Beastly by Alex Flinn is a modern take on the classic Beauty and the Beast tale from the Beast’s point of view. The Beast’s name is Kyle Kingsbury, a cruel, self absorbed, and ridiculously handsome teenager. When he takes another one of his cruel pranks too far, ridiculing a new goth student named Kendra at the school dance, she reveals herself as a witch and curses him to be a beast forever. She allows a loophole however, since Kyle has shown his potential to be good through his gifting a rejected corsage to a poor ticket taker girl, and gives him two years to break the curse with true love’s kiss. After being unable to cure Kyle’s condition with modern medicine, Kyle’s father exiles him to a faraway house with the family maid, Magda, and later a blind tutor named Will. Slowly, Will and Magda help Kyle confront his issues with his family and slowly change his nature, until he finally changes his name to Adrian, symbolizing his new life. He continues to live in isolation from the world, reconciled with the fact that he will never change his cursed fate- until the ticket taker girl from that night so long ago comes back into his life again.

Beastly is a wonderful retelling of the classic fairytale, adding depth and complexity to the characters and their development. Unlike other versions of Beauty and the Beast, Beastly allows a look into the personal life and background of the Beast, turning him from a cruel, unlikable character into someone more relatable and understandable in his flaws. We can see the gradual development of Adrian as his changed state forces him to reevaluate his perspective and attitude towards others, and he slowly gains a realization of more important things in life. Seeing Adrian’s progression from his point of view connects the reader with a character that would otherwise be abhorred and unrelatable. His love for the ticket taker, Lindy, only deepens and sweetens his changing heart and nature.

Beastly also provides a realistic story that embodies an expansion of profound moral virtues without stuffing it down your throat. Instead of a usual black and white transition from evil to good, we can see the hurt in Kyle despite his seemingly cold heart, and the struggle of Adrain to move past his insecurities with Lindy. Seeing the Beast as he truly is, as shades of gray rather than a direct transition from evil to good, the reader can identify with him as a person with flaws trying to overcome weakness over time instead of an immediate change in character due to “magic” or “true love’s kiss”. Beastly also deviates from usual fairy tales, where the boy and the girl experience love at first sight or develop love for each other far more quickly than real life, and shows how Adrian and Lindy slowly begin to bond and forge connections, falling in love through that friendship rather than immediate and superficial qualities.

Overall, Beastly is an uplifting book, with a clever plot that plays on the Beauty and the Beast tale. The main characters are engaging and the story is truthful to a world the reader can relate to. Except for the very end, which may border on sappy for less sentimental readers, I would recommend Beastly to anyone looking for an entertaining book to brighten up their day.