Beastly by Alex Flinn

Goodreads Summary: 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 the perfect life. And then, I’ll tell you how I became perfectly . . . beastly.

If I had to choose ONE book as my favorite. Just one. Yes, I know. An impossible task. Especially for me because I rarely dislike a book. I can count on one hand the number of books I’ve read that I actually hated. And I’ve read a lot of books. But if I had to choose one, it would be Beastly by Alex Flinn. I’m not sure of half the reasons why I love this book so much. I think most of it stems from my love of Beauty and the Beast. It’s my favorite fairytale and Flinn does a wonderful job of portraying a modern version of it.
What I love most is watching the main character Kyle/Adrian grow as a character. At the beginning, Kyle is, quite frankly, a spoiled fucking brat. He is so ridiculously annoying. He feels entitled because his father has money, he treats girls like shit because he’s attractive, and he uses stereotypes to bully anyone who doesnt fit into his idea of how people should think, look, and act. I absolutely hated him for the first part of the book. However, his curse, his father’s inattention, and Lindy’s fantastic personality all force him to reevaluate how he views himself and everyone else. The thing I love most about this book is watching, step by step, as Hunter becomes a better person. And I think the progression of his feelings is fairly realistic as well.
I also love the modern adaptation of Beauty and the Beast. Flinn does a really good job of mixing the original fairytales with modern ideas. (If you haven’t read her other fairytale books, you really should. They’re all great.)
And lastly, I absolutely fucking adore Kyle and Lindy’s relationship. I think they really complement each other and they help each other to grow and be better people just by being together. It’s one of my favorite love stories.
I 100% recommend this book. I can’t even count how many times I’ve read it. If you haven’t and enjoy fairytales or YA paranormal (Slightly. There’s some magic. And a witch. But that’s it.) then definitely put it on the to-read list. At the top. Better yet, just get off your computer and go get it right now.

As a side note, I have seen the movie. I didn’t particularly like or dislike it. I didn’t think it followed the book very well and if I hadn’t read it I think I would have liked it more. If you saw the movie, whatever your opinion about it, it’s very different from the book so please don’t base wanting to read it on the movie. Golden rule: Never judge a book by its fucking movie.
-Antonia

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