'm sure you will too.

Reader reviewed by Bernice

A modern day version of Beauty and the Beast.
A conceited teenage boy who is cursed with the looks of a beast.
Since I am a huge fan of the Disney movie Beauty and the Beast, I instantly fell in love with this book. It's interesting to see how Flinn puts it together in a modern point of view. Movie: the huge library,the enchanted servants, and the ballroom dance. It's all in there in unexpected ways.
It's great because it helps people see the truth in every person, and not just looks

Reader reviewed by Em

This book took me on a rollercoaster of feelings. It's a modern day telling of Beauty and the Beast through the beast's point of view. First I hated the character, he was annoying and pompous and grated heavily on my nerves. Although this is to be expected from a boy soon to become Beast right? Once he was Beast he quickly became a sad and pathetic guy who I pitied but still was annoyed by. And finally Lindy enters the picture and things pick up. Count on the woman to add flavor, interest, and something to perk up and pay attention to. The characters were interesting and it was well written. It was cheesy at times but I thoroughly enjoyed how Alex Flinn twisted the old story into something fresh and new. I will gladly get her other retellings now that I see how beautifully done they are.

Reader reviewed by Sarima89

Reader reviewed by Crimin

One of those retellings thats all the hype these days, this one being about the Beasts point of view in a modern <I>Beauty and the Beast</i>.   Its the first retelling Ive ever read.

And it was fascinating.  

Im always for other characters p.o.vs, so this book easily found its way into my shopping basket and joined me in my journey home.   I never expected to read it in a single day, but, hey, the worlds full of surprises.

The only problem I have with this cherished book was the way Kyle acted at the beginning.  He was such a jerk and so unbelievably pompous that I almost threw the book across the room and left it there to rot.  But I didnt.   I gritted my teeth and trekked on.

And it ended lovingly -- I cried out with joy, clutching the book to my chest in a hug.  ;)  Im not going to tell you what went down.   But, if you want to know (which you do~) you should pick up this book and give it a home on your shelves (and in your mind).  You wont be sorry.

Reader reviewed by danielle

Title: Beastly
Author: Alex Flinn
Reviewer: Danielle of http://readingwatchingliving.blogspot.com
Tagline: Ever wonder what it was like for the beast?
Pages: 300
Summary (from back):

I AM A BEAST

A beast. Not quite a wolf or a 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 the perfect life. And then, I'll tell you how I became perfectly...beastly.

Kyle Kingsbury is, let's face it, a dick.

He rides through life on his TV anchorman father coattales (and wallet) while silently swooning every girl that comes within an inch of him. He never ceases to remind everyone who will listen how amazingly attractive he really is. He remains happily ignorant of the lives outside his own, including the 'ugly' peoples--those who don't meet his standards of perfection.

Until one day, when Kendra, an obese Gothic girl in his class, calls him out for what he truly is: a beast.

As a joke, he asks Kendra out to the upcoming dance, expecting to ditch her there in favor of his real date, Sloan. But when the day of the dance actually comes, and he finds Kendra not hurt but dissapointed by the public humilation he put her through, he is unsettled.

After getting back from the dance, he finds Kendra in his room. She suddenly transforms from a 'fat Goth' to an attractive young women, who turns Kyle into a 'beast'--fangs, fur, the whole package. She shows him one bit of mercy, though: he has two years to find a girl who will love him, despite his appearence, and get her to kiss him, or live as a monster forever.

Distraught, Kyle hides in his room for the entire weekend, until his neglectfull father finally forces him out. After going to the best doctors and plastic surgeons in the country---"no son of mine is going to look this way"---both he and his father all but give up, his father dumping Kyle into an abadoned, five story mansion, with only their maid, Magda, for company. After threatening his father with going public about his condition, he recieves full access to the Kingsbury bank account, plus a tutor, a blind student named Will. Soon, Kyle has become Adrian--to fit his darker persona--a solitary, desolate being who only leaves the confides of the mansion to tend to his newly created garden. He is a prisoner in his own body, with no hope of finding love--until a robber attempts to rob his home. After catching him, the robber offers Adrian his one chance at returning to how he was--his daughter, Linda.

