Synopsis: 
 Sarah's family rarely stays in one place for long in an attempt to outrun the cold her mother hates. But one winter night, Sarah's mother walks out on the family. Her father is unable to keep up the pretenses of a normal life as he slowly turns into something more beast than human in front of Sarah's eyes. With her best intentions at heart, her father takes her to live with a grandmother she didn't even know existed. In the dilapidated castle, in the middle of the forest, Sarah begins to uncover the truth of her families history and the curse that she's inherited. The curse that will trigger the first time she falls in love. 
 Thoughts: 
 This was a surprising little book. The description of it being a Beauty and the Beast retelling with the female being the beast had me instantly intrigued. Throw in the twist on the curse being that falling in love for the first time is the trigger and I could not contain my grabby hands. 
 Hellisen's writing is full of wonderfully figurative language. There are so many lines that jumped out at me with their thoughtfulness and creativity. Even the character descriptions had a wonderful level of uniqueness: "She looked like the kind of woman who would put arsenic in the soup and tenderly nurse someone to death, spoonful by spoonful." Instantly wanted to stear clear of that old lady. I just can't get over how beautiful the language is. 
 That being said, I'm not sure how well this will do with the middle grade audience it's being marketed to. It has a lot of deep topics wrapped up in its fantasy. It's a book that I feel like teachers make kids reads and kids go "What? I don't get it." That said, it was a unique take on a frequently retold fairy tale and I thoroughly enjoyed it! 
 Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. 
 Publication Date: February 3,2015