Beautiful Creatures

Bibliography
Garcia, Kami and Margaret Stohl. Beautiful Creatures. Read by Kevin T. Collins with Eve Bianco. Hachette Audio. 2012. Audiobook.

Image from:http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/kami-garcia/beautiful-creatures/9781619698437/#details



Plot summary (from the publisher)
Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything. - 

My Thoughts
I've seen this book come across the counter many times, so I put it in my mental "to read someday" pile. When I got the opportunity to get a free audiobook, I was excited. I began listening and found it easy to keep up with the many characters (and there are many!). I also found that I enjoyed the music that accompanied certain scenes, and wondered how that music looked in the print source (was it there or just something added for the audiobook?).

I liked the tie-in and references to Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird (which I'm seeing now as a coincidental pattern for the year). For example, the dog's name is Boo.

The story itself is a teenage love story, with some mystery and rushed drama.There is humor. There is rushed and contrived plot. When, as a listener, I was questioning something, it was if the narrator heard me and then answered.

The readers in the story did not have consistent dialects, and I wondered if there were just too many characters for two people to "voice." [This is a complaint against the audiobook, not the story].

I LOVED that there was a secret library in the real library. YEA!

Uncle Macon refers to mortals as "Beautiful Creatures" hence, the book title.

Even though I know there are several books in the series, I do like that Book 1 ends with the song changing from "16 moons" to "17 moons"--a sure clue to the reader/listener there is more story. I will probably pick up the second book, but not immediately.

After the story, there was a lengthy interview of the authors included in the audiofile. I enjoyed hearing their process of co-writing this book and how their own personal lives are included in the story.

After I listened to the book (which I enjoyed), I watched the movie. I know that liberties must be taken and that a movie is never as good as the book, but honestly, I thought the movie was HORRIBLE! I'd read the book and was lost while watching the movie. I guess some of the explanation is left on the cutting floor.