Review: "Beast" by Brie Spangler


Beast by Brie Spangler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Summary from GoodReads

Tall, meaty, muscle-bound, and hairier than most throw rugs, Dylan doesn’t look like your average fifteen-year-old, so, naturally, high school has not been kind to him. To make matters worse, on the day his school bans hats (his preferred camouflage), Dylan goes up on his roof only to fall and wake up in the hospital with a broken leg—and a mandate to attend group therapy for self-harmers.
Dylan vows to say nothing and zones out at therapy—until he meets Jamie. 

She’s funny, smart, and so stunning, even his womanizing best friend, JP, would be jealous. She’s also the first person to ever call Dylan out on his self-pitying and superficiality. As Jamie’s humanity and wisdom begin to rub off on Dylan, they become more than just friends. But there is something Dylan doesn’t know about Jamie, something she shared with the group the day he wasn’t listening. Something that shouldn’t change a thing. 

She is who she’s always been—an amazing photographer and devoted friend, who also happens to be transgender. But will Dylan see it that way?




BUY ON



REVIEW

I was very excited for this book! Not only it had a male POV but it also dealt with matters of identity, sexuality and high school drama.

Dylan is an overgrown, too tall, too meaty/strong but overall shy boy. Though he tries to blend in school he has one "good" friend JP and he lives with his mother. When circumstances makes him interact with Jamie, he will find himself questioning both his life and his behavior.

No one is perfect in this book; everyone have flaws and sometimes I found myself groaning in frustration with JP's behavior. But Dylan, despite his mistakes and boyish behavior he is a sweet guy with a golden heart. I really, really like Jamie. She is strong and confident, finally feeling more at ease with herself and many times in the book, she gives to Dylan verbal slaps in order to make him see and understand.

While I thought that Dylan would be like Takeo (from the anime Ore Monogatari), but he proved much smarter and I actually liked his wit and love he has for his mother, even if sometimes she is a lot to handle.



This book was sweet and had a really good ending. I wouldn't mind a companion novel or a sequel to the book. I wanted more of Dylan and Jamie! ;)







About the author:

Author/illustrator of children's picture books and YA novels, Brie Spangler loves to draw and write stories and drink massive amounts of caffeine, but not quite Dave Grohl "Fresh Pot!"/require hospitalization levels. Writing down the ideas in her head was scary as a kid, so she turned to making pictures instead. Brie worked as an illustrator for several years before she began to write and immediately became a frothing addict. BEAST is her debut novel. Hit her up on twitter! @BrieSpangler

No comments