Review and Reflections: Beastly by Alex Flinn

I finished reading Beastly by Alex Flinn about an hour ago. It's a wonderful adaptation of a classic fairy tale. It's a good reflection of modern society, too. Albeit, it's a little out-of-scope as far as how American high schoolers TRULY act, but I think a little over exaggeration is not necessarily a bad thing. It's certainly not "High School Musical" by any means.

A short synopsis of this book: Kyle Kingsbury is the son of a network news anchor, and has been taught that looks mean absolutely everything in the world. Rich and beautiful, Kyle rules his private and very elite high school. Every guy wants to be him and every girl wants to date him. Every girl except for one--Kendra. Kendra, a gothic non-conformist is the first to ever show Kyle Kingsbury just how ugly he is, and Kyle is out for vengeance. Soon, he finds that he messed with the wrong Goth and his life is changed forever. In a flash, Kyle goes from man to beast and has two years to feel True Love's kiss or he will be stuck like that, forever.

Sounds like a familiar story, right? It is. And Alex Flinn does everything right. She incorporates the importance of roses (a mainstay in all "Beauty and the Beast" fairytale versions.) She makes the characters believable (save for the hulking beast who we'll get back to later.) And she, even, admittedly asks the questions that I think anybody familiar with the original story have asked themselves. As I said earlier, Flinn paints a great picture of human nature. She notes the social hierarchy that's not only in schools but in the real-life working world. She highlights the emphasis that society has on appearances. But she also offers an amazing commentary on true love that makes a hopeless romantic like me truly dig this book.

I like how playful Flinn is as a writer--I laughed a lot during reading this, even in the serious parts. For instance, I enjoy that the love interest in this version is named Linda (though she's called Lindy.) Linda is Spanish for Beauty, for those who don't know, just as Belle is French for Beauty in the classic telling of this fairytale.

"It's strange, though." [Lindy] said. "People make such a big deal about looks, but after a while, when you know someone, you don't notice anymore, do you? It's just the way they look."

I happened to have seen the movie adaptation of Beastly the weekend it opened. It was a very cute movie, and actually pretty close to the book. Where it wasn't identical to it, it at least remained true to the feeling of the book. I would have preferred a stronger presence of the magic that made its way through the entire book--for instance the magic mirror--but all in all, it was very good. My main problem with it was the interpretation of the Beast. Flinn admits, in the Author's Note at the end of Beastly that she based the Beast's appearance on the beast that is portrayed in La belle et la bête, the 1940's French film. He was supposed to look like this guy! Or like the Beast in Disney's Beauty and the Beast. Mostly, I feel that if the author goes out of their way to describe the way a character looks as many times as Flinn did, then that artistic vision should be honored. There were no blurred lines or grey areas about what the Beast was supposed to look like.

Instead, the movie creators went for something else. Not necessarily bad, don't get me wrong. In fact the Adrian that they created was much more believable. But it did deter from the feeling of the story. They made him look like just a pierced and tattooed skinhead, not a Beast. And it's not hard to love somebody who looks like a person. The beauty of this story was that he did not look human. It was beautiful that Lindy had to search for the human inside of the Beast.

But if that's my only argument, then I guess it was a job well done. :)

Confessions of a College Grad

Does anybody remember when it seemed so glamorous to graduate from college? TV and society reinforce time and time again that the only way to do anything in this life is to get a degree. So you work and work and strive and struggle and starve until you walk that stage, shake hands with the heads of the college, smile from the camera and steal away with your degree before you can get caught in an awkward conversation with somebody's mom who you don't quite remember.

And then, the magnitude of everything hits. No longer do you have advisor telling you what classes to take and when. No longer can you get by on the minimum wage pay check you were making. And the stacks and stacks and stacks of applications. The minute details that employers request, the mundane information that doesn't apply to your actual ability. Suddenly, you realize "this is it, I'm an adult." And you have to pick up and move on. There's no weaning into adulthood. There are no more baby steps. Just suddenly, you are thrown into being a "grown-up."

And, oddly, I'm loving it. It's kind of nice to be making my own choices, doing my own things. And yes, I have found a loophole into this adulthood thing. And yes, I am living with my parents. But I answer to nobody. I have no homework to do. I go to work, and then I'm through. If I want to go out, I can and not feel guilty for not practicing or not doing homework.

I wake up in the morings, I drink my coffee, I write some, I watch "The People' Court." I get dressed for work, come home and do it all over again the next day. It's somewhat monotonous, but that will change when I'm actually in my career, and not just working a job.

Wal-Mart is actually very kind to me. They worked with my Student Teaching schedule, whenever I needed them to. They let me have Sundays off so I can go and worship my Lord. They're good to me. And in return, I'm good to them. I do my job well. All of my jobs. Whether I'm behind the Customer Service Desk, at a cash register, greeting people at the door or actually being the Customer Service Manager (which is my actual job title,) I treat customers well and am praised for my service. But that's the way I operate; I take my job seriously.

I'm still crossing my fingers for a teaching job to come my way, but until them, I'm pretty content.

Come June, I'll be married. And then who knows what's coming next besides God? But I'm willing to take it all with a smile. :)

God bless you all.