Beautiful Creatures (Caster Chronicles, Book 1)

Title: Beautiful Creatures (Caster Chronicles, Book 1)

Author: Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Publisher: Little Brown

Publish Date: December 1, 2009

Edition: US Paperback

Page Number: 563

First Sentence: There were only two kinds of people in our town.

 Quick Blurb:

There was so much hype for Beautiful Creatures in the young adult bookworm world, because of the whole idea of a forbidden love story between a witch and a human. After purchasing this book, I was very ecstatic and itching to read this 563 page novel. Once I dove into it, I was extremely enthusiastic, drawn to the mysterious new girl that becomes the talk of the town in Gatlin, South Carolina. I was anxious, impatient, and frustrated to find out more and the novels first150 pages starts to set up this BIG mystery and love story that I started expecting a lot.

Unfortunately, the middle dragged out for me so slowly that I was so tempted to put it down and never to pick it up again (I did at one point to read Pure Sin). The love story that it passionately foretold was so dry and boring that it didn’t feel like anything dramatic or passionate. It was as if the authors attempted to provide the reader of something great, but fails miserably.

The ending was looked at very critically, because my patience for this book was thinning. I wanted it to end badly so I didn’t read to feel as if I was the character. I read to get it over with. That being said, the ending would most likely be better if I had more patience with it. I felt that there was too much going on and not enough details to back it up and the unnecessary events that unfolded were unfitting. The twist also failed to make me change my mind and the method of tying up the loose ends was just pathetic.

The plot was very good, save for the unnecessary content and pacing. It would have been more exciting if there wasn’t too much detail. Unfortunately, it did set up very high expectations that were not met. The writing was not phenomenal and had a lot of weaknesses, but wasn’t really the book’s problem, but only a contributing factor. However, having the book told from a male perspective is refreshing, because this happens rarely with young adult books.

Thankfully, the characters were good and not completely dry. The language and dialogue was great and hilarious! The novel also had the strength of capturing the deep southern dialect, making it more realistic. The cover itself is beautiful with iridescent trees and a vibrant purple. I was glad that, although I did not like it, at least it will look pretty on my shelf.

All in all, the novel’s concept was original, yet somewhat familiar. It was great for being situated in a stereotypical town for what will soon occur and the events that will unfold. Unfortunately, this wasn’t enough to make the novel a recommended read, as it falls flat to a solid D.

Beginning: 15/15 100%

Middle: 9/20 45%

Ending: 16/25 64%

Plot: 10/10 100%

Characters: 8/10 8%

Writing: 6/10 60%

Cover: 5/5 100%

Originality: 5/5 100%

OVERALL: 74% D

Sets up very high expectations for the reader, due to an interesting subject, but fails to satisfy.