Beastly

There are so many retellings of classic fairy tales out there that sometimes it can be hard to find the good ones. Beauty and the Beast has always been a favorite of mine, ever since I first saw the Disney movie as a child (a headstrong heroine who loves books, that's totally my think) and Alex Flinn's Beastly, a modern retelling of the story has to be one of the best I've ever read, right up there with Robin McKinley's Beauty.

The story is about spoiled, arrogant and rude popular boy, Kyle Kingsbury, who one day decides to play a prank on the wrong girl, a witch, and ends up cursed to be as beastly on the outside as he is in the inside. In order to break the spell he must find someone to love him in spite of his ugliness, who he must love in return and for that love to be sealed with a kiss. After many failed attempts, including browsing Myspace, he meets Lindy, a girl with a love for books and a kind spirit. He sets off to try and win her heart and in turn break the spell.

This was a quick read for me, only about two and a half hours, but I loved every minute of it. To see this classic story set in a modern city with all the wonders of technology (computers, credit cards, the internet) while still having all the right magic touches (the full transformation, the mirror, the rose petals) was wonderful. It's literally like someone took the Disney movie and just set it in modern day New York instead of a peaceful little French town.

The characters were all extremely well-written, especially Kyle. In the beginning, you can't help but loathe this guy, we've all met one like him in school and probably despised him a little. He thinks he's all that, riding on his good looks and assuming that the world revolves around him because he thinks he's superior in some way. After his transformation, his personality changes drastically. His blind tutor, Will and the housekeeper, Magda, are his only companions for over a year and he splits his time between them, reading, and caring for the roses he's planted in his backyard. He learns to appreciate the simpler things in life. Lindy was exactly as she should have been. She didn't need to be Hollywood beautiful to win his heart, she was just beautiful on the inside and that was all that really mattered. When Kyle got past her physical appearance, which was fine just not spectacular, he found a real person and by doing so, he became a better person too.

The story is predictable but that's perfectly alright, it's a retelling after all and most people have heard the basic story before. I'd suggest this to anyone who likes fairy tales and GOOD fantasy relationships, ones that promote a healthy relationship. Ok, to be fair, the kidnapping isn't the best example, but he was saving her from her abusive father and gave her a better life. But it's their END relationship that's the one people should strive for.

Beastly - 5 out of 5 stars

Boneshaker

About a month ago when I couldn't come up with any new books I wanted to read, I started looking up steampunk novels, I figured if I like steampunk clothing, wouldn't books be even better? I found a nice list at http://www.sflare.com/archives/ten-steampunk-novels-you-ought-to-read/ and that helped get me into that genre. I'll post later about what I thought about some of the books on the list, but for now, here's a review on a random steampunk book I found in the lovely Gold Room (sci-fi and fantasy) at Powell's.

Boneshaker is a zombie steampunk novel by Cherie Priest, published in 2009. It's set around the Civil War era, in the city of Seattle which is half destroyed by a machine called the "Boneshaker" and whose after-effects left thousands of citizens as nothing more than mindless walking corpses. A giant wall seals off the contaminated part of town, letting it crumble and decay. On the other side of the wall, the widow of the man who created the "Boneshaker" is trying to raise her son Ezekiel until one day, the teen decides to go into the old city and look for evidence that would possibly prove his father's innocence.

I'll admit, it took me a little while to really get into this book but by the time I was halfway through, I couldn't put it down and ended up reading late into the night to finish it. The setting is dark and often times rather depressing, you can visualize how bleak and miserable that city is and it gets to you a little. I live near Seattle and I know how overcast and dreary the weather can be, so that just added to how I visualized the setting. Other than that, the story is well put together, with many fantastic adventure elements, like pirates, airships, underground tunnels and of course, rotting zombies who chase after the characters in mindless hordes, wanting only to tear them to shreds and only being stopped by the forceful removal of limbs or heads.

This is a nice combination of steampunk and zombies, it's not so technical that it makes your mind spin like some steampunk works, there's just enough for it to seem like sci-fi while not being over the top and unrealistic. I'd suggest this to anyone interested in steampunk books, this is a nice, gradual introduction into the genre, one that will hopefully leave readers eager to read more books like it.

Boneshaker - 4 out of 5 stars