A review by mnboyer
The Year of the Beasts by Cecil Castellucci

5.0

There are two different story formats between the covers of this novel. On one hand, we have the 'traditional' written word--the story follows two sisters that are both interested in the same boy. There is a rivalry here but each sister ends up finding a respective boyfriend. On the other hand, there is some gorgeously illustrated graphic novel-type chapters that I really appreciated (and I felt like I wasn't going to). This story reveals different mythological creatures are also attending high school and are having their own issues. By the end of the story, the two separate methods blend and you get the "full picture" (which I will not disclose here).

I was quite uncertain when I picked this book up at the local library. I'm not a general reader of the graphic novel and thought this was a shorter YAL title (around 190 pages, making for a quick read). Yet a local librarian had set this on their 'must read' shelf and so I decided to take a gamble. I was actually pleasantly surprised and thought the story grew stronger as it went on. At first, I was a little turned off by the sister rivalry (isn't there a clear sister code that if both are interested in the same boy... no one gets him?). The girl group drama was a little bleh. But once you start to see the rest of the story unfold, and the sudden....(no spoiler here!)... then it all makes sense.

A pleasant surprise -- worthy of five stars.