Editorial Review
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.
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Customer Reviews
A must have!! 
2008-05-11
I was in for a surprise when I was a little bit into the book and realized this was another take on Beauty and the Beast. Slow, I know. But realizing this did not deter my opinion of and interest in the book. The characters were believable and even the rotten main character was lovable. Whether or not you like the tale of Beauty and the Beast, you'll enjoy this story!
An amazing retelling of Beauty and the Beast 2008-05-10
There are several excellent retellings of the classic story of Beauty and the Beast but this is the only one with a modern aproach that gives it a entertaining twist
Urban Legend 2008-04-16
I love the story of Beauty and the Beast in all its forms, but this has to be my favorite. Alex Flinn has put the Beast in high school, made him a snotty prom king and cursed him by the hand of a goth-girl witch. And once the enchantment begins, this book moves from the realm of retelling into something truly powerful, fresh and new. The love story is real and believable and Flinn's considerable descriptive powers put movie scenes in your head you'll want to replay over and over. This one is bound to become a classic.
Great character transformation, not the greatest love story 
2008-04-03
Kyle Kingsbury is rich, good-looking, has a celebrity father, and is elected the prince of popularity at school. Influenced by his neglecting father, who teaches him that the only person who will ever love him is himself, he lives his life in an arrogant, cruel manner, getting thrills out of hurting others. When he deceives a girl at school with the sole purpose of humiliating her, and the girl (who happens to be a witch) retaliates, he finds himself under a beastly curse until he can learn to love and is loved in return.
The most interesting part of the story is the great transformation of Kyle. In the beginning he is truly selfish and vile and undergoes a substantial physical change which leads to a deeper, inward change that is believable. Lindy is not as compelling a character as I would have enjoyed. She needs more wit or cleverness to make her truly something unique. He seems to fall in lust with her more than love (thinking of running his hands over her thin dress, etc).
Warning for YA readers: There are references to sex with girlfriend at the beginning of book, alcohol use, mildly offensive language, and general sensuality.
Beastly 2008-03-24
This was a very modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast. At first, I was having a hard time figuring that out, but as the book went on the similarities became more apparent.
In the beginning, Kyle is a typical stuck-up high school jock, except multiplied by a million. His attitude was so bad, I finally realized why some people can't stand to read a book because of the main character. Kyle was beyond rude; he made me thankful that my high school isn't filled with kids like him. Believe me, he was bad.
After he does something truly horrible to some "loser" at school, the "loser" turns out to be a witch, who turns him into a beast. But he gives him a chance to fix it. If Kyle could find a girl to love, who could love him, and have her kiss him as a beast, then he would be back to how he was. But, if that didn't happen after two years, then he would stay like that forever.
The story is very fast-paced, and filled with likeable characters who help Kyle on his journey to becoming better. This was a true fairy tale, in that it has a happy ending, but the book was done pretty well to keep the reader interested. I'll admit, it was a tad predictable, but not so bad that it took away from the quality of the book. Overall, I'd say Alex Flinn did a great job with making this retelling modern and fun.
A Beastly Review 
2008-07-08
The modern day Beauty & the Beast story, Beastly, didn't quite quench my thirst for a good read.
Kyle is a spoiled brat in modern day America who is turned into a monster by a witch. The storyline is how Kyle has to go looking for the one girl who truly loves him and sees beyond his ugliness, before he is turned into a monster forever. However, in between him becoming a monster and finding the girl, he becomes a grumpy hermit who lives by himself with the exception of a blind teacher and a maid
For me, the story jumped around to much and was way out there. The author chooses to make the setting more modern, which is a great idea, but I think it would have been better as a more believable version of the classic fairytale.
Although the story did have it's good points I didn't feel it had enough to offer as far as fantasy fiction goes.
Twilight Series Fan 2008-07-05
This book was fantastic. It raises emotions like the Twilight Series. It has sort of a corny ending, but the ending fit nicely with the whole story. If you don't like "feel good" movies, you may not like this book. However, I hate "feel good" movies and read this in one sitting. I found it a mix between "Mean Girls" and "Into the Woods".
Not my favorite fairytale retelling 2008-06-10
Beastly is a modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast in New York City told from the point of view of the beast. The beast in this story is Kyle Kingsbury, the son of a newscaster and probably the most popular boy at his elite school. He was placed under this spell by a witch named Kendra because he couldn't look beyond people's outer appearances.
Through the course of the story, Kyle changes his name, kidnaps a girl named Lindy to live with him in his seclusion, and gradually learns to see beyond appearances and love Lindy. And fairytales are never complete without happy endings, so it's pretty easy to figure out what happens in the end.
I was a little disappointed in this novel. From reading a small excerpt, I had expected a more exciting story, but it turned out to be very predictable. The story took place over the course of two years, and it seemed rushed. It was also unrealistic how Kyle changed his ways to become considerate and giving very quickly after he transformed into a beast. It did make sense that Kyle was desperate for someone to love him so that he could reverse the spell, but it was unrealistic how Kyle just seemed to realize that he loved Lindy. The ending was a little too sweet and perfect for my taste, but I guess all fairytales have to have happy endings.
My favorite parts from this novel were the transcripts of the online chat group Kyle joined once he transformed into a beast. I enjoyed reading about the other creatures in the chat group and figuring out which fairytale they belonged to.
Overall, Beastly did not turn out to be one of my favorites. I would not recommend rushing out and buying it. [...]
AWESOME Beauty and the Beast story!!! PLEASE WRITE A SEQUEL!!! 2008-05-29
I absolutely loved this story. The premise seemed cheesy -- a modern day, stuck up New Yorker gets turned into a Beast by a freaking witch in his class. Sounds lame, but it absolutely works on every level.
I read it in about a day because I couldn't put it down. It was so wonderful. It made me believe in love and fall in love with the Beauty and the Beast fairytale all over again.
I really liked the chatroom with all the fairytale characters.
Hopefully the author will write some stories about them too!
A perfect B & B story 2008-05-17
I'll admit it... I'm a sucker for a Beauty and the Beast story. I've read them all. And I have to say that this one was perfect. I read it in one sitting. I loved the characters, the setting, the changes in Kyle/Adrian, the story telling voice.
I just can't say enough good things about this book. I will definitely look for more works by this author.
