Suzanna E. Henshon, Ph.D. (Children's Literature)
For hundreds of year the Beauty and the Beast story has enchanted readers of all ages and cultures. In Beastly Alex Flinn takes readers on a journey into the imagination of the beast who is really a sixteen year old by the name of Kyle Kingsbury. Kyle Kingsbury is popular, handsome, and arrogant at the beginning of the novel; he enjoys a high social status in high school along with wealth and privileges. Yet one day he steps a bit over the line and earns the wrath of a witch who casts a spell on him. Moments later he becomes a beast with claws and hair springing from every pore. Suddenly he is afraid of his own reflection--and that the enchantment will never be broken. Just like in a fairy tale, Kyle has to win the heart of the girl to break the spell. Yet can he do this in modern times in New York City? Or is he doomed to remain a beast forever, even though he has developed kindness and sensitivity in his new form? Readers will enjoy this modern retelling of an old story; Alex Flinn’s beastly tale is lively, realistic, and enchanting. 2008, HarperTeen/HarperCollins Publishers, $16.99. Ages 10 to 16.

Irene Halliday (Childrens Book and Play Review, January/February 2008 (Vol. 28, No. 3))
Retellings of "Beauty and the Beast" are certainly plentiful, but Alex Flinn has managed a unique, contemporary version set in New York City, with a perfectly "beastly" Beast-- rich, handsome, spoiled, crass, unfeeling, maladjusted, 14-year-old Kyle, from a seriously dysfunctional family. Readers rejoice when his highly objectionable behavior results in a magical transformation into a beast by a witch. The "Beauty" teen, Linda (also 14), isn't physically beautiful, but a very ordinary, freckled redhead, living in abject poverty with no mother and an abusive, drug-pushing father. Does this sound like the setting for true love to blossom? In spite of its excesses, Flinn manages to partially make the story work, even to capture our interest, but isn't as successful in sparking our sympathy for her characters, especially the "beastly" teen hero. Flinn's portrayal of Kyle (the Beast) as the victim of an absent mother and TV celebrity father, who is only concerned about himself and his television image, is somewhat overdrawn. Fortunately, Kyle-as-Adrian (the Beast) does improve over the two year period of the story, but the change seems a little unnatural considering his former anything-but-noble self. We finish the tale feeling wondering if Kyle's former abundant negative traits will again surface, now that he is perfectly tall, handsome and tanned once again. To her credit, Flinn's conversational style is youthful; she is in tune with the popular culture of "some", but only some, teens. Popular slang terms and crass phrases abound, as well as implied sexual activity in the early chapters. Parents may want to preview "Beastly" before allowing their children to read it. Flinn's version of the popular fairy tale is original and has moments of achievement, but suffers from excesses, which leave us questioning the "happily ever after." Rating: Significant shortcomings. Reading Level: Young adult. Category: Fairy tales. 2007, HarperCollins, 304 p., $17.89. © 2002, Brigham Young University.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, September 1, 2007 (Vol. 75, No. 17))
Cavalier and cruel, Kyle Kingsbury rules as prince of an upper-crust school until he angers the wrong Goth girl, who casts a spell that makes him look as ugly as his inner self. When claws, fur and fangs appear, Kyle is confined to a Brooklyn brownstone, where he grows roses, paws through The Hunchback of Notre Dame and IMs other transformed kids. Flinn's contemporary adaptation of Beauty and the Beast pulls fairy tales and classics like Phantom of the Opera into the context of modern teen life. Kyle's hilarious chat-room sessions most effectively exploit clever convergences of old and new. Chris Anderson moderates (sans Hans), while BeastNYC (Kyle), Froggie (a webbed prince) and SilentMaid (a little mermaid) offer support using the virtual vernacular. Teens will LOL. They will also find their preoccupations with looks, status and pride explored thoroughly. When Lindy, Kyle's Beauty, moves in, much of the interesting adaptive play recedes, but teens will still race to see if the beast gets his kiss, lifts the curse and lives happily ever after. 2007, HarperTeen, 320p, $16.99. Category: Fiction. Ages 13 up. © 2007 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Paula Rohrlick (KLIATT Review, September 2007 (Vol. 41, No. 5))
In this updated retelling of “Beauty and the Beast,” handsome, spoiled 16-year-old Kyle is cursed by a witch for being unkind and selfish. He is turned into a furry, clawed monster, and the witch tells him he has two years to find someone who will love him, despite his looks, or remain a beast forever. Periodic entries from an online chat room for those also afflicted by curses (a frog, a mermaid, etc.) provide some comic relief, but essentially this is a deeply felt version of the familiar tale as Kyle relates his story of transformation: first into a monster, and then into a caring being. His cold, wealthy father hides Kyle away in a mansion in Brooklyn, where a housekeeper and a blind tutor attend him. There he learns to appreciate literature and grow roses, and he kidnaps a lonely classmate with whom he falls in love. Will she learn to love him? The modern-day trappings of this fairy tale may help give it new meaning to YAs. Librarians and teachers might want to point readers to other recent reworkings of the story, such as Donna Jo Napoli’s Beast and Robin McKinley’s Rose Daughter. It’s a departure from Flinn’s realistic YA novels (Diva, Breathing Underwater, etc.), but YAs will appreciate her storytelling skills and her flawed but ultimately sympathetic main character. Category: Hardcover Fiction. KLIATT Codes: S--Recommended for senior high school students. 2007, HarperCollins, 320p., $16.99 and (Lib. bdg: $17.89.). Ages 15 to 18.

