Book Review: BEAUTIFUL CREATURES

Beautiful Creatures by Kimi Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Beautiful Creatures is one of those books where people are more likely to have watched the movie rather than the book itself; it is also one of those books where the book (or series) is much better than the movie.

Beautiful Creatures is set in Gatlin, South Carolina, and is narrated by Ethan Carter Wate, an average boy who has literally lived in Gatlin for his entire life, like the generations and generations of Wates before him. In a town that never changes, it’s no wonder that Ethan can’t wait to graduate and get out of Gatlin. But his life is turned upside down when a new girl comes to town. She is Lena Duchannes, the niece of Macon Ravenwood, the “Boo Radley” of Gatlin.

What I enjoy most about this book is the element of mysticism in it. It is revealed that Lena Duchannes is in fact a witch, otherwise called a Caster. She part of a family of Casters with special powers. These Witches are even divided up into special groups depending on their powers: there are the Sirens, who have the power to persuade people to do anything they want; the Illusionists, who can change how things seem; Shifters, who change how things are, and most importantly, the Naturals, who are the most powerful Casters of all. Not only that, there is also an element of light versus dark in the Caster world, where Casters have to claim their allegiance to either the Light, meaning they are good, or the Dark, which will eventually begin to twist their mind, turning them evil.

In the middle of this is Lena, who is nearing her sixteenth birthday, which is the day she will be claimed. The book portrays Lena’s conflict in an interesting manner – she loses control of her powers easily, causing it to rain or even breaking windows, all of which are seen as negative and seem to hint that she will be going Dark; nevertheless, she dreads the idea of going Dark, and does her best to fight against it, oftentimes with Ethan’s support.

One of the main focuses in the book is the romance between Ethan and Lena; unlike in books like Twilight, where the characters fall in love “at first sight”, we can see clearly how Ethan and Lena’s relationship gradually develops as they fall in love. From the first moment they meet, they share a connection - both of them share the same dreams (the reason for this is revealed in the second book) and hence recognise each other. We are given a plausible reason for their interest in each other - not because they fall in love at first sight, but because they just want to know who the other is and why they are sharing dreams. Their relationship develops from there - Lena is treated as a freak due to her connection to Macon Ravenwood while Ethan does what no one else dares to: he stands up for her and defends her. As a result, Ethan becomes an “outcast by association” - this leads to them spending more and more time together, during which their affection for each other grows and they learn to support and encourage each other, making this a relationship that we, as readers, can appreciate and cheer for.

The book also focuses greatly on the power of our actions - throughout the book we are constantly reminded of how the characters’ actions have consequences, often devastating ones. For example, it is revealed that during the Civil War, a love between a mortal, Ethan Lawson Wate (Ethan’s ancestor) and Genevieve Duchannes (Lena’s ancestor) is developed, not unlike Ethan and Lena themselves. Ethan Lawson Wate ends up dying, and in an effort to save him, Genevieve uses the “Book of the Moon”, described as an evil book, practically like the Devil himself. Genevieve manages to revive Ethan for all of two seconds before he dies again - and not only that, she has cursed herself and the rest of her family, as she transforms into a Dark Caster, and the rest of the Duchannes line is cursed to be unable to claim themselves (their allegiance will be decided by the Book of the Moon, instead of by themselves, which is the way it is for all other Casters).

This mistake is repeated yet again by Lena when Ethan (Carter) Wate is killed; she manages to bring him back to life for good, but in turn loses the one other person she loves most in the world (Macon) as a sacrifice to bring Ethan back. Thus we can see that whether or not we succeed in doing what we want, there will always be consequences to our actions, hence we should consider every move carefully, for fear of making a mistake.

All in all, Beautiful Creatures is a very enjoyable book - it has an interesting premise that allows us to root for the protagonists, a believable romance that we can appreciate and enjoy, and also teaches us life lessons, something not every book manages to do.

Rating: 4/5

For ages 14 and above