Beautiful Darkness (Beautiful Creatures) [Paperback]

Kami Garcia (Author), Margaret Stohl (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 19, 2011 | Series: Beautiful Creatures

Ethan Wate used to think of Gatlin, the small Southern town he had always called home, as a place where nothing ever changed. Then he met mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes, who revealed a secret world that had been hidden in plain sight all along. A Gatlin that harbored ancient secrets beneath its moss-covered oaks and cracked sidewalks. A Gatlin where a curse has marked Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals for generations. A Gatlin where impossible, magical, life-altering events happen.

Sometimes life-ending.

Together they can face anything Gatlin throws at them, but after suffering a tragic loss, Lena starts to pull away, keeping secrets that test their relationship. And now that Ethan's eyes have been opened to the darker side of Gatlin, there's no going back. Haunted by strange visions only he can see, Ethan is pulled deeper into his town's tangled history and finds himself caught up in the dangerous network of underground passageways endlessly crisscrossing the South, where nothing is as it seems.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up—This engrossing must-have sequel to Beautiful Creatures (Little, Brown, 2009) immediately returns to Gatlin, SC, and the seemingly impossible relationship between Caster girl Lena Duchannes, as yet un-Claimed for Light or Dark, and Ethan Wate, her beloved Mortal. Grieving the recent loss of Uncle Macon and worried that her 17th Moon and family curse will destroy everyone else she loves, Lena pulls away from Ethan and runs off to the Great Barrier with Siren cousin Ridley and mysterious John Breed. But is she headed for nirvana or danger? Plagued by strange visions and accompanied by his loyal friend Link and Keeper-in-Training Liv, Ethan travels the Caster Tunnels running beneath the world determined to save Lena. Along the way he faces shocking revelations about his family and gets help from several unexpected sources—developments that will further enamor readers. Familiar and favorite characters behave just as remembered, and sometimes even better. New additions, especially clever Liv, enhance the series and its plot, which is a cycle of hope, despair, and possibility. Like her Book of Moons, it gives and takes with equal measure in a great storytelling balance. Mortal and Castor settings aboveground and below reinforce the novel's Southern and gothic tone. Past and present are navigated successfully, offering new information while creating more questions. With allusions to a bigger game afoot and a classic good vs. evil climax that leaves several loose ends (unique, dangerous, and entertaining), this volume will leave readers clamoring for the next installment.—Danielle Serra, Cliffside Park Public Library, NJ
(c) Copyright 2011.  Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

The anticipated sequel to Beautiful Creatures (2009) picks up where the first book left off. After revealing some of the twists in their tangled relationship, Ethan and his otherworldly Caster girlfriend, Lena, must further delve into her fate. Will she be claimed by the Light or the Darkness? And what can Ethan do to help save her as her journey intensifies? The southern gothic atmosphere, several new characters, and the surprising fate of one old favorite will keep readers going until the next book, which promises new surprises as “18 moons” approaches. Grades 9-12. --Ilene Cooper --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition (September 19, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316077046
• ISBN-13: 978-0316077040
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1.5 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (931 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,315 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 63 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent sequel October 14, 2010

By The Compulsive Reader VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Lena and Ethan have lived through the day that they had been dreading for months, Lena's sixteenth birthday, but not without some sacrifices. With Macon's death, Lena is depressed and lost, and there doesn't seem to be anything that Ethan can do to help her, despite his own experiences with grief. Then Lena begins pulling away and taking risks, and Ethan, still not aware of what really happened to him the night of Lena's birthday, can't understand why. So he digs deeper into Caster lore and his mother's research to look for a way to save Lena and what they have before it's too late. But once you've entered the Caster world, you can never go back, and some secrets Ethan uncovers will put him and everyone he loves in far more danger than he can imagine.

Beautiful Darkness is a very detailed and layered sequel that won't disappoint fans of Beautiful Creatures. Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl's world is vivid and rich, with an old south backdrop, lore, and traditions--the setting is really what sets their work apart from the endless options in the paranormal genre. Though it picks up where Beautiful Creatures leaves off, the book covers a good amount of time as Lena and Ethan struggle with conflicting feelings about the night of Lena's birthday, the consequences, and the grief each are experiencing. Ethan's voice is especially strong in this installment, as he has to stand on his own and discovers a whole new world right beneath his own nose. Garcia and Stohl also introduce a few new characters that add new tension between the main characters and open the way to new, surprising secrets about Caster powers and the battle of Light vs. Dark. All the twists, secrets, and surprises culminate in a journey through the Caster tunnels and a suspenseful showdown between family members that will leave some dead, and some very much alive. There might be some confusion as to who is left standing at the end, but one thing is for certain: this story is not over, and readers still have another deliciously thick and dark gothic book to look forward to.

