Gossip Girl meets Disney’s
Beauty and the Beast, and surprisingly, we have some pretty entertaining results. Told from “the beast’s” point of view, a familiar story has quirky contemporary twists, plenty of parental angst, and some happy feel-good moments peppered in. Fairly predictable (but hey, it is a re-telling of a well-known fairy tale), and a bit of a stretch fitting in the magical elements, but overall, very enjoyable. I read the book almost entirely in one sitting, and it kept me interested and compelled to read on. I definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good fairy tale re-telling, but I would be surprised if it won the Beehive Award. Here’s why: although the protagonist is male, I have a hard time picturing the young adult male audience really getting into this book. I think part of the reason I enjoyed it so much is that it satisfied my inner Disney Princess. This is not to say that males can’t enjoy a good fairy tale as much as anyone (or that males can’t have an inner Disney Princess too…), but in my heart of hearts I have to say that this was a satisfyingly girly book, despite all efforts to make it otherwise. Sorry Alex Finn, excellent writing, but not quite there yet!
This was Ms. Flinn's first foray into something other than gritty teenage realistic fiction dealing with issues like sexual abuse, abusive boyfriends, AIDS, etc.; I think she did a pretty good job in that sense.
ReplyDeleteIt was not, however, nearly as good as most of her other books.
Interesting, Ink Mage. I did not know that. Love the cover of this, I have to say. Maybe I'll have to read it.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to check out some other Flinn books when I'm done with the Beehive Bang and see if I agree with you Ink Mage.
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, I just found out that plans are in the works to turn Beastly into a film...starring Vanessa Hudgens of High School Musical Fame. I'm still trying to decide how I feel about this. I'm leaning towards 'not good'