Beastly by Alex Flinn

"You are ugly now, on the inside, where it matters most...you are beastly."

Beastly is my second read from Alex Flinn, which I picked up after enjoying Cloaked but not quite finding the magic in it that Flinn has become known for. Since Beastly is her most famous book, and also due to the upcoming release of the film version, I decided to give it a try.

As the title would indicate, this is a retold contemporary version of the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, told from the perspective of the Beast. In this case the Beast is Kyle Kingsbury, a attractive and overly confident ninth grade boy transformed by a witch attending his highschool when he plays a cruel joke on her. When Kyle's father, a news anchor, is unable to find a cure for his son's new ugliness he sends him away to a Brooklyn mansion with blinds on all the windows and cameras at the doors. Exiled, Kyle's only companions are a housekeeper, Madga, and a blind tutor, Will. The only chance Kyle has of breaking the curse is kissing a girl who he loves, and who loves him, before two years have passed- but it's hard to find true love when you look like a beast.

Flinn's writing is straightforward but enjoyable to read, and I felt she did a realistic job of letting the reader into the teenage world, particularly when it comes to the unfortunate meanness with which popular kids can sometimes treat outsiders. I particularly enjoyed Kyle's internal dialogue, especially at the beginning of the book when he is still attractive and Flinn lets you in on his cruel thoughts. Unfortunately there were a few aspects of the story that didn't work that well for me. The idea of a girl imprisoned by a beast might work in traditional fairytales but when you put a contemporary spin on it, oftentimes it just came across a little creepy for my taste. It also got pretty strange when Kyle begins to speak like he's in an Austen novel, although even he recognizes it,

"Who dares disturb my roses?"
Why did I say that"

And although I realize Kyle, who renames himself Adrian because it means darkness, is pretty isolated from the world for most of the book, he still speaks to Madga, Lindy and Will and I would have thought that would be enough to keep him speaking normally especially since it doesn't seem to happen to any of the other characters.

While Cloaked weaves together many different fairy tales, Beastly focuses on one, which allows Flinn to tell that story well. Kyle isn't totally alone in his transformation though, as at several points throughout the book Flinn includes excerpts from a chat group for individuals who have been transformed, including such familiar beings as the Frog Prince and Little Mermaid. These chats were a great way to add to the contemporary spin on the story, and I enjoyed reading them. However, the novel as a whole doesn't really add a whole lot that new to the fairytale and it really is just an updated version of it. Even the one aspect that Flinn does change is really predictable from the beginning of the book so that I wasn't at all surprised when it was revealed.

Overall, Beastly provides a cute, easy-to-read story, and although like Cloaked, I would tend to recommend Flinn's simplistic writing style for younger readers, there is some innuendo involved in the book as well as darker themes that make me wonder who exactly the intended audience of the book is, but personally I'd mostly recommend the novel to young teens. Ultimately, though, Beastly is an enjoyable light read with an important message and although it doesn't provide the original take on the story I was hoping for, it is a fun contemporary telling of a classic love story.

Release Date: October 1st, 2007
Pages: 300
Overall: 3.5/5
Source: Publisher
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Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart

Sometimes a book just doesn't work for you and unfortunately Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart was just such a case for me. It is the story of middle-aged Lenny Abramov, a Russian Jew living in New York City with a bald spot shaped like Ohio and a young Korean love interest he met in Italy, Eunice Park. The novel alternates between Lenny's journals and Eunice's e-mails to tell the story of their unusual love in the context of a dystopia where books are considered "bound media artifacts" and everyone carries an "apparat" which allows them to do things like rate a persons' looks and broadcast what you're thinking about.

Some of the things that bothered me about Super Sad True Love Story was firstly that the dystopia that Shteyngart has created is that it is extremely vague and unclear, so although I could appreciate the satire I never had the potential to connect emotionally to any of the characters, since I didn't buy the world they were living in as even existing. I still don't really understand what an apparat is or how it works for example. There were a few funny moments, for example the girls wear a kind of pants called Onionskins which are transparent and so thin and tight to your body that you don't wear underwear underneath, some that definitely reminded me of the tights some girls wear these days. Overall however, I found the novel extremely pretentious in Shteyngart's attempt to parody, with Lenny writing things like:  

"I longed for the 740 square feet that belonged to me by law, and I rejoiced in the humming of the engines as we sailed toward my concept of home."

