Beastly by Alex Flinn (Including a Book to Movie review)

Beastly by Alex Flinn

Hardcover, 304 pages

Published October 1st 2007 by HarperTeen (first published February 29th 2000)

Synopsis: I am a beast. A beast. Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog, but a horrible new creature who walks upright – a creature with fangs and claws and hair springing from every pore. I am a monster.

You think I’m talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. It’s no deformity, no disease. And I’ll stay this way forever – ruined – unless I can break the spell.

Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and a perfect life. And then, I’ll tell you how I became perfectly beastly.


My rating: 5 stars of 5
Beautifully crafted
Fantastic twist to a modern tale
Great character development
Movie rating:
Plot: 1 star of 5 Almost nothing stuck to the original plot
Movie (If hadn't read the book): 4 stars if 5


Beastly, the modern Beauty and the Beast fairy tale. . . .



I really and truely loved this book. I finished it in a day. Seriously. I wasted no time with this book.



I guess you could say that this review will be considered part book review part movie review just because I have a few things to say. . . .



Beginning with the book, Kyle Kingsbury is a popular jock that goes to Tuttle High School, a school for all the rich kids. Every girl loves him, everyone wants to be him. He knows he's hot and ugly people are just unexceptable. Kyle is voted for Homecoming Court and the fat goth chick in the back has a hissy fit over it. Kyle stands up for himself and decides he wants to make a fool out of her. Then, at gym, he decides to be a little evil and ask her to Homecoming, knowing he's going to just blow her off. At homecoming, she shows up and makes a fool out of her while his actual date is all over him in front of the goth, Kendra.



Kendra is acting weird, telling Kyle that she gave him a chance and Kyle is just like, "What the hell?"



When Kyle gets home from the dance, Kendra is sitting in his room and transforms him into a beast. He has two years to find true love or he has to stay a beast forever.





Mr. Kingsbury is almost just as bad as Kyle when it comes to self-confidence. When he sees Kyle, he tries to take him to all the most expensive and reccomended doctors but no one can fix him. Mr. Kingsbury then proceeds to take him to a new home in Brooklyn to live with his housemaid and blind tutor. But when a burgalar breaks in and Kyle threatens him, the intruder offers his daughter in exchange for Kyle not to tell the police and for Kyle to give him back the drugs that fell from the intruder. Kyle accepts and Lindy, a girl from Kyle's old school, comes to stay a week later. Could this girl be the one? Could she get passed his looks?



This book had amazing characters and Kyle's transformation into something so kind was incredible. As the book went on, Kyle changed his name to Adrian due to the fact that "Kyle" means handsome. The story was beautifully crafted and Flinn really did the research on this classic fairy tale.



I truely loved this book. I used to watch Beauty and the Beast when I was a kid all the time but I guess I forgot the plotline until I read this.



I didn't have any disappointments while reading the book.



The movie was a whole different story. Nothing was right. The sucky thing was the fact that I liked the movie. It just wasn't anything like the book. It kind of upset me.



I read the movie when I was only on part 2 of the book and already noticed changes. The movie left out so much. But what movie doesn't when it was a book first? Read the book, then watch the movie. You'll sit there and think you're watching a story with a completely different plot.



Perks of the movie? Alex Pettyfer. That's about it.



I don't even like Vanessa Hudgens. The movie was good but they didn't even make Kyle look like the beast he was supposed to be.


That just IRRITATED me. Nothing about the movie was right. Nothing.



Why did they have to change everything? It was already such a fantastic book.



If I were to see the movie and not have read the book, I would have rated the movie a 4 out of 5 stars. It was oddly too short for me.



Sticking to the plot, I'd give it a 2 out of 5 stars. Maybe even a 1. . . .



Just read the book, you'll be so much happier!