Beastly by Alex Flinn

What if the tale of Beauty and the Beast happened in todays world? How would people react to the Beast? Would Beast be more or less likely to get his Beauty? That is the story Flinn tells in Beastly. Kyle Kingsbury, one of the most popular guys at his exclusive private school, plays a mean prank on a not-so-popular girl in his class. The prank backfires as she is a witch- a real witch that is- and turns Kyle into the Beast. Kyle soon learns what the people he used to ridicule went through, and then some. The few people who see Kyle are terrified, and Kyle's own father, a famous news anchorman on TV, is so embarassed about his son that he sends Kyle away to live by himself in the family's vacation home. The once popular Kyle suddenly finds himself to be an outcast.

The witch gives Kyle two years to find someone who will look past his beastliness and fall in love with him. The story becomes a little predictable here. Kyle blackmails a girl from his school to be his prisoner in his home. But how can he not only get her to look past his ugliness but to also get her past the fact that he is holding her captive? Of course, Kyle finds himself falling for the girl. Kyle never becomes the scary and mean beast like in the Disney version, which might make it easier for him to get the girl.

Of course we know the ending throughout the story, but Flinn still manages to keep her readers on their toes. Maybe she won't stick to the usual story after all! In spite of the fact that this is a well known story, this retelling is perfect for young adults and adults who are tired of the children's version. It is also fun to read the story in a modern setting. Kyle is not so isolated as he has Internet access and is in an online support group for people who are going through changing from one thing to another (one is a mermaid who wishes to become human- gee, I wonder who that could be?). It's a quick read and lots of fun. I recommend this for guys and girls (it's told from Kyle's point of view).

Book; 13+; ISBN 9780060874186; New York: Harper Teen, 2007