Citation: Flinn, A. (2012). Beastly: Lindy’s diary. HarperTeen.
Although a companion novel to the original Beastly (Flinn, 2007), Beastly: Lindy’s Diary stands well on its own as a modern-day inner-city New York retelling of the classic fairy tale, Beauty and the Beast. Lindy has been taking care of her drug-addicted father ever since her mother died, but when he gets caught breaking and entering to get his next fix, she agrees to go live with a lonely teen with a beastly appearance in exchange for her father’s freedom. What she doesn’t expect in her lavish new life is to feel such a strong connection to her captor, the cursed Adrian.
Although an enjoyable quick read for teens who want a stress-free love story, this book is just as problematic as the original fairy tale (Stockholm Syndrome much?), and has mutual stalking by the main characters to put the cherry on top of the unhealthy relationship prototype idealized by this book. Readers may also enjoy Ever (Levine, 2008) and Beast (Napoli, 2000).