This week’s Check it Out pick is none other than Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.
“Some loves are cursed”
In the small Southern town of Gatlin, South Carolina, Ethan is just your average southern teen who plays basketball, hangs out with his best friend Link, and dreams of getting out. However, Ethan dreams of a beautiful girl at night. This wouldn’t be so weird except the girl usually dies at the end of each dream by drowning and Ethan usually wakes up covered in the muddy water from his dreams.
So when the girl of his dreams, Lena, appears at his school as a new student, Ethan is drawn to her. But Lena has many secrets and her family is anything but a typical southern family. Suddenly Ethan and Lena find themselves at the center of a centuries old mystery that involves their families and the small southern town they wish to leave.
I didn’t realize this was the beginning of a series until I reached the very end and I had a ton of questions that were left unanswered. Surprisingly though, I wasn’t disappointed by this fact. Instead, I was left exhilarated for the next novel that has yet to be published.
Things I loved: While Ethan and Lena were great characters to get attached to, I found that the characters I really wanted to read about were the secondary characters=the members of their families. Ethan’s housekeeper/caretaker is a feisty southern woman who I couldn’t get enough of. Lena’s uncle is a central character to the plot but their wasn’t enough of him on the page.
I liked that the story is told through Ethan’s point of view. It was refreshing.
And I LOVED that my favorite character of the novel was Marion the Librarian of the library(s). The positive way libraries and books are approached in the novel was wonderful!!!
Things that could be improved: While Lena and Ethan are great characters, they needed to be developed more. I felt like the authors only scratched the surface with them. This could be because they have the rest of the series to flesh them out a bit but I would have liked to understand a little bit more about their motivations. Also, I felt like certain things were left up in the air that shouldn’t have been. If you read the novel, you will see what I mean.
Overall, I really did like the novel and can’t wait to read more. I haven’t read much southern gothic fiction but the novel peaked my interest in this subject.
For more about this book, you should check out the author’s website.
On a completely different topic: I may have a movie review coming up in the next few days. I’m still thinking about it.
Until next time!
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I checked this book out from my local library. You should do the same!
The Dreamer's Oasis 