The Gist
Kyle Kingsbury is a beast. Beautiful on the outside and hideous on the inside, with a rich father and not a care in the world. But everything changes when he meets the witch. Disguised as a physically ugly student at Kyle's school, the witch Kendra out about true beauty in class. This catches Kyle's attention. Mostly just because he can't believe what he's hearing. He doesn't understand the whole concept of inner beauty, and the fact that an uglier person is saying it is too much. He decides to pull a mean prank. Ask Kendra to the next school dance, then show up with another date; completely humiliating her. And he goes through with it. He asks her, she reluctantly agrees, and he shows up with another date - popular and pretty girl Sloan - to embarrass her. His plan works perfectly, but instead of being humiliated she's just angry. But Kyle pays no mind to her, and goes to the dance, has a good time, and goes home. Later, she appears in his room and casts a spell on him. She takes away away his beauty and turns him into a beast. Covered with hair, claws and fangs. Ugly. She tells him that he has two years to find some one to love him despite his ugliness. If he can't find anyone, he'll have to stay that way forever. Horrified, Kyle's father moves him to a dark mansion on the other side of New York City to live alone with only his maid Magda for company. Kyle doesn't know what he's going to do. He'll never be able to break to spell. Because who could ever fall in love with a beast?
What We Think
Reviewed by Dream Catcher
Number of Pages: 304
I had been wanting to read this book for a while. I love fairy tales. But I especially love them with modern-day settings. I love imagining I'll be the next modern-day Cinderella story or somthing. Or the next Repunzal is sitting next to me in Algebra or the next Snow White is my neighbor. With modern fairytales my imagination can roam free and believe that maybe magic and happily ever afters can be real, even now. Needless to say, I'd been excited to read a story - Beauty and the Beast - set in modern-day NYC. The city that never sleeps. The Big Apple. New York City. How could that NOT be completely AMAZING? It's a fairytale in New York City! Well, that aspect of the book was kind of a disappointment. If I hadn't been told it was NYC I would never have known. It's the tiniest part of the book - senseless, really. So that was kind of annoying...but not that bad. It was the author's decision to only mention the location, so if that's what she wanted, sure it was great and it didn't bother me at all. Also I could just be a little biased because I LOVE New York City. Anyway. It was the smallest thing that hardly affected how I enjoyed the book as a whole.
The plot was Beauty and the Beast with a modern twist. So instead of a snotty jerk of a prince who gets turned into beast, we have Kyle: a snotty jerk of a rich high schooler. Instead of an old hag who begs for shelter from a storm, we have Kendra: a high schooler-disguised-witch wandering from place to place. And instead of waiting until an entire rose wilts (doesn't the beast have until he's eighteen or something?) Kyle has until two rose PETALS wilt. A.K.A. two years. Tough break, dude. Really don't know what else to say about the plot. It's really just the classic modern fairytale. Maybe a little more unique than the average retelling because I really haven't heard of too many retellings of Beauty and the Beast. So that was pretty cool.
The characters...had their moments, I suppose. And by "have their moments" I mean good and bad ones. Let's start off with the main character: Kyle. Simply stated, he's a jerk. He only cares about himself and how many people he can put down or hurt. Then, over time, he magically changes into a caring, thoughtful person. Would this happen in modern-day New York City? I have no idea. Point being, it happened in the book and it wasn't as inspiration as one would hope. I mean, I guess it was fine, but before his miraculous transformation he sounded REAL. After he sounded fake and just altogether not like a regular teenage guy. And when that happened everything got a whole lot more cheesy - making me drop the grade. A lot. Kendra was an interesting character. She had the wisdom factor while at the same time managing to be kinda sassy. I liked how she could justify her beast-spell and really not care who Kyle was. She didn't care that he was good looking or rich, just that he was a complete jerk. Kyle's father was...can I say the word tool? He was a tool. Negligent and botox'd and all that jazz. Ugh, terrible person but important to the book, because he was the one who made Kyle act the way he does. Underlying statement: Kyle's father is to blame for the spell put on Kyle?? I'm not sure if you could go so far as to say that, but if that's how your going to take it the whole thing is very ironic. Because his father couldn't image a worse fate for his son. Irony. The family maid, Magda was just kind of there. I mean, she was nice and everything, but there didn't seem to be much of a point to her character at all (until the very end, I guess...). A character I didn't mention in the gist was Will. He was Kyle's blind tutor. Yes, blind. He was my favorite character, except for maybe his dog Pilot. Will was funny and witty; he always seemed to know exactly what to say to make Kyle feel better or to get him to shut up if he was being a jerk again. He was great, and is played by Neil Patrick Harris in the Beastly movie (fun fact)! So he was pretty amazing. That only leaves Lindy, the girl Kyle is trying to get to fall in love with him. In the beginning of the book, she was smart and sensible and strong. She thought before she said things and didn't like Kyle just because she had to. But near the end she became...or at least seemed to become...less smart. She just...flopped. Ugh. She was just too corny near the end and I lost too much respect for her. A pity. So overall the characters were okay.
