About the book: 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 anything.
Quote of the Book: "I know you wouldn't be here if you didn't have a reason, and I suspect Macon Ravenwood's niece is, if nothing else, a reason. So why don't we all go into the back room, make a pot of tea, and try to be reasonable?" -Dr. Marian Ashcroft
My thoughts and opinion: I went against my tradition. I heard about the movie and therefore went to go see it. However, I don't think I broke my rule completely because I didn't know the movie was based on a book.
Anyway, I really enjoyed reading this book. It was interesting how it was written in Ethan's point of view. After reading a bunch of books with the girl's point of view, it was refreshing to read this book. I would have liked reading it in Lena's point of view, too. I mean, she's a Caster! Reading a story through the eyes of a Caster would be just as awesome.
I also liked how it was based in the South and that just gave the book a nice Southern twang to it. The dialogue of some of the characters was challenging to read at first, but after a few chapter, it's like an accent switch turned on so I mostly finished the book with a (terrible) Southern accent. Speaking of the South, I got a hint of history too (which usually would lose my interest since I am absolutely not a history buff) but Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl did a fantastic job, incorprating the ancient feel into the story. All of these things made Beautiful Creatures different from what I normally read. And although it was different, I thought it was a good different.
Maybe I'm just feeling kind, but I don't recall hating or even disliking anyone in this book. I might have felt a little annoyance at Ethan's dad, but that just made Amma better.
Surprisingly, I was able to tolerate Savannah and Emily and the other wannabes. I mean, they're going to have a dull, miserable life after high school. There's no future for them except being the next DAR group. Then again, it was immature of those girls to ridicule Lena all because she didn't fit in and meet the Savannah Snow Standards. Oh, and Ridley. Even though she was a Dark Caster, she wasn't too bad because she did not harm Link. She must have had some feelings if she spent all that time with Link.
I instantly loved the Sisters and I realized that the movie did not include them. A real pity, but usually I find the book better than the movie. The Sisters added a little humor to the book, too.
Now, for Ethan and Lena. Gosh, their chemistry is so sweet. They belong together like coffee and books. Go Ethan! If he hadn't been persistent, he wouldn't have gotten Lena to open up to him. The book really empathsizes on the forbidden love idea because Ethan's a Mortal and Lena's a Caster.
I definitely love this book and there were some emotional parts for me. Let's just say, I thought this book was truly beautiful.
About the book: A long, hot summer.
That's what sixteen-year-old Macy Queen has to look forward to. Her boyfriend, Jason, is going away to Brain Camp. She's stuck with a dull-as-dishwater job at the library. And all of her free time promises to be spent studying for the SATs or grieving silently with her mother over her father's death.
But everything changes when Macy is corralled into helping out at one of her mother's open events, and she meets the chaotic Wish Catering crew. Before long, Macy ditches her library job and joins up with the Wish gang: bighearted Delia; quiet, introspective Monica; and fun-loving, fashion-conscious Kristy. But best of all, there's Wes--artistic, insightful, and understanding Wes--who gets Macy to look at life in a whole new way...
In her trademark style, acclaimed author Sarah Dessen gently explores the heart of a vulnerable young woman who yearns to give in to her emotions--but doesn't quite dare.
Quote of the Book: "It's just that...I just think that some things are meant to be broken. Imperfect. Chaotic. It's the universe's way of providing contrast, you know? There have to be a few holes in the road. It's how life is." -Delia
My thoughts and opinion: I read this wonderful book for my English book project and I am so happy I did. I think I might reread all my favorites a second time because it's great to relive memories.
Macy is really oblivious and indecisive, but she's loyal and strong. Even though Jason, her jerk boyfriend, basically ended their relationship in an email, Macy still held up Jason's job at the library where there were two female robots at the counter who treated Macy like a fly. And Macy doesn't really have a mother until the middling end when her own mother breaks down and then starts to care for family and not work. So, Macy is pretty strong since she practically had to be for her mom and herself after her dad passed away.
Wes is...extraordinary and I love Macy and Wes together because their connection and bond is really true and real. They have some things in common but even if they didn't, I think Macy and Wes still would have fallen for each other in the end. Oh, but I gotta talk about Wes. So Wes is a sort of quiet sculptor who makes angels out of anything he can find that is preferably just laying there and for free. I thought this part of him gave him a uniqueness depth. He's just as oblivious as Macy, maybe a little less, but it took way too long! Now that I think about it, if Wes hadn't already worked with the Wish Catering crew, then Macy wouldn't have met him.
I mentioned it. The crew of Wish Catering. Okay, so I loved the fun-filled, action-packed crew and every single one of the members. Monica was really quiet and occasionally clumsy, but she really impressed me at the end(ish) of the book when she opened up to Macy. Bert is like the brother I wish I had because he's adorkable with his End-of-the-World obsession. Plus the GOTCHA! game that he participates in with Wes is just so brotherly that I wanted to crile. Yes, smiling while crying or crying while smiling. Kristy is like the sister I wish I had because of her fashion sense that I am not quite achieving at the moment. She's so straight-forward and blunt, which was one of the personality traits I grew fond of. Delia is a great woman and I truly applaud her for being able to bring up a lot of children and also managing a catering career. From what I reread in this book, catering seems to be really demanding.
Just read this book especially if you like forbidden love or fate-destiny. Festiny. And change because Macy does a lot, like A LOT, of changing in this book and her mother does somewhat at the end. And look at that cover! How can anyone resist the tempting...flower? Hahaha.