If there is only one notable thing to say about Alex Flinn's writing, it's that she has an innane ability to make you swoon for three hundred pages straight. During the first hundred pages, it's for poor Kyle/Adrian, who is only now realizing the error of his ways, when it's too late. It's when he watches his past classmates through a mirror Kendra gave him, able to watch anyone he wants, everywhere in the world, and how he pines for his old life. It's when he sits in a corner and watches people go to and from work, wishing desperatley for the freedom of life outside his mansion. Then, it's when he tries to win Linda's--or Lindy's--heart, watching him fall for her himself. I was basically "awwww"ing throughout the entire book. You watch Kyle transform from a selfish, self-absorbed rich d-bag to a kind, gentle--I'll say it--sensitive gentleman. (Once more, with feeling--awww)

Though it is a cute, if rather chaste, romance, there is the issue of believability. I mean, yeah, it's already unlikely that a guy would suddenly become a hairy beast, but that doesn't change the fact that they are still modern teenagers, all of them, and modern teenagers do behave a certain way. I understand that living in a mansion for a year straight, reading books like Phantom of the Opera and The Hunchback of Notre Dame could change you, I doubt it would change someones complete speech pattern and convince him to change his name. (quite dramatic about it, might I add) The dialogue is a bit drifty, a bit rushed, though this might be to get the plot along. Adrian's interactions with Lindy are a bit...I don't know. I'd say awkward, but that's putting it mildly. First, he acts like a thirty year old, only in the next breath to switch back to his teenage self. I might be alone on this one, but I found it a bit distracting. No matter how beastly he may be, he's still a kid, and kids don't talk like Victorian shadow-dwellers.

I did like Lindy, though. She came off as very real, to me, with her drug addicted father and love of reading (my people!). She's not described as a traditional 'beauty'--far from it. In fact, when Kyle first meets her as a ticket taker at the dance, he describes her as plain, with Ragedy Ann red hair. But as he gets to know her, he starts...erm...I'll say fantisizing about the girl. Again, in a very PG way, but still. It's a little bit of a "woah, calm down, fella" type of feeling. I get that you've been forced into chastidy over the last year in a half, but seriously. There's a point where it's cute and a point where it's annoying.

The only other gripe I have with this book is that Lindy's reaction to finding out Adrian is her long-time secret crush Kyle Kingsbury is not what I expected. I expected it to be a big deal, seeing has he had basically lied about his entire past. As a girl, I'd be a tad pissed (assuming I had come to terms with the fact that he looks like a monster one minute and a supermodel the next--but I'm rather shallow like that), but hey, it's not my book and it's not my character.

Other then that, Beastly is a highly enjoyable book. I read it in one sitting, and just re-read it a few days ago. Again, if your into the "awww" factor, then you'll be in heaven with Kyle and Lindy.

Also: Alex Flinn has a feature on her website called "Alex's Favorite Books", where she suggest titles you might like if you liked her books. So, if your liked Beastly and looking for something similar to it, that'd be the place.

Reader reviewed by Megan Howell

     This book was so gripping.  I couldn't put this book down for a minute.  Flinn did an awesome re-creation of Beauty and the Beast.  This time around, Kyle was the kid you love to hate.  Then he snubs the wrong witch and he wakes up a hairy monster.  If he doesn't fall in love in two years... well, he'll never be a human again.  I would recommend this book to absolutely anyone!

Reader reviewed by Suzanne

This book is what they call a modern-day fairytale. A ninth-grade snob, who is treated like a king in his 8th grade class, thinks it's funny to make fun of what he considers "outcasts". Until he messes with the wrong one. After months of searching for a cure, his father gives up on him with embarassment, adn sends him to a private home in Brooklyn. He only has his maid and a blind tutor, who can't judge him by his looks. In order for the curse to expire, he has to fall in love, and so takes a girl from her rocky home life, and gives her shelter. At first they avoid each other, but after awhile, become good friends. After he's learned his lesson, he decides to let her go home, but on the way, she gets abducted. So "The Beast" must find her and convince her to fall in love with him. On his way to save her, she screams that she loves him, and he turns back into Kyle, the regular 8th grade boy. But he has changed inside, and they live happily ever after. I personally felt that the characters were to young for the story. It didn't fit together like is should've.

Reader reviewed by Lauren

Beastly is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast taking place in modern New York City. Kevin is a spoiled rich boy with a huge ego. It takes a somewhat unattractive goth girl to give him a hint. When she tests him to see how nice he is, she reveals herself as a witch, who curses him, making his appearance reflect his personality: beastly. If he cannot get someone to love him in two years, he will remain beastly forever.

Kevin's father tries to help, but eventually gives up and moves him to a house for him to live in exile with only a foreign housekeeper and a blind tutor. Embarrassed by his past of being a jerk, Kevin changes his name to Adrian and concentrates on schoolwork and his rose garden. When someone breaks into his rose gardenhouse, the man offers his daughter in exchange for sparing his life. Adrian obliges.

Lindy is a girl from Adrian's old school, both smart and kind. She hates her new home at first, but eventually grows used to the beast and becomes friends with him. When things are just getting close and Adrian's curse may end soon, Lindy has to leave to save her father, who's helpless without her.

Following the basic storyline of the original story, Alex Flinn's retelling creates a fresh and new story making it enjoyable to teens. I'd recommend it to anyone who loves popular fairy-tales.