Another personal issue I had with the novel might just be my own prudeness showing through, but everything in the world Shteyngart created had words like "ass" and "pussy" in it, shopping at stores such as AssLuxury and JuicyPussy and buying bras without nipples and underwear that snaps off when you touch it. I understand society's obsession with sex and how the novel was probably purposefully tasteless in that regard, but it seemed just a little too obvious and I would have appreciated a bit more subtly instead of constantly bringing home the same point with a sledgehammer, or so it felt.

Overall, I get that Super Sad True Love Story is supposed to be a funny, outrageous satire but I just didn't "get" it. I also realize that my opinion is by far the minority as I picked this one up because of the amazing reviews and how great I had heard it was. Perhaps there is a gem hiding in Super Sad True Love Story, but unfortunately, I just couldn't find it. 

Release Date: July 27th, 2010
Pages: 331
Overall:1.5/5
Source: Publisher
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Waiting on Wednesday: The Godless Boys

 "Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases.

I tend to avoid books with a religious focus unless they are extremely well done or provide a particularly interesting perspective. The upcoming release The Godless Boys is actually one that caught my eye based on the premise; a world where you have to pick whether or not you want to live with religion. Add in a little mystery and this sounds like an extremely neat literary thriller.

If you were forced to live with faith, or without, which would you choose?

England. 1986. The Church controls the country, and all members of the Secular Movement have been expelled to the Island.

On the Island, religion is outlawed. A gang of boys patrols the community, searching for signs of faith, and punishing any believers.

When an English girl arrives—intent on finding her mother who disappeared, mysteriously, ten years ago—she is swept up in the dangerous games of the gang. But while one boy falls in love with her, the other wants revenge for the wrongs of the past, and, as the violence escalates, the English girl becomes their pawn.

The Godless Boys is a book about faith, and life without faith; about love, and its absence. But above all, it’s about power, and how dangerous it can be to stand out from the crowd. Both violent and tender, it’s a remarkable debut, and clearly marks Naomi Wood as a name to note.

The Godless Boys will be released by Picador UK on May 2nd 2011.

How do you feel about books on religious topics? What are you waiting on this Wednesday?

February Reading Wrap Up 2011

Even though it was the shortest month of the year, I still managed to get in 26 books, exactly the same number I managed last month. They were:

1. So Much Pretty- Cara Hoffman (February 1 2011)
2. What I Talk About When I Talk About Running- Haruki Murakami (February 2 2011) Audiobook
3. Half in Love: Surviving the Legacy of Suicide- Linda Gray Sexton (February 2 2011) + Author Guest Post
4. Beatrice & Virgil- Yann Martel (February 3 2011) 
5. The Lover's Dictionary- David Levithan (February 3 2011) 
6. The Tempest- William Shakespeare (February 4 2011) 
7. Shadow Tag- Louise Erdrich (February 5 2011) 
8. What We Talk About When We Talk About Love- Raymond Carver (February 5 2011)
9. The Dream of Perpetual Motion- Dexter Palmer (February 6 2011)
10. Delirium- Lauren Oliver (February 8 2011) 
11. The Properties of Water- Hannah Roberts McKinnon (February 9 2011) 
12. The Paris Wife- Paula McLain (February 12 2011)
13. Beastly- Alex Flinn (February 13 2011)
14. Where She Went- Gayle Forman (February 15 2011)  
15. I Am The Messenger- Markus Zusak (February 17 2011) Audiobook
16. The Penelopiad: The Myth of Penelope and Odysseus- Margaret Atwood (February 18 2011) Audiobook
17. The Fifth Servant- Kenneth Wishnia (February 19 2011)
18. Oliver Twist- Charles Dickens (February 20 2011)
19. The Other Life- Ellen Meister (February 20 2011)
20. Between Shades of Gray- Ruta Sepetys (February 21 2011)
21. What Comes After- Steve Watkins (February 22 2011) 
22. The Source of All Things- Tracy Ross (February 23 2011)
23. The Hunchback of Neiman Marcus- Sonya Sones (February 24 2011)
24. Bumped- Megan McCafferty (February 25 2011)
25. So Much For That- Lionel Shriver (February 26 2011)
26. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother- Amy Chua (February 28 2011)

Overall it was a pretty good collection of books. Unfortunately I haven't been keeping up with my reviewing as well as I would have liked, I still have six unreviewed books left from February. Hopefully that is something I'll be better at keeping up with in March, even if it means cutting a little into my reading time.

