Saturday, April 9, 2011

Beastly by Alex Finn


Beastly has been getting a lot of buzz in my classroom this year. It might have something to do with the movie coming out, but either way, several girls in the class are excited to read this one.
It was a quick read for sure- but a good one and I understand why the girls are liking it. Beastly puts a modern twist on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast. The main character Kyle is a shallow, mean yet very handsome young man. He comes from money and is so egocentric that you can't help but dislike him right from the start of the book. Kyle gets a lot of satisfaction from hurting others and when one of his tricks goes too far, a witch seeks revenge on him. Handsome, popular Kyle is turned into a beast over night. In my mind, I see him just like the character in the Disney version of Beauty and the Beast, although in the movie he isn't quite so scary. The witch who cast the spell on him has told him that he has two years to make a girl fall in love with him or he will need to stay this way forever.
The next two years are very challenging for Kyle. He has been stripped of everything that he once thought was important, yet he still hopes someone might see past his ugly exterior and find what is in his heart.
The story is a little over the top with romance, but I really enjoyed reading as Kyle transformed his life and his attitude. I think this will make a wonderful movie,(trailer) some of the scenes that Finn describes are visually beautiful.

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