35 of 38 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Sequel October 14, 2010

By A Book Obsession.. TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

After not being claimed for darkness like she feared, you would expect Lena to be happy to be able to stay with Ethan. However her guilt from her Uncle's death is threatening to consume her and causes Lena to pull further and further away from Ethan. When Ethan starts having mysterious visions again, this time without Lena, he knows she is in trouble, but he just isn't sure what the danger really is. When Lena really starts to take a turn for the worst, Ethan may just be the only person who can save her from herself, but what happens when she doesn't want to be saved?

The teen love angst was majorly stepped up in this book. It really surprises me to say this, but I actually think the angst added to the story. Usually this is something that will turn me off of a series, but it was handled perfectly in this book. Everything between Ethan and Lena is thoroughly strained, ripped, torn apart. It's almost as if all of their differences grew together and formed an impenetrable wall between the two of them. However, while the issues between them made for a terribly nail biting read, if they can overcome those obstacles, they will only come out the other side that much stronger. I really enjoy these two together and I hope their relationship will stand the test of time despite the road blocks along the way.

A lot of questions get answered in this book. Many of those answers are ones you will never see coming. Things are really starting to come all together and the events in the past have woven a very intricate web to lead into the present. It's amazing to see how everything has led up to the current events, and its hard to believe there is still plenty we do not know. This book really has just the right amount of revelations to really keep the pace going, but it leaves plenty of mystery as well. This is a really fine line to follow, and can be one of my biggest pet peeves in a book. Too little information and the book is very frustrating, but too many revelations can become boring as there is no mystery left. I am very impressed with the way this series is progressing and handling the "information and mystery" issues.

If you thought the stakes were high in the first book, this one steps it up that much further. Be prepared to sit on the edge of your seat the entire book. I couldn't read it any faster! This book will definitely grip you every bit as hard as the first one. After the revelations in this book, I cannot imagine the direction the next book will have to take. If you enjoyed the first book, this one surely will not disappoint. If you are anything like me, as soon as you finish this book, you will be counting down until the next one.

34 of 39 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Half a book October 29, 2010

By Andre Detommaso

Format:MP3 CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

This review does not contain spoilers. I dearly loved Beautiful Creatures. I knew it's often hard to write a follow-up story, especially for new authors, but I was heartened by the positive reviews, and I got the book. But Beautiful Darkness unfortunately is nothing like the first book. In the appendix, the authors thank their editor, however I think she more than anyone failed them, along with perhaps the project director. The first half of the book is pretty good, and the darkness of the story is relatively well developed, but the second half can only be described as dreadful, and in the end profoundly disappointing. Every single rookie writer mistake, so delightfully absent from the first book, is present in the second half. The story line is convoluted, and plot devices abound everywhere, almost comically. The quick, insightful humour and characterization becomes ham-fisted, full of lengthy repetitive descriptions. The overall story devolves into something that reminded me of a comic book, and I'm not talking about a good graphic novel. Even the ending never ends, continuing for seemingly forever. As I read, and then forced myself to reread the book, I found myself wondering which age bracket the authors were trying to aim for. Certainly they have successfully lowered the target age for their audience with this installment. But more than that, I think that the editor should have sent the manuscript back for a rewrite of the second half. Yes, the deadline would have likely been missed, and perhaps everyone is counting on Warner Bros' movie money already, but I can't imagine that this book will help the overall project long term. From the other reviews, maybe I'm wrong and everyone else has no problem with lousy writing and a descent into comic book-like storytelling, but I think it's a real shame, given how great Beautiful Creatures was. I think this book is exactly what happens when new authors have to write a second novel, the inspiration is not quite there anymore, and their editor is not behind them to ensure that their product is as strong as possible. Ultimately it ends up hurting everyone. I can only hope that they will redeem themselves with the third installment, although I am no longer sure about this whole project.