Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl (Book Review 2010-118)

Product Description

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Kami Garcia is a teacher and reading specialist with an MA in education, and leads book groups for children and teenagers. Margaret Stohl has an MA in English and studied creative writing under poet George MacBeth at the University of East Anglia, Norwich. They both live in Los Angeles, California, with their families. Beautiful Creatures is their debut novel.

Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Hardcover: 576 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; 1 edition (December 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316042676
• ISBN-13: 978-0316042673

LOVED IT

The first thing that came to mind when I finished reading this was "Southern Gothic" and a little bit of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee mixed in.  The size and length of this book overwhelmed me at first and this is probably why it took me so long to pick up, but once I started it, I couldn't put it down.  The writing is just absolutely lush.  I can't think of a better word for it, but it fits.  Right down to the discussion of weather, food and descriptions, everything about the book is lush.

This is not just another teen drama, but a wonderful study on love and relationships.  It did take me about 10 hours of reading to get through it, but it was well worth it.  No worries for parents here either.  There is some necking and slight violence but not even on par with Romeo and Juliet.  And come to think of it, there are elements of that classic in here as well.  I can't wait to start on the next one in this series.