katekintailbc | Beastly by Alex Flinn (Reply)

Beastly
by Alex Flinn
(Audio)

The main reason I suggested this book for the book club to which I belong was because it's a modern retelling of a fairy tale I suspect we all know well. I thought it might inspire some discussion about how it was modernized and how it worked as a Beauty & the Beast story. I was actually surprised to find elements such as the witch and the magic mirror in the story. I liked those elements, don't get me wrong, but I wondered if they could have been modernized a little more? Like some magical webcam system instead of a physical mirror. But the breaking of a DVD with software or a laptop screen doesn't exactly have the same effect as a shattered mirror.

The other reason I suggested this book was because I've been waiting for a reason/chance to read it for YEARS now.

I did really like what the author did with Lindy and her father. I thought shutting Kyle away in a brownstone with a servant was a little weird and him forcing Lindy to be there was also a little strange. But after I got over the improbability, it worked for me. I thought that her father being willing to give his daughter up because of drugs was believable though, as was the conflict at the end. And I adored the bit with the beast on the subway :-)

It was fun seeing how all the classic elements got in there--the rose, the "castle" in the snow, etc. And I liked Magda and Will as supporting characters who have to deal with Kyle and are able to see the degrees of his transformation over time.

In fact, there were lots of scenes I liked--Kyle at the Halloween party, learning what others thought about him; the chat room with Mr. Anderson (haha, it took me until almost the entire book to realize why he was named that; yet I recognized Froggie, the prince, and the little mermaid easily); Kyle's love of his garden as something metaphorically living and pretty, making it grow and caring for it like he had to do with his kindness/personality; the snowball fight; etc.

I definitely enjoyed the story and thought that it ended both satisfyingly and realistically. (i.e. no giant wedding and a happily ever after)