Beastly
By Alex Flinn

A modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast, told through the point of view of the Beast. Kyle Kingsbury is a vain, good looking, Manhattan private school student who treats everyone by their looks. When he goes too far with his vainness at a school dance, he is transformed into a beast and given two years to break the curse by having a girl see through his hideousness and love him with him loving her back and kissing to prove it. For the first year of the curse, Kyle feels he will forever remain a beast, only going out at night and watching the world go by through the windows by day with only a maid and his blind tutor as company. Then he meets Lindy using a magic mirror given to him by the witch that put him under the curse. When her father tries breaking in he agrees to send Lindy to live with Kyle. During their acquaintanceship, Kyle begins to fall in love with Lindy, something that would not have happened pre-transformation because of Lindy’s “average” looks. But can Lindy look past Kyle’s beastly form and love him before the remaining year runs out? Flinn combines aspects from several versions of the Beauty and the Beast story along with references to other transformation stories and characters that are forced into hiding because of their appearance. Readers who enjoy retellings of classic stories would not be disappointed with Beastly.