The dialogue was sadly mediocre. Maybe it was just because romance isn't her forte, but whatever the reason the romantic dialogue made me want to vomit. Example? Ugh. Well, Kyle was too afraid to profess his love for the Belle of this new Beauty and the Beast, so he would just say it in his head. Puke. Okay I'm going to make up a random example, but this type of thing is what was in the book. Here we go. GIRL: "Do you want to go look at the roses?" KYLE: "Yes." Yes, my love. Like he couldn't say it out loud, so he just HAD to say it in his head. I dunno, maybe some people think that's romantic, but I DON'T. Other than some of the romance dialogue...it was alright, if a bit unrealistic. Somethings just didn't match up with the characters. It seemed like it was written by an adult trying to remember what it was like to be a kid. And not doing it that well. It was...eh. Alright but nothing special.
The writing style was just a little bit better than the dialogue. But it follows the same patterns. Too many exclamation points, for one. I mean, seriously, no one's that excited when they've convinced themselves they're going to die alone because of their beastliness. Secondly, it was all just a bit too cliché and a bit too cookie-cutter for me. Also a little childish, but maybe that's just the overuse of exclamation points. All in all the writing wasn't that bad, but not amazing.
First and last lines. One of my favorite things to review. There could technically be two different first lines. There's this little thing that appears periodically throughout the book, a sort of online support group for mythical or magical creatures. It was one of my favorite things about the book. It was cute and original and I always looked forward to that. One of those little online chats is at the very beginning of the book. The first line of that is, "Mr. Anderson: Welcome to the first meeting of the Unexpected Changes chat group,". So that as a first line isn't that bad, but in my opinion isn't that great either. Mediocre. But if you skip the chat at the beginning the second first line would be, "I could feel everyone looking at me, but I was used to it,". I'm not sure if this one is any better. Either way, the beginning line is alright; nothing more, nothing less. The end line is really LAME. Really, really lame. When I read it I groaned. WHY DID THEY HAVE TO END WITH SOMETHING SO CORNY? Seriously. I'm shaking my head in disappointment right now. Terrible.
Lastly, the cover and title. Honestly I love them both. The white rose on the cover is enticing and beautiful, and unlike a lot of books nowadays it actually relates to the book. Even the title of the book is artful and I mean the actual title drawn on the book. Like thorns of the rose. Awesome. The literal title was great, too. Beastly. Dark, mysterious and intriguing. Theses things, as shallow as it is, actually made me want to read the book.
Overall, it was just the tiniest bit above average for me. The characters, plot, setting, and dialogue was very mediocre. The little things, unique things, like the title, cover, and online chat excerpts were great. I wouldn't say this book was great. I'd say it was pretty good. Average with a few splashes of surprising (for lack of a better word) awesomeness. Maybe the technical aspects of the book were a bit lacking, but really I enjoyed it. Not like it's the best book I've ever read - because it's not at all - but while I was reading it I thought it was pretty good. I certainly don't regret reading it. If you're going to see the movie read the book first. Because I'm pretty sure the book is WAY better. Always.
Real Teen Rating~ C+ : Well, I guess it was good.
