Beastly

Beastly by Alex Flinn

Published: October 2, 2007 by HarperTeen

Privileged, popular, and proud, high school student Kyle Kingsbury knows he can get away with virtually anything because of his good looks and his father's money.  But Kyle goes too far when he sets out to humiliate a mysterious and unpopular girl at the school dance.  The girl turns out to be a witch who casts a spell on Kyle, turning him into a beast who is now as ugly on the outside as he is on the inside. The only way for Kyle to break the curse is to fall in love with someone who will look past his appearance and love him in return.

      I decided to read this book after seeing and really enjoying the movie version. The book definitely feels like it's geared toward younger teens while the movie feels like it's appealing to all ages. There are tons of substantial changes that were made for the movie. Overall, I enjoyed the movie more than the book, although this may have something to do with the presence of Alex Pettyfer in the movie. 

Reasons I love this book:

• Plot- Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite fairytales and I loved seeing elements of it in a modern setting. My favorite was the mirror and how Kyle could use it to see anyone he wanted to.
• Kyle- you really get to see what Kyle's thinking and what he is struggling with internally. 
• Support group- the support group chats were really cool to read, and the characters are from the classic fairytales rather than the Disney-fied versions. 
• Kyle/Adrian's sacrifice- his sacrifice to let Lindy leave and see her father even if it meant his being a beast forever was so sweet.
• Princess Bride- Adrian and Lindy watch The Princess Bride, as evident from the 2nd quote.

Huh, what?:

• Lindy's dad- he's even more of a jerk than Kyle's dad. I mean offering his daughter to a stranger rather than taking responsibility for his own crimes is so low.
• Kendra (SPOILERS!)- Kendra turning out to be disguised as Magda the housekeeper was so unexpected and totally unnecessary to the story. 
• Names- Kyle. Adrian. It doesn't really matter, but the name change is a detail that bothered me. I like that Kyle means handsome and Adrian means darkness though. That's pretty cool. 

Movie vs. Book (SPOILERS!):

• Kendra- In the book, Kendra = Magda. In the movie they are 2 totally separate characters that never meet and Magda has her own family she wants to get back to.
• Lindy- In the book, Lindy's dad offers her up so he doesn't have to deal with his own mess. In the movie, Kyle asks Lindy's father for her after witnessing how much danger she's in around her father.
• Names- All kinds of names were changed for the movie. Kyle becomes Hunter rather than Adrian. His last name is slightly different, and there is no mention that Lindy's name is actually Linda. Magda's name is Zola. 
• Will- In the book? Not really a character with much impact. In the movie Will is hilarious and will have you wishing he was in more scenes. 

Favorite Quotes:

• "Who...who is that?"                                                                                                           "Adrian..." Kyle...the master of this house...the beast who lives here. "My name is Adrian. I'm the one..." The one who is holding you prisoner. "I wanted to meet you."           pg. 169
• By the time Vizzini fell over, dead, I'd finished my popcorn and put the bag down. I wanted some more. It seemed like the beast was always hungry. I wondered, if I was transformed back, would I be fat?                  pg. 203

3 Robots

Pretty good, but I can't help comparing it with the movie

Acquired: Borrowed from a friend