Baratz-Logsted, Lauren. Crazy Beautiful.

Baratz-Logsted, Lauren. Crazy Beautiful.
Houghton Mifflin/Clarion/Graphia/Kingfisher 2009 191p 16.00
978-0-547-22307-0 ms/hs
A modern take on a Beauty and the Beast tale. Lucius is beastly, because of an accident which left him without hands. Aurora is beautiful and popular, but also broken after the death of her mother. This unlikely duo are inexplicably drawn to each other in this dark romance. A Beauty and the Beast for the 21st century. Two new students couldn’t be more different. Lucius has prosthetic hooks after a chemical accident. Aurora’s dealing with the death of her mother. She is instantly popular, while Lucius becomes a pariah. That the two will be drawn to each other is a foregone conclusion. A formula romance, yes, and at times the plot seems too conveniently and neatly tied up. Even the names (Lucius Wolfe and Aurora Belle) seem out of another century. The analogy that Lucius’ disability is “beastly” was at first a little offensive, and Aurora’s saintly librarian father a little two perfect, but soon the story transends its problems and becomes a tale of friendship, redemption and coming-of-age. The topics are timely, and and the pace of the story makes it very readable. Nominated for the 2010 YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, this story should appeal to reluctant readers. Naismith, Pat