Beautiful Creatures

Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (2009)
ISBN 9780316042673
Reviewed by McKenzie Tritt (age 16) for Reader Views (11/09)


Ethan Wate has finally met the girl of his dreams – or, more accurately, the girl of his nightmares. When Lena Duchannes moves to Ethan’s small hometown of Gatlin, his entire world is turned upside down. Lena is the girl that he’s been dreaming about for the last few months, the girl he couldn’t get out of his head. Now being popular and having the right friends doesn’t mean anything to Ethan. In fact, he’s ashamed to be connected to his old friends, except for Link, the one person he can always rely on.

Lena Duchannes is full of mystery and magic, and Ethan’s in over his head. He is falling quickly for Lena and he’s not sure what to do. Ethan already has enough to deal with, but now he has to help Lena prepare for her sixteenth birthday – the one in which she chooses to become Light or Dark. Can he help her, all while dealing with her crazy family, a good-girl gone-bad, and his rollercoaster of emotions?

Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl have managed to put together a completely captivating and enthralling book. “Beautiful Creatures” featured a wonderful premise, great characterization, and a wonderful setting. The location of “Beautiful Creatures” sounded simply amazing. Gatlin is one of those charming little towns that everyone wishes they could live in. The lush setting really added to the story. All of the characters were well-thought out and easy to connect with. Normally, I don’t enjoy reading books from a male’s point of view, but I found it easy to connect with Ethan. It was nice to see a guy completely in love with a girl, instead of the other way around, as we often see today. The story flowed smoothly, and the pace was perfect. There was always a new, interesting piece of information that added another element to the story and kept it moving.

“Beautiful Creatures” by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl showcases tons of emotion and passion, as well as a giant heaping of magic and mystery. I would recommend this for people in grades seven and up. This book would be great for anyone looking for suspense and romance, or just a great paranormal read.

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