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Jump to navigationJump to searchBeautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl (view source)
Revision as of 09:11, 19 February 2018
, 09:11, 19 February 2018no edit summary
{{infobox infobox1
|title= Beautiful Creatures
|author= Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
|buy= Yes
|borrow= Yes
|pages=576
|publisher= Puffin
|date= February 2010
|isbn=978-0141326085
|sort=Beautiful Creatures
|video=hrVl6pq1gNE
|cover=Garcia_Creatures
|aznuk=0141326085
|aznus=0316042676
}}
Added to that pressure is the bigotry shown towards Lena by most of the other inhabitants of Gatlin, who dislike newcomers and have always shunned her uncle - although some are supportive, as Ethan and Lena find that there are many townsfolk with hidden depths which Ethan could never have imagined.
Many books I read at the moment seem to start slowly and pick up speed. This one starts quickly and is going at a canter by about a third of the way through. Even the bits at the start which appear to be 'just' character development turn out to be subtle foreshadowing as certain facts are revealed to the two teens. It's a multi-layered, wonderfully deep plot, with rich characters and an incredible atmosphere which gave me goose bumps while reading it. It has obvious similarities to [[Teenage boy meets mysterious new stranger in a small town. They fall in love, he finds out she's harbouring a dark secret, the pair of them try to find out if their relationship can work while she tries to keep him safe from her world. This kind of book appears to be released every few weeks since [[Twilight by Stephenie Meyer|Twilight]] became so successful – but rarely in the past few years has it been done as well as it has in Beautiful Creatures.|Twilight]], but it also draws on ''[[To Kill A Mockingbird'' by Harper Lee|To Kill a Mockingbird]] – not only is it the book their English class is reading, but Macon's dog is called Boo Radley.
The characters are wonderful, particularly the main two, with Ethan being the most likeable narrator I've read for a while. Amma, Lena's mysterious cousin Ridley, and Ethan's best friend Link, who stands by him as the romance inevitably alienates him from most of the popular kids in school, are also especially well developed. The scenes the pair see when they touch the locket also deserve special mention – while they're always brief, they feel realistic for a historical fantasy setting, and Lena's ancestor Genevieve and Ethan's great-great-great-great-great-uncle, who he shares a name with, are both well-written.
Further reading suggestion: Take your pick from several other excellent teen fantasy romances out there. While for me this is the best one around, Lauren Kate's [[Fallen by Lauren Kate|Fallen]] is also superb and should be enjoyed by anyone who liked Beautiful Creatures.
{{toptentext|list=Bookbag's Christmas Gift Recommendations 2010}} {{amazontext|amazon=0141326085}} {{waterstonestextamazonUStext|waterstonesamazon=69235160316042676}}
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