Goodreads Synopsis: 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 Confession: Just a disclaimer: any YA novel that rivals the Bible in thickness WILL BE PURCHASED by yours truly. I don't know why I'm attracted to humongous books, but I am. I love how they feel in my hands, almost like they don't quite fit. Beautiful Creatures is a monstrous book, over 500 pages. And it took me a long time to get through it. You'd be amazed how much story (and sometimes, lack thereof) you can find in almost 600 pages. It's complicated, beyond messy, and at times, really difficult to follow. Lena can't be just a witch, and Ethan can't be just a human. There can't just be two sides, good and evil, and there can't be just love. Every element in this book isn't what it initially appears. And, for the most part, I really enjoyed it.
I really thought telling this story from Ethan's perspective set this novel apart from other supernatural/paranormal romances. For one, Ethan is a human (even though he has some kind of unknown power, since he and Lena connect on a much deeper level than thought possible for a mere mortal) and it's refreshing to experience a romance with a twist from a male perspective. He's a very level character who takes everything in lighthearted stride. He doesn't seem surprised by all the mysticism, and I think that's due to the Southern setting chosen by Garcia and Stohl. A Yankee myself, I don't know much about Southern traditions or values, but this book was just riddled with them. And they were played up to the point where I wasn't surprised when the out-of-the-ordinary started occurring. There's a magical quality to the entire setting that is both inviting and fascinating. It really ends up defining the book, as well as the characters in it.
Recommendation: Do it! But just know that it's neither a light nor a quick read. Due to its sheer size, expect there to be parts that drag a bit. The entire story takes place over the course of a little less than a year, and by the time you finish, that's the amount of time you'll feel you've spent reading it. As a positive, the length allows the relationships to blossom and develop at a normal pace. I believed in Lena and Ethan's relationship because they had so much time to grow together. The downside, of course, is that in a book like this, with lots of crazy stuff going on all the time, the parts that lag are pretty frustrating. Some parts could have been cut, but then again, it wouldn't be the huge, massive text that I love. Bigger book, bigger story. And in the end, pretty worth it.
Rating: 4/5
563 pages, published by Little, Brown (Dec. 1, 2009)
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