Karen Coats (The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, October 2007 (Vol. 61, No. 2))
Kyle is a jerk—a very good-looking, rich jerk, which is, of course, the worst kind. He comes by it honestly: his father is a network news personality with a deep disdain for ugly people and an indifferent attitude toward his son. When Kyle uses his charm and good looks to humiliate (or so he thinks) a mysterious girl at a school dance, he finds himself transformed into a hideous beast, and he begins a two-year road to redemption. His father sequesters him in a lavish townhouse with a maid and a blind tutor, and from this posh prison he must somehow find a girl to love and be loved by in return in order to break the spell. Flinn stays so close to traditional “Beauty and the Beast” tales that her version becomes almost disappointing in its predictability, and the characterizations are similarly mundane. With a nod toward her contemporary setting, however, she does introduce the internet as Kyle tries unsuccessfully to find a girl on Myspace and joins an online chat group peopled by, among others, a mermaid who wants to become human and a frog who’s looking for a princess to kiss (and has some trouble typing with his webbed feet), all talking about their feelings. These chats, however, are not integrated into the plot, nor is the origin of the group ever satisfactorily explained; readers must just accept it as part of the current of real magic that runs unseen through New York City. There is something insightful, if a bit sad, in his Beauty being the codependent daughter of a drug addict; after all, how else, in this day and age, would you find a girl who would willingly return to a father who had traded her for his own freedom? Though there are superior revisionings of the tale, readers may still be intrigued to see the beast find love in the contemporary world Review Code: Ad -- Additional book of acceptable quality for collections needing more material in the area. (c) Copyright 2006, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2007, HarperTeen, 320p.; Reviewed from galleys, $17.89 and $16.99. Grades 6-9.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Spring 2008)
In this retelling of Beauty and the Beast, Kyle, a cruel, arrogant rich kid, is cursed by a witch to live as a beast until he proves he has learned his lesson. The characters aren't quite interesting enough to make the love story sing, but Flinn's adaptation cleverly incorporates modern twists while retaining the integrity of the traditional tale. Category: Older Fiction. 2007, HarperTeen, 300pp, 16.99, 17.89. Ages 12 to 14. Rating: 3: Recommended, satisfactory in style, content, and/or illustration.

Anita Beaman (VOYA, August 2007 (Vol. 30, No 3))
The author of Breathing Underwater (HarperCollins, 2001/VOYA June 2001) and Diva (2006/VOYA October 2006), breaks new ground with her first foray into fantasy fiction. It is a tale told and retold many times, but Flinn's rendition of the classic Beauty and the Beast is creative enough to make it an engaging read. Flinn enjoys playing with unexpected narrators in her novels; Breathing Underwater is narrated by an abusive boyfriend, whereas Diva's narrator is his victim. This tale is told by the Beast himself. Kyle Kingsbury, a handsome, selfish young man, judges everyone based on looks. When he intentionally humiliates a strange young woman at the Homecoming Dance, she curses him by taking away his looks and turning him into a frightening manifestation of his beastly inner self. Unable to leave his own house and dismissed by his narcissistic father, Kyle must find a way to live as a Beast until he can break the spell. One kind act has bought him two years to find a girl to love him despite his looks and to learn to love her back. If he cannot, he will remain a Beast forever. The story's Beauty comes into Kyle's life through somewhat contrived circumstances, but she and Kyle are appealing characters who show some genuine growth during the story. Kyle's metamorphosis from arrogant bully to kindhearted gardener could be more unbelievable than his change from boy to beast, but Flinn pulls off both in this engrossing tale that will have appeal for fans of fantasy and realistic fiction. VOYA CODES: 4Q 4P J S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2007, HarperCollins, 320p., $16.99 and PLB $17.89. Ages 12 to 18.