Some February Stats:

• Adult Fiction: 14/26
• Memoirs: 4/26
• Young Adult: 8/26
• Audio Books: 3/26
• Short Story Collections: 1/26
• Plays: 1/26
• Favourite Adult Book of the Month: The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan
• Favourite YA Book of the Month: Delirium by Lauren Oliver
• Favourite Memoir of the Month: Half in Love by Linda Gray Sexton
• Nearly Favourite Books of the Month: So Much Pretty by Cara Hoffman, The Tempest by William Shakespeare, Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys, The Dream of Perpetual Motion by Dexter Palmer, The Other Life by Ellen Meister, Where She Went by Gayle Forman
• Books Purchased: None! Although my January purchase did arrive. Total amount of money spent on books so far in 2011 is only $15.76. I do have a coupon and some books I've been lusting over that will likely be purchased in March. 

How was your February reading-wise? Did you read any incredible books this month? I'm definitely open to recommendations.

The Properties of Water by Hannah Roberts McKinnon

"Growing up on this lake, Marni used to say it was in our blood."

The Properties of Water by Hannah Roberts McKinnon tells the story of a young girl named Lace, whose older sister Marni is harmed in a swimming accident, changing both of their lives forever. Lace and Marni grew up on a lake, but Lace finds herself paralyzed by the idea of returning to the water. Even more scary than swimming is the idea of visiting Marni and accepting what has happened to her.

There were a few minor but odd things that bothered me about the book. One example is that it is never really clear why Lace is called Lace, when her first name is Amelia. Granted, Lace is a nickname of her middle name Wallace- but why does she go by that instead of Amelia? It felt strange to have McKinnon introduce the fact that that the main character's name was Amelia, but then not have her called that. Also, despite the acknowledgments indicating that McKinnon consulted with doctors on the medical aspect of the story, I was a little unclear on how realistic that portion was although I won't discuss it further in order to avoid spoilers.

Despite these minor complaints, The Properties of Water is a heartbreaking and well written novel, and McKinnon is clearly comfortable inside the mind of a young girl as Lace is an extremely believable main character. The relationship between Marni and Lace, as seen through Lace's eyes, is also very genuine as Lace both admires and envies her talented older sister. My favourite character was probably Willa Dodge, the woman who moves in with Lace and her father to help take care of the house while her sister and mother are away. Willa is a fabulous cook, but Lace doesn't trust her, thinking she is keeping a secret. The storyline of Lace and her best friend Beth Ann try to figure out what Willa is hiding was cute and well done, and definitely the sort of spying a kid would do when a stranger moves into their lives. Lace's grandparents, especially her grandmother, are also charmingly well crafted and McKinnon gives each character their own unique quirk which makes each of them memorable in the mind of the reader.

The story itself is pretty simple, but the way McKinnon tells it is both smooth and rich. The best part of The Properties of Water is how well it deals with overcoming grief through the perspective of a young girl. Even though the novel is suitable for younger readers, she doesn't sacrifice writing or description for their sake, capturing beautiful and tragic moments. In one example, she writes:

"He sinks on the bench beside me, and we sit, shoulder to shoulder, like two battered bookends holding up all the sadness in the world. This time I put my arm around him, and Cinder wedges under the bench beneath us, his black fur collecting our tears like gemstones."

The book itself is really short, but despite that it is filled to the brim with emotion. The Properties of Water is a touching story, and it is a perfect book for a young reader of around 12 years old, but it still offers a heart-warming story for older readers who feel inclined to pick it up, as they will certainly appreciate the skill of McKinnon's writing.

Release Date: October 26th, 2010
Pages: 166
Overall: 4/5
Source: Publisher
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