Crazy Beautiful by Lauren Baratz-Logsted
I requested this from the publisher.
I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.
Description from Amazon.com: In an explosion of his own making, Lucius blew his arms off. Now he has hooks. He chose hooks because they were cheaper. He chose hooks because he wouldn’t outgrow them so quickly. He chose hooks so that everyone would know he was different, so he would scare even himself. Then he meets Aurora. The hooks don’t scare her. They don’t keep her away. In fact, they don’t make any difference at all to her. But to Lucius, they mean everything. They remind him of the beast he is inside. Perhaps Aurora is his Beauty, destined to set his soul free from its suffering. Or maybe she’s just a girl who needs love just like he does.
I have to admit when I first read the book blurb for Crazy Beautiful it did not really grab me. I mean the idea of a guy with hooks wooing a girl? It just sounded too strange but when I got a chance to review it I figured why not give it a chance. Thank goodness I did. It was a wonderful book that made me wish there was more when I finished it.
I really enjoyed the story, the characters and the writing. Each chapter alternates from Lucius’ point of view and Aurora’s point of view. Aurora is the beautiful yet sweet new girl who is adjusting to life after losing her mother to a long battle with cancer. Lucius is having to come to terms with the new life he has after a horrible accident of his own causing. Despite both having their issues the two are drawn together. We see how Lucius has to handle his differentness and how he relates to other people with after his double amputation before he can face his feelings for Aurora.
The one thing that did bother me where there were certain moments that seemed very after school specialish. People being just too perfect to be real. It also has made me curious to go look up the original playwright for Grease. That love story comes up several times and there was a constant reference to Sandy’s character not originally being Australian. Now I feel the need to go find out what her character was originally supposed to be like.
Posted in 4 Star Books, Books, Young Adult
September 16th, 2009 at 8:25 am
Good review … I’m looking FW to read this title.
September 16th, 2009 at 9:37 am
Sounds like an interesting read, though I do feel like I’ve read similar plots lately! Evermore comes to mind, which I really didn’t enjoy, and North Of Beautiful — which I LOVED! Sometimes it’s just hard to tell from a synopsis. I might look for this one! Thanks for the review!
#shiver
September 16th, 2009 at 10:23 am
Meg-I have Evermore in my TBR pile but haven’t read it yet. I debated reading North of Beautiful. Maybe I’ll have to add that too.
September 16th, 2009 at 11:36 am
I totally agree with you in that when I first heard about this book, I wasn’t interested at all. After reading a number of reviews on it, I do admit I’m really intrigued by the premise and would like to read it.
Plus it makes me think about Edward Scissorhand and that’s such a cute movie!
#shiver
September 16th, 2009 at 10:54 pm
Both Lucius and Aurora sound intriguing. It’ll be interesting to see their dynamic in the context of the book!
September 16th, 2009 at 11:35 pm
Oops … forgot to tag on #BBAW to my above comment
September 17th, 2009 at 7:07 am
Most reviews of this book seem to be good enough! I usually love alternate points of view, so I might enjoy it. Good review!
September 17th, 2009 at 9:31 am
Wendy-I know the idea sounded strange. The one thing I don’t get and will probably have to look up is he refers to his hooks but he also mentions picking things up using pinchers. So curious what his “hands” actually look like.
Kay-I think she utilized the alternating point of view pretty well. I’ve found other books too confusing with the jumping around.
September 17th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
What a rather unique story. I’m glad you reviewed this and I came across your blog. I’m definitely going to read this book. I’d like to see how Lucuis’s disability is handled and how he’s treated. I think it’s a shame there are some “after school special” moments, I think I know exactly what you mean. Everything is too perfect and everyone is too accepting.
As someone who is disabled, I’m glad books about similar subjects are being written!
#Amazon Gift Card
September 19th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
It is a great thing when you wind up liking a read when initially you thought you would not.
#shiver