Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic modern retelling of Beauty & the Beast, September 1, 2009
In Crazy Beautiful, Lauren Baratz-Logsted revisits Beauty and the Beast, adapting this tale of love and transformation to a present-day setting. First meet the Beast, Lucius, who lost his hands in an explosion of his own doing. As an act of self-punishment and to keep others at a distance, Lucius chooses to live with hooks rather than prosthetic hands. Now meet Aurora, absolutely radiant, not to mention talented, but unhappy after losing her mother. Both new kids at school, they go in different directions: Lucius becomes a brooding loner while Aurora's beauty and clothing instantly attract the popular crowd. Nevertheless, small waves and smiles exchanged between the two quickly add up as Lucius realizes that not even his hooks will scare Aurora away. Together, they learn how to forgive, accept, and love.
To start, the cover of Crazy Beautiful is to die for. The stark contrast of the black and white, the unique font, and the smoke give the cover an edgy look that will instantly attract young adults. This fairy tale retelling is fast-paced, with short, to-the-point chapters. Unlike the original tale, the weight of the story is told from Lucius's point of view. Still, the chapters alternate perspectives, providing the reader with insight from both sides of various situations. Crazy Beautiful is full of raw emotion, as both narrators reveal their fears and insecurities, just like those any teenager tries to hide. Lauren Baratz-Logsted adds a nice touch by complicating the story with the high school's production Grease and Jessup's role as a parallel to Gaston. Though I couldn't pull myself away from this book, I found that the climax resolved itself too quickly. As a result, the end conflict was rather anticlimactic and difficult to believe. Overall, Crazy Beautiful is a well-done modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast that will captivate its readers. 8 of 10.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Exquisite Retelling of Classic Tale, August 19, 2009
The tale of Beauty and the Beast has been retold numerous times, but never as exquisitely presented as it is in Crazy Beautiful.
Lucius, a boy who blew off his hands after an experiment gone awry, meets the beautiful and smart Aurora on the school bus. Both are immediately drawn to one another. All the other kids are intimidated by Lucius' hooks and the rumors circulating about the explosion he caused. For the most part, they treat him like the plague; avoiding him or calling him "Crip" or "Hooks" if they converse with him at all. Except for Aurora. She's not intimidated by the hooks--in fact, they seem to draw her to him even more. But Lucius is certain that someone as beautiful and popular as Aurora would never be interested in someone like him. When she does speak to him, he shies away from her, assuming she must be only pitying him. Will Lucius and Aurora ever be able to get beyond all the cliques and cruelty of high school to see what's really important, and realize they were meant for one another?
I devoured this book in one sitting. The story was narrated through the alternating viewpoints of both Aurora and Lucius in short, evocative chapters. This was a smart choice on the part of Baratz-Logsted. Being able to discern how differently Aurora and Lucius perceived the same situation added greater insight into their characters and a deeper meaning to the book for me. The suspense of not knowing what Lucius' true motivations were when he concocted that deadly chemical mixture really drove me crazy though, and I found myself anxious to understand his motivations. I couldn't help but like Lucius, he was so witty and so strong minded. Though he was relegated to using hooks in place of hands, he exhibited such an amazing amount of dexterity in mastering the technique, that I really admired his spunk and wanted so badly for him to find friendship and love. I also loved how there was more to Aurora than just being beautiful. She had a maturity and sensitive nature that was I really admired in her character. I loved how she was able to look beyond the surface and see there was so much more to him than a disfigurement.
Bottom Line- Crazy Beautiful is a love story, but it's so much more than that too. It deals with profound issues of loss, friendship, healing and second chances. The raw emotions of both the main characters are often painful--Lucius wasn't the only person coping with trauma in his life. At the beginning of the novel, Aurora was just getting over the loss of a parent; the pain of which was all too raw. But Baratz-Logsted punctuated their story with moments of sharp humor, making sure Crazy Beautiful never detoured into a sappy love story. I've read a lot of reviews that said Crazy Beautiful "will keep you coming back for more" and after reading this novel, I understand why so many people felt that way. Crazy Beautiful is a smart, compelling novel that stays with you long after you have finished it, and I am certain that I will also be going back to it again and again.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
I enjoyed this book a lot!, October 22, 2009
All right..where to begin. I have a lot of wonderful things to say about Crazy Beautiful, but then I also have some little bitty problems with it. But it is still B+ worthy in my book, I really enjoyed reading it!
So to set the story up for you guys there is Lucius Wolfe (kind of a bad ass name is you ask me, and I think it is really fitting to his character). Lucius is the guy with hooks for hands, he blew off his hands while he was 'experimenting' in his basement. He choose the hooks so he could remind himself every day what a 'beast' he is. He is a new student at the high school (I cant remember the name). He is the outcast, the crip, the one who scares all. There is another new student and her name is Aurora Belle, except she is the total opposite of Lucius. She is out-going, charming, beautiful, friendly, and the one person Lucius cannot stop thinking about ever since they first had eye contact. Their relationship is somewhat of an odd one, since they don't really interact a lot with one another but when they do, it has so much meaning. I found myself loving their 'relationship' if you can call it that, they both wanted to be something different and in the end, it all works out.
Okay, so onto what I thought was really good of the book! There was a lot of good in the book actually, and instead of writing and telling you about it, there are two quotes that I want to take directly from the book because I thought they were awesome, and really make you think about yourself and how you value your friendships. So without further ado:
"Then I decide I do want to do it. If he is my friend, and I believe he is, and if friendship means wanting what's best for the other person and not simply what's best for the other person in relation to you, then I have to do it. I am ethically bound." - Lucius Wolfe
Reading this made me so happy, Lucius is not the kind of guy that has a ton of friends, he actually only has one guy who he calls his friend, Nick Green. And seeing Lucius realize what it means to be a friend is truly something special. It was cute.
Next one, still dealing with friendship: "This is, I think, what it must mean to be human: to want something good for someone else." - Lucius Wolfe
Wanting something good to happen to another person is something that a lot of people dont do easily, some get jealous, and some get angry, but having Lucius say this about another person is eye-opening, since he is growing up as a teenager, he is finding what it feels like to be a friend and to want something more for another person.
Some of the parts in the book were funny, I found myself Laughing of Loud more than a few times, but I also found myself tearing up just a tiny bit. I really enjoyed reading this book. I love the idea of gaining the strength to finally put someone above yourself, because that is what Lucius does in this book, he puts Nick Green and Aurora above himself. It is very amazing to read.
Oh and my little bitty problems with the book: I wish it was longer..unless of course there will be a sequel! But I wish there was more to read, I didn't want the story to end. And the characters could have been a little more developed but I think it worked with how little you knew about them, and then as you read more they kind of just grew on you.
All in all, it was a good read, and I plan on rereading it in the future! I am crossing my fingers that there will be a sequel! That would be awesome!
Oh! And the cover!! I love it! I love the black and white, it is perfect for this book. The font is pretty awesome too! It might possibly be one of my favorite covers of this years books!
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