Beautiful Creatures

Original book Cover

Beautiful Creatures
Written by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Is falling in love the beginning... Or the end?

About the Author
Long time friends, Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, have worked together over the past few years on the entire Caster Chronicles series (Known in the UK as the Beautiful Creatures series).

The Story
Ethan Wate is your typical small town boy from Gatlin, South Carolina. Gatlin is a small community, where everybody knows everything about everybody else. After Ethan's mother dies in a tragic accident, he is known as "Ethan Wate Whose Mamma Died Just Last Year". Upon meeting the new girl at school, known as Lena Duchannes, his world would be turned upside down.
Lena has moved from state to state with her family after her parents died when she was just a baby. However after moving to Gatlin to live with her Uncle Macon Ravenwood, she starts to get the reputation known as "Crazy Old Man Ravenwoods Niece". Lena has some dark secrets that she wishes to keep buried deep, but Ethan finds a way to creep into her life unexpectedly, and her secrets start to reveal themselves. Lena is found to be a "Caster", a mystical being of magic, which little is revealed about, however all Casters are born with a different talent.
On Lena's sixteenth birthday, she will be claimed either by the side of Light or Dark. If Lena is claimed to the Light, she will become one of the most powerful Casters in the world. However if Lena is claimed by Darkness, It will bring grave danger to all mortals and Casters alike.

Sixteen Moons, Sixteen Years,

Sixteen of Your Deepest Fears, 

Sixteen Times You Dreamed My Tears,

Falling, Falling Through The Years...

Characterisation
A large ensemble of characters are present in the story including:

• Ethan Waite - The stories main protagonist, the story is told from his point of view. 
• Lana Duchannes - Lead female role. Known as one of the most powerful Casters in existence
• Macon Ravenwood - Lana's uncle and guardian. Owner of Ravenwood manor, a sanctuary for Casters of Light.
• Amma - Ethan's Housekeeper, Spiritualist and Tarot reader.

Ethan is a typical 15 year old boy, living the high school life and trying to stay out of trouble as much as possible. But then he meets Lena, a young and beautiful 15 year old girl, who has moved around the country with her family. When Lena was only a few years younger she was home schooled with her cousin Ridley. Ridley is a tall, long-legged blonde with cat like eyes and the power of persuasion. When Ridley turned sixteen she was claimed by the Dark, and lost all contact with her family after being cast away. Ridley now spends her days trying to find ways to get back into the Ravenwood household.

Macon Ravenwood is the owner of Ravenwood Manor, the one place that all young Casters, who haven't yet been claimed, and light Casters who need sanctuary come to live. He is Lena's uncle and legal guardian, after she moved with her Aunt to Gatlin.

After Ethan's mother died, and his father started to lock himself away in his study, Ethan's old nanny Amma, begins to look after him and make sure he stays out of trouble. Amma has always been a believer in the supernatural, and likes to tell the future by reading tarot cards. When Ethan learns that Amma knows Macon Ravenwood, he begins to wonder what other secrets Amma has been keeping from him, and begins to try to uncover those secrets.

Plot Lines
The first chapter takes us straight into the story. Ethan wakes from a dream of him trying to save a girl from falling. He does not seem to know the girl however, and has never met her before, yet seems to know a lot about her. When he awakens, he finds a mysterious song on his iPod, a song that he knows for a fact he did not download. He remembers having dreams like this before, but isn't quite sure why.
After meeting Lena in the story, Ethan begins to think he recognises her, and can't quite put his finger on why. He hears the song once again when he is in class and begins to fall into a daydream. The same dream in which he is trying to save a girl from falling, only this time remembering that he leaves a mark on her wrist. After class, he tries to find out where the song was coming from and who was singing it. He rushes to find out who it was, and learns it was the new girl, Lena Duchannes. When Ethan finds her, he notices that she has a mark on her wrist, the same one that Ethan left the girl with in his dream.
This plot line allows up to get into the story and intrigues us into how Lena and Ethan have come to cross paths. How is Ethan able to leave marks on a real person, after only seeing them in a dream?

Another significant plot line in the story is when Ethan and Lena go to the Gatlin public library and try to find out some more information about the history of Gatlin. They try to find out anything they can about a certain mysterious lady from the past named Genevieve Duchannes who lived nearly 100 years ago.

 I felt this was a good plot line, because we are learning more about the point of the story and some more about the history of Casters and the origins Lena and the Duchannes. 

OVERALL

Story: 8/10

Characterisation: 8/10

Re-readable: Yes (At least read the rest of the series first)

Recommendable: Yes (Was given it by a friend, definitely worth reading) 

Overall I rate this book:  8/10

I first read this book back in 2010, after being recommended it by a friend. I loved it from the moment I picked it up, and it kept me hooked all the way to the end. After finding out that the book was being made into a film adaptation, I knew I just had to re-read it, to refresh my memory in anticipation for its upcoming theatrical release. Within the first few pages I knew exactly what was going on, and my memory flashed back to everything I had read 3 years ago.

Beautiful Creatures is a beautiful read in itself, and a wonder to have read more then just once. It is the start of a grand series known as the "Caster Chronicles". The book is followed by; Beautiful Darkness, Beautiful Chaos & Beautiful Redemption

Beautiful Creatures is due for release on February 13th 2013, starring Alice Englert as Lena, Alden Ehrenreich as Ethan, and Emma Thompson as Sarafine.