Beautiful Creatures
I'm going to say this now, I didn't read the entire book. In fact, I read less than a third of it. I stopped at page 188. Now, if anyone says that my opinion is invalid because I did not read the entire book, I will lodge a brick in your windpipe.Okay, now that I've gotten that out of the way, let's move on.
I didn't like Beautiful Creatures for several reasons. Here, let's make a list.
It's too long. I understand that Garcia and Stohl were trying to introduce the entire Caster world and all, but honestly, six hundred pages is too much. You don't need that much room to describe a new world; many authors have done so in less than three hundred pages. It even worse for this book because it's not a stand-alone book; it's a series. Trust me, the authors would have plenty of time to explain. A tome of a first book was unnecessary. Very few people can do that. For example, a big reason why The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling worked was because it had so many characters to keep track of. It was interesting and you wouldn't get bored with just one or two characters. However, Beautiful Creatures lacks this because it focuses mostly on Lena and Ethan, both of which are boring on their own, but together, they make the Dream Team of Boring and Dull.
The characters were awful. Ethan is a girl. He's biologically a boy, but inside he's a beautiful ballerina in a pink tutu, waiting to break free and show the world her never-ending love for Lena with a pas de deux. On a more serious note, Ethan is the worst male teenage character I've ever known. No one is that nice. He is popular (god knows why, if he went to my school, he would be the outcast), pretentious (wah wah, I was raised by professors, I shouldn't be here), thinks he's too good for everyone (I will beat the shit out of you, you arrogant fuck), and just dull. He is a pile of bullshit. I would like to hit him with a bus.
Lena is every outcast girl's wish fulfillment character. Troubled life, angst-wangst, gorgeous, anti-conformist, and she writes poetry; she has all the ingredients for a recipe of a scene kid.
All the others characters were cardboard cut-outs and potted plants for all they did.
However, the one exception was Ridley. I loved Ridley. (at least, up until the point where I stopped reading)
Stereotypes. Where to start? I am convinced that neither Garcia nor Stohl have actually been to a Southern town. Ever. Even the slightest bit of common sense would help.
And I would honestly punch both of them for that bit about Southern accents. Perhaps it's time to clarify. Lena makes a comment about Ethan's lack of a Southern accent, and Ethan goes on a spiel about how his oh-so educated parents would not stand for dropping his g's or sounding like the other children in his town. Let me say this now. Having an accent, of any kind, does not mean someone is stupid. I will repeat it, and even bold it.
Having an accent does not mean someone is stupid.
An accent is simply a dialect; a Southern accent just means that someone lives in a place where the English there is closer to British English than American English. A Southern accent is essentially derived from a British accent. It's like a New Orleans accent; it was created because there was such a mix of French and English in New Orleans that French accents began to creep in on people's English, which then evolved into a different dialect.
An accent means nothing except where you are from and how your ancestors spoke. It does not reflect intelligence, social standing, worth, or any other trait besides geographical location.
There's also some major slut-shaming with Ridley and the whole Siren deal, and with Savannah Snow.
God help you two poor excuses for authors.
It was just really boring okay I can't deal with boring books
Then again, this could be the perfect book for someone else. Once again, this is my opinion. You are free to express yours as I am free to express mine.
