Review | Beastly by Alex Flinn

Author: Alex Flinn
Narrator: Chris Patton
Published: June 30, 2010
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Pages: 6 hrs 41 mins
Format: Audiobook
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Rating: ★★★★☆

[Show Synopsis]
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 the perfect life. And then, I'll tell you how I became perfectly . . . beastly.

Review
My first thought when I finished this book was, "I'm so glad they made the movie the way they did rather than completely following the book," especially on the ending. It wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't as realistic as the movie was. Though realistic is kind of relative since Kendra isn't exactly human and since she used magic to change Kyle.

The romance between the two was really cute. I liked the resistance on Lindy's part. Her father was so horrible. I felt so sorry for her. The love was kind of cheesy though at times, but I think that's because of my age. I think the writing style would appeal more to middle and high school ages.

The thing that bothered me most was Kyle's appearance. He's more of a monster in the book rather than disfigured like in the movie. The whole point of the movie is for him to find love even though he's ugly. Then make him an ugly human. He is described as more of an animal then human here. How is a person supposed to fall in love with an animal? Yeah, he can talk, but still. It would creep me out too much. Like bestiality or something. Not because he isn't easy on the eyes. It would just seem morally wrong.

The other thing I didn't like about this version, was the ending. It was too violent. How is she just supposed to get together with him after seeing something like that even if he did it for her? The bus station and shock on people's face at seeing him in the movie version was much nicer and emotionally cool.

If you haven't seen the movie yet, I highly recommend seeing it. It was great, but if you haven't read the book yet, I think you should read it first. There were a lot of things that I didn't like in the book because of what I enjoyed in the movie. I think we owe it to authors to view their original works first before experiencing alternate versions.

Audiobook
Chris Patton did a wonderful job of portraying Kyle. The emotions were all there; the intonations were great. I was excited to hear that Will reminded me a lot of Neil Patrick Harris's Will. I would have been disappointed if the humor I enjoyed in the movie wasn't there.

I liked how Chris made Kyle sound like a frustrated and angsty teen rather than some fantasy person. It made the story come alive and feel more real. Like you were actually listening to Chris. I think if it was a more realistic plot, it would have been very easy to convince yourself that you were actually listening to the character give an account of their experience.