Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Title: Beautiful Creatures
Author(s): Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Published: December 2009
Pages: 576
ISBN: 9780316042673
Source: Purchased Copy

Description: There were no surprises in Gatlin County. We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere.
At least, that's what I thought.Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong. There was a curse.
There was a girl. And in the end, there was a grave. 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.

I Give This Book 4 Stars!

I've noticed the the reviews of this book seem to be situated on both sides of the spectrum with very few in the middle.  You either love it or you hate it.  While not 5 star worthy in my opinion, I really liked it!  I found the male narrative to be interesting and refreshing.  And despite that so many say that he isn't a believable "male" teenager, I think he is.  I don't think we can say what the typical a male teen thinks (we may know how they act, but I think that is entirely different).  I also really liked Lena.  She was the opposite of what a lot of female characters are in today's teen fiction.  I think we get a good look at how she struggles to fit in, and with understanding her own growing powers.  I loved the cast of characters.  Each had something to add to the story, and I thought they were well developed.  I was curious how dual authors would work in this story, but I honestly would not have known if both names weren't on the cover.  The story flows together seamlessly.   The only drawback, in my opinion, was the ending.  I'm not sure why, but I felt that it was a bit of a let down.  You get so much tension and suspense built up to that point, and then I felt I didn't get the resolution I wanted.  Not enough to drag down the book to much.  You can bet I will be reading the sequel (I can't imagine that there won't be one).