I heard mixed opinions on this book from two people I trust. I don't remember who liked it but I did. The Beast is a teen boy in New York who is vain and cruel. After he is transformed into a beast, his father ships him off to another house with a housekeeper and a tutor. True to the tale, he stakes his hopes on a girl who doesn't know who he really is. Good tale. ( )

Beastly is author Alex Flinn's modern interpretation of the classic tale of "Beauty and the Beast." In it Kyle Kingsbury is one of the beautiful people at his exclusive private New York high school, and he absolutely knows it. In true beastlike fashion, he has nothing but contempt for those who don't live up to his impossible standards of beauty, wealth, and prominence. He, of course, plays a prank on the chubby goth girl in one of his classes which leads to his eventual transformation into the Beast. The goth girl/witch gives him two years to find someone who will love him despite his appearance, and kiss him to prove it.

Flinn's updated fairy tale holds everything you would expect of the classic and well-loved story, which makes it a comfortable and satisfying book. There aren't any true surprises, but rather a gentle curiosity and an easy enjoyment which, when paired with the very sympathetic characters, pull the reader straight through.

Beastly is scheduled to be released as a motion picture for the Summer of 2010, which should result in a surge of interest in this updated classic. ( )

Kyle Kingsbury is gorgeous on the outside but on the inside he is ugly. He is turned into a beast by a witch in his english class. The witch gave him two years to find true love or remain a beast forever.
I really enjoyed this book. I love fairytales and Beauty and the Beast was always one of my favorite Disney movies. I thought it was neat how Alex Flinn put a mordern twist to it. ( )

Reviewed by Cana Rensberger for TeensReadToo.com

"Kyle Kingsbury, you are beastly."

That's what Kendra said. Beastly. But Kyle had it all: popularity, good looks, money, and any girl he wanted. Kyle never missed an opportunity to let the inferior people know just how far beneath him they were, including his best friend, whose dad was merely a doctor. Kyle's dad was the nightly New York City news anchor. At Tuttle, an elite school for the richest of the rich, Kyle was a somebody.

Until the school dance. Until his stupid maid bought his girlfriend a rose instead of an orchid for her corsage, which Kyle tossed to a scholarship student. Until he deliberately set up Kendra to be embarrassed and humiliated when she realized that he, Prince of the dance, already had a date and never intended to be her escort.

Until Kendra appeared in his bedroom and he received his "comeuppance."

"You will know what it is like not to be beautiful, to be as ugly on the outside as on the inside..."

The clock struck midnight and Kyle was left a beast, with only a magic mirror for company.

Kyle's famous dad vows to spend whatever it takes to cure his son's affliction. When he realizes even his money isn't enough to find a cure, he banishes his son, with their maid and a tutor, to a New York brownstone.

Will Kyle ever be able to break the curse? Will he find true love's kiss or be forever doomed to roam the New York City streets in the dark of night, hidden as the beast?

BEASTLY, by Alex Flinn, is a modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast. This novel is just plain fun . Ms. Flinn creates the perfect romantic tension when Kyle finds his true love and then has to let her go. Like the fragrance of the perfect rose, BEASTLY will linger with the reader, leaving the feeling that life is indeed good long after the pages of the book have been pressed closed. ( )

Kyle Kingsbury has everything; money, looks, and a hot girlfriend. He also thinks he's above everyone else because he has these things and his dad is a famous news broadcaster. One day, he makes fun of a girl at his school. What he doesn't know is that she is a witch and she puts a spell on him. Now he must fall in love with a girl and earn her love in return within two years in order for the spell to be broken. This book is amazing, it's one of my new favorites. It's basically a modern day Beauty and the Beast but instead, it's told from the Beast's point of view and not the Beauty's. If you like love stories and/or fantasies, this is a great book to read. It's also a quick read because you can't put it down. ( )