Beastly: Old Story, Mediocre Twist
Since before I was old enough to talk, Disney's Beauty and the Beast was one of my favorite movies of all time. When other girls idolized real life celebrities, I idolized Belle. She was beautiful, independent and, most of all, smart. As I grew up, I learnt more about the origins of the story, I became intrigued. [For those unaware, the original story of Beauty and the Beast was to teach young women to be open to arranged marriages.] As it is a classic, there are multiple versions of the story and many writers have tried to capture the magic of Beauty and the Beast for a modern audience.
Beastly, is a modern day version of Beauty and the Beast, told from the perspective of the Beast. Kyle Kingston, is a young, handsome, rich, spoiled rotten child from NYC, who probably could make a cameo on Gossip Girl, is our Beast. He is transformed into a Beast by a witch when he invokes her wrath by proving how much of a terrible person he is. It is meant to be permanent, however, due to him performing one good task prior to being transformed he gets a chance for redemption. He must fall in love and be loved in return to be transformed back into his true form.
We know how this story goes and honestly, other than the modern update Beastly doesn't do anything special. It is a note for note retelling of a story we all know by verbatim. However, there are a few interesting points, like the online chat-room between different classic transformed creatures. There is a very somber point when the "original" Little Mermaid appears and we know what her fate is.
Instead of talking objects we get a Hispanic maid and a blind tutor, Will. Instead of the Beauty we get from usual fairy tale lore, our beauty is a shy, sweet, book smart, average looking girl named Lindy. Lindy's appearance is the only thing that separates her from "Beauties" of past. With her red hair, freckles, green eyes and crooked teeth, she would have never been the Beast's ideal in his past life.
The ending of this book is no different from any other version, which is to be expected, but at the same time I personally feel like this story could have improved from its average rating. First, is location. Due to its topic of arranged marriage it could have been retold in a society that largely still practices arranged marriages. In the location had been in India or some parts of the Middle East, there would have been an exotic element to the story.
Second, the Beast. While there is nothing wrong with it being from the Beast's perspective I felt like it was a very cliche foretelling. Going back to the idea that the story takes place in India or the Middle East, where our "Beauty" would have been betrothed since birth. That adds a feeling of dread and worry not only during the first few moments, but for years; knowing that every year you are getting older and will eventually be married to some man. Especially in society in which you are expected to only have his children.
Third, the relationship development. In a real marriage there would be social pressures to act in a certain ways that would challenge the girl's independence more than just being locked in a castle. It would be better to have the Beast help support her during those times to show her that he admires those traits in her. In alot or retelling, it seems that most of the admiration goes towards beauty and sometimes knowledge. Independence takes a back burner. Not to mention the admiration would be especially poignant due to the fact that he should be against her exhibiting those qualities.
At the end of the day, this book was simply average. No average isn't bad, it just forgettable.
Final Grade: C+
I wish this book had taken more risks. There is nothing wrong with sticking to tradition and trying to capture the spirit of a classic fairy tale, however, if you can't make the adaptation interesting it will always be average. The movie Ever After, was a retelling of Cinderella and while in the end our lead ended up with the prince, the journey was unique. The characterization was different, the romance was different and the story evolved into something more than just another retelling of Cinderella. The same with the book Ella Enchanted. Changing scenery doesn't make the story new, it's how you allow the characters to grow from their fairy tale roots and become something special in their own right.
Note: There is a movie adaptation of Beastly coming out and since Vanessa Hudgens is playing Lindy, I guess the moral of the story was lost in production.
Beastly, is a modern day version of Beauty and the Beast, told from the perspective of the Beast. Kyle Kingston, is a young, handsome, rich, spoiled rotten child from NYC, who probably could make a cameo on Gossip Girl, is our Beast. He is transformed into a Beast by a witch when he invokes her wrath by proving how much of a terrible person he is. It is meant to be permanent, however, due to him performing one good task prior to being transformed he gets a chance for redemption. He must fall in love and be loved in return to be transformed back into his true form.
We know how this story goes and honestly, other than the modern update Beastly doesn't do anything special. It is a note for note retelling of a story we all know by verbatim. However, there are a few interesting points, like the online chat-room between different classic transformed creatures. There is a very somber point when the "original" Little Mermaid appears and we know what her fate is.
Instead of talking objects we get a Hispanic maid and a blind tutor, Will. Instead of the Beauty we get from usual fairy tale lore, our beauty is a shy, sweet, book smart, average looking girl named Lindy. Lindy's appearance is the only thing that separates her from "Beauties" of past. With her red hair, freckles, green eyes and crooked teeth, she would have never been the Beast's ideal in his past life.
The ending of this book is no different from any other version, which is to be expected, but at the same time I personally feel like this story could have improved from its average rating. First, is location. Due to its topic of arranged marriage it could have been retold in a society that largely still practices arranged marriages. In the location had been in India or some parts of the Middle East, there would have been an exotic element to the story.
Second, the Beast. While there is nothing wrong with it being from the Beast's perspective I felt like it was a very cliche foretelling. Going back to the idea that the story takes place in India or the Middle East, where our "Beauty" would have been betrothed since birth. That adds a feeling of dread and worry not only during the first few moments, but for years; knowing that every year you are getting older and will eventually be married to some man. Especially in society in which you are expected to only have his children.
Third, the relationship development. In a real marriage there would be social pressures to act in a certain ways that would challenge the girl's independence more than just being locked in a castle. It would be better to have the Beast help support her during those times to show her that he admires those traits in her. In alot or retelling, it seems that most of the admiration goes towards beauty and sometimes knowledge. Independence takes a back burner. Not to mention the admiration would be especially poignant due to the fact that he should be against her exhibiting those qualities.
At the end of the day, this book was simply average. No average isn't bad, it just forgettable.
Final Grade: C+
I wish this book had taken more risks. There is nothing wrong with sticking to tradition and trying to capture the spirit of a classic fairy tale, however, if you can't make the adaptation interesting it will always be average. The movie Ever After, was a retelling of Cinderella and while in the end our lead ended up with the prince, the journey was unique. The characterization was different, the romance was different and the story evolved into something more than just another retelling of Cinderella. The same with the book Ella Enchanted. Changing scenery doesn't make the story new, it's how you allow the characters to grow from their fairy tale roots and become something special in their own right.
Note: There is a movie adaptation of Beastly coming out and since Vanessa Hudgens is playing Lindy, I guess the moral of the story was lost in production.