Kyle Kingsbury is a beast. Beautiful on the outside and hideous on the inside, with a rich father and not a care in the world. But everything changes when he meets the witch. Disguised as a physically ugly student at Kyle's school, the witch Kendra out about true beauty in class. This catches Kyle's attention. Mostly just because he can't believe what he's hearing. He doesn't understand the whole concept of inner beauty, and the fact that an uglier person is saying it is too much. He decides to pull a mean prank. Ask Kendra to the next school dance, then show up with another date; completely humiliating her. And he goes through with it. He asks her, she reluctantly agrees, and he shows up with another date - popular and pretty girl Sloan - to embarrass her. His plan works perfectly, but instead of being humiliated she's just angry. But Kyle pays no mind to her, and goes to the dance, has a good time, and goes home. Later, she appears in his room and casts a spell on him. She takes away away his beauty and turns him into a beast. Covered with hair, claws and fangs. Ugly. She tells him that he has two years to find some one to love him despite his ugliness. If he can't find anyone, he'll have to stay that way forever. Horrified, Kyle's father moves him to a dark mansion on the other side of New York City to live alone with only his maid Magda for company. Kyle doesn't know what he's going to do. He'll never be able to break to spell. Because who could ever fall in love with a beast?
What We Think
Reviewed by Dream Catcher
Number of Pages: 304
I had been wanting to read this book for a while. I love fairy tales. But I especially love them with modern-day settings. I love imagining I'll be the next modern-day Cinderella story or somthing. Or the next Repunzal is sitting next to me in Algebra or the next Snow White is my neighbor. With modern fairytales my imagination can roam free and believe that maybe magic and happily ever afters can be real, even now. Needless to say, I'd been excited to read a story - Beauty and the Beast - set in modern-day NYC. The city that never sleeps. The Big Apple. New York City. How could that NOT be completely AMAZING? It's a fairytale in New York City! Well, that aspect of the book was kind of a disappointment. If I hadn't been told it was NYC I would never have known. It's the tiniest part of the book - senseless, really. So that was kind of annoying...but not that bad. It was the author's decision to only mention the location, so if that's what she wanted, sure it was great and it didn't bother me at all. Also I could just be a little biased because I LOVE New York City. Anyway. It was the smallest thing that hardly affected how I enjoyed the book as a whole.
The plot was Beauty and the Beast with a modern twist. So instead of a snotty jerk of a prince who gets turned into beast, we have Kyle: a snotty jerk of a rich high schooler. Instead of an old hag who begs for shelter from a storm, we have Kendra: a high schooler-disguised-witch wandering from place to place. And instead of waiting until an entire rose wilts (doesn't the beast have until he's eighteen or something?) Kyle has until two rose PETALS wilt. A.K.A. two years. Tough break, dude. Really don't know what else to say about the plot. It's really just the classic modern fairytale. Maybe a little more unique than the average retelling because I really haven't heard of too many retellings of Beauty and the Beast. So that was pretty cool.
The characters...had their moments, I suppose. And by "have their moments" I mean good and bad ones. Let's start off with the main character: Kyle. Simply stated, he's a jerk. He only cares about himself and how many people he can put down or hurt. Then, over time, he magically changes into a caring, thoughtful person. Would this happen in modern-day New York City? I have no idea. Point being, it happened in the book and it wasn't as inspiration as one would hope. I mean, I guess it was fine, but before his miraculous transformation he sounded REAL. After he sounded fake and just altogether not like a regular teenage guy. And when that happened everything got a whole lot more cheesy - making me drop the grade. A lot. Kendra was an interesting character. She had the wisdom factor while at the same time managing to be kinda sassy. I liked how she could justify her beast-spell and really not care who Kyle was. She didn't care that he was good looking or rich, just that he was a complete jerk. Kyle's father was...can I say the word tool? He was a tool. Negligent and botox'd and all that jazz. Ugh, terrible person but important to the book, because he was the one who made Kyle act the way he does. Underlying statement: Kyle's father is to blame for the spell put on Kyle?? I'm not sure if you could go so far as to say that, but if that's how your going to take it the whole thing is very ironic. Because his father couldn't image a worse fate for his son. Irony. The family maid, Magda was just kind of there. I mean, she was nice and everything, but there didn't seem to be much of a point to her character at all (until the very end, I guess...). A character I didn't mention in the gist was Will. He was Kyle's blind tutor. Yes, blind. He was my favorite character, except for maybe his dog Pilot. Will was funny and witty; he always seemed to know exactly what to say to make Kyle feel better or to get him to shut up if he was being a jerk again. He was great, and is played by Neil Patrick Harris in the Beastly movie (fun fact)! So he was pretty amazing. That only leaves Lindy, the girl Kyle is trying to get to fall in love with him. In the beginning of the book, she was smart and sensible and strong. She thought before she said things and didn't like Kyle just because she had to. But near the end she became...or at least seemed to become...less smart. She just...flopped. Ugh. She was just too corny near the end and I lost too much respect for her. A pity. So overall the characters were okay.
