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Beautiful Creatures
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In a small South Carolina town, where it seems little has changed since the Civil War, sixteen-year-old Ethan is powerfully drawn to Lena, a new classmate with whom he shares a psychic connection and whose family hides a dark secret that may be revealed on her sixteenth birthday.
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green_giraffe_387 thinks this title is suitable for between the ages of 12 and 30
knl thinks this title is suitable for between the ages of 12 and 25
indigo_cat_209 thinks this title is suitable for 12 years and over
violetraven17 thinks this title is suitable for between the ages of 12 and 30
nickinick123Icy thinks this title is suitable for 13 years and over
summerAllora thinks this title is suitable for 13 years and over
KKPGIRL thinks this title is suitable for 12 years and over
genuine513 thinks this title is suitable for 12 years and over
Mahala thinks this title is suitable for 13 years and over
Summary
Add a SummaryBeautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl is set in fictional Gatlin, South Carolina. The novel is told by protagonist Ethan Wate who lives with his writer father and housekeeper Amma who is “more like [Ethan’s] grandmother.”[2] The story begins on the first day of Ethan’s sophomore year when he wakes up from a recurring dream he’s been having about a girl he doesn’t know. That morning he finds a “creepy- almost hypnotic,” [3] song called Sixteen Moons on his iPod and also notices the smell of rosemary and lemon. At school Ethan find out there is a new girl this year which is surprisingly because Gatlin “hadn’t had a new girl in school since the 3rd grade,”[4] the new girl is “old man Ravenwood’s niece.” [5] Macon Melchizedek Ravenwood is the town shut in and is often compared to the character Boo Radley from To Kill A Mocking Bird in the novel. Ethan later hears Lena playing Sixteen Moons in band. When Ethan drives her home he almost runs over Lena who is standing on the road in the middle of the storm looking for someone to help with her broken down car. When Ethan notices she smells like lemon and rosemary he realized that Lena is the girl from his dreams. He soon learns that Lena is a Caster, a person who can use magic, and that on her sixteenth birthday she will be claimed for either Light or Dark. Ethan tries to find a way to save Lena from going Dark and solve the mystery of how he is connected to Lena. At the same time Lena is trying to handle the whole town turning against her “we don’t take kind to strangers [in Gatlin].”(Garcia 123) Lena and Ethan discover that they are connected through years of Gatlin and Caster history.
I liked this book. It was interesting, the paranormal aspects were fairly unique, and I love a story with a long family history like this one has. But I just liked it. It never grabbed me and demanded that I keep reading. I think, mostly, this was because the pacing was off. There was too much time during the story when I was relaxed and not worried about whether the characters were going to get out of trouble. Sure, there were intense moments when I was glued to the pages, but then things slowed down too much and I was lulled into a strange sense of security. This made it too easy to set the book down. Beautiful Creatures is a good story. I think it could have been great if it had been shorter, which would have increased the tension and kept the reader glued to the pages through the whole story. Or, at least, if it had a bit more depth to it with the characters and setting. Overall, the only thing that really set it apart was the paranormal aspect, which was really interesting and unique. Unfortunately, it's not enough.
Quotes
Add a Quote“We are given to the great, for great purpose, to great ends. We are given to the grave, for grave purposes, to grave ends.”
“The days we spend apart bleed together until time is an obstacle we must overcome.”
“We are given to the great, for great purpose, to great ends. We are given to the grave, for grave purposes, to grave ends.”
“Pete et Invienies.”
“Even though I couldn't remember all of it, the part I remembered was always the same.The girl was falling.I was falling.I had to hold on, but I couldn't.If I let go, something terrible would happen to her.But that's the thing.I couldn't let go.I couldn't lose her.It was like I was in love with her, even though I didn't know her.Kind of like love before first sight.Which seemed crazy because she was just a girl in a dream.I didn't know what she looked like.I had been having the dream for months, but in all that time I had never seen her face, or I couldn't remember it.All i knew was that I had the same sick feeling every time I lost her.She slipped through my fingers, and my stomach dropped right out of me-the way you feel when you're on a roller coaster and the car takes a big drop.I couldn't help it.I always thought about her.I kept coming back to that same dream, even though I couldn't exlain it.I was falling in love with a girl who didn't exist, and I was slowly losing my mind.”
“Old paper, which my mom used to say was the smell of time itself.”
“moments bleed together, no span to time”
“Claim yourself.”
“There’s something about sitting alone in the dark that reminds you how big the world really is, and how far apart we all are. The stars look like they’re so close, you could reach out and touch them. But you can’t. Sometimes things look a lot closer than they are.”
“All that destiny garbage. Nobody can decide what happens to you. Nobody but you.”
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Movie Trailer
Beautiful Creatures Feature Film Trailer - Releases February 13, 2013
Sixteen Moons
Song from "Beautiful Creatures", written by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. Performed by Michele McGonigle
Beautiful Creatures Book Trailer
"Beautiful Creatures" by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl Available December 2009 from Little, Brown and Company www.BeautifulCreaturestheBook.com
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Add a CommentThis was and awesome book! I loved it for the most part, but there were parts that I found a bit boring and hard to get past. It has a great story line and plot. The authors wrote and described the book really well. It's ending was quite unexpected. I was expecting it to be a very predictable ending, but I was wrong. I love the way all the events connect to each other. If you have enjoyed reading the Harry Potter series, this is similar-ish. It has the same magical fantasy to it, but at the same time it has more reality than most other fantasy books. That makes it more relatable. I truly loved it.
I am very DISAPPOINTED with this book. It has been well rated and by the number of holds, i had high expectations for it. From the beginning, the story has DRAGGED ON and there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING CAPTIVATING about it. The book has a great plot but the authors included a tremendous amount of UNNECESSARY HISTORICAL CONTEXT. I would not recommend this. Also, this isn't a rash comment, I've read up to page 400+ and finally decided i was done with this.Truly disappointed.
This book is so interesting. Once you open it, you never want to put it down. The details and descriptions give the book a meaningful plot, which you can picture without watching the movie, first. The movie is good, but you should read the book first because it is better.
A good book, better than the Twilight series for those familiar with them & not this. Still teenagrs in love, with and without super powers, but a lot less ludicrous angst (the angst present is generally rated). Ties in to a movie, which I haven't seen, but there may be a long hold list for this at the moment and its sequeals (Summer 2013).
The intro captivated me ... then, it went flat. I really tried to finish it, but found the reading painful. Really wished there was more to it ... the guts of the story had so much potential.
This book did not pull me in as much as I would have liked. It was quite long as well. I haven't decided if I will continue with the series. p.s. I just saw the movie & I thought it was awful
awesome book great to I love this book you should read this book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If you liked The Hunger Games and Harry Potter then you should check out this book. It is the first of the series of 4 and has just been released as a movie. I haven't seen the movie yet ... I just hope it lives up to the book. This series is not about vampires.
Long and frankly uninteresting.
Pros: 1) Young adult romance told from the guy's point of view - refreshing. 2) The world that it creates is an interesting version of the witch's genre of fantasy fiction. Cons: 1) It's over 500 pages when it really only needs to be 300 at most. 2) Most of the 500 pages is filled with what I think the authors view as authentic teen angst. 3) SPOILER ALERT: After all that, the ending doesn't resolve anything. ANYTHING. All in all, better than Twilight, not even in the same league as Harry Potter.