Beastly by Alex Flinn/304 pages

Since this seems to be the year for retelling fairy tales, you might want to go back and read this Beauty and Beast remake by Alex Flinn. This book has been around for a few years and they even made a movie.  We did it again for our young adult book discussion and overall, gave it a thumbs up. Flinn has given the fairy tale a modern twist with a handsome, popular, rich boy living in New York City, Kyle Kingsbury. Kyle is superficial and believes that looks are very important. After making fun of the wrong person, she casts a spell on Kyle that seems impossible to break. The author  keeps some of the original themes, living in the castle, the roses and "Beauty's" father handing her over to the Beast. The group liked the modern twists, each chapter started with chat room dialogue from a support group for teens that have been transformed, i.e. mermaids, frogs, a little far-fetched but hey it's a fairy tale. Flinn has recently released a new novel "Bewitching" that tells the story of Kendra, the witch that put the spell on Kyle and turned him into the beast.