The dialogue was sadly mediocre. Maybe it was just because romance isn't her forte, but whatever the reason the romantic dialogue made me want to vomit. Example? Ugh. Well, Kyle was too afraid to profess his love for the Belle of this new Beauty and the Beast, so he would just say it in his head. Puke. Okay I'm going to make up a random example, but this type of thing is what was in the book. Here we go. GIRL: "Do you want to go look at the roses?" KYLE: "Yes." Yes, my love. Like he couldn't say it out loud, so he just HAD to say it in his head. I dunno, maybe some people think that's romantic, but I DON'T. Other than some of the romance dialogue...it was alright, if a bit unrealistic. Somethings just didn't match up with the characters. It seemed like it was written by an adult trying to remember what it was like to be a kid. And not doing it that well. It was...eh. Alright but nothing special.
The writing style was just a little bit better than the dialogue. But it follows the same patterns. Too many exclamation points, for one. I mean, seriously, no one's that excited when they've convinced themselves they're going to die alone because of their beastliness. Secondly, it was all just a bit too cliché and a bit too cookie-cutter for me. Also a little childish, but maybe that's just the overuse of exclamation points. All in all the writing wasn't that bad, but not amazing.
First and last lines. One of my favorite things to review. There could technically be two different first lines. There's this little thing that appears periodically throughout the book, a sort of online support group for mythical or magical creatures. It was one of my favorite things about the book. It was cute and original and I always looked forward to that. One of those little online chats is at the very beginning of the book. The first line of that is, "Mr. Anderson: Welcome to the first meeting of the Unexpected Changes chat group,". So that as a first line isn't that bad, but in my opinion isn't that great either. Mediocre. But if you skip the chat at the beginning the second first line would be, "I could feel everyone looking at me, but I was used to it,". I'm not sure if this one is any better. Either way, the beginning line is alright; nothing more, nothing less. The end line is really LAME. Really, really lame. When I read it I groaned. WHY DID THEY HAVE TO END WITH SOMETHING SO CORNY? Seriously. I'm shaking my head in disappointment right now. Terrible.
Lastly, the cover and title. Honestly I love them both. The white rose on the cover is enticing and beautiful, and unlike a lot of books nowadays it actually relates to the book. Even the title of the book is artful and I mean the actual title drawn on the book. Like thorns of the rose. Awesome. The literal title was great, too. Beastly. Dark, mysterious and intriguing. Theses things, as shallow as it is, actually made me want to read the book.
Overall, it was just the tiniest bit above average for me. The characters, plot, setting, and dialogue was very mediocre. The little things, unique things, like the title, cover, and online chat excerpts were great. I wouldn't say this book was great. I'd say it was pretty good. Average with a few splashes of surprising (for lack of a better word) awesomeness. Maybe the technical aspects of the book were a bit lacking, but really I enjoyed it. Not like it's the best book I've ever read - because it's not at all - but while I was reading it I thought it was pretty good. I certainly don't regret reading it. If you're going to see the movie read the book first. Because I'm pretty sure the book is WAY better. Always.
Real Teen Rating~ C+ : Well, I guess it was good.
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