Beastly by Alex Flinn

Kyle Kingsbury is good looking, athletic, wealthy, and the big man on campus at his elite private school. Kyle's dream life, however, is shattered by a curse placed upon him by a witch after Kyle plays a cruel prank on her at a school dance. The witch transforms Kyle into his truer self, a hideous beast. If within two years Kyle is able to kiss a girl that he loves who loves him despite his appearance, his curse will be broken. Unable to handle his son's new appearance, Kyle's father purchases a house for him to live in and employs a private tutor and maid and leaves him there. Kyle gives up on reversing his curse and finds comfort in growing roses and creating a greenhouse for them. When a thief caught breaking into the greenhouse offers his daughter in exchange for his freedom, Kyle discovers that unexpected things can happen. Flinn's completely modernized version is a worthy addition to the repertoire of Beauty and the Beast retellings. Narrated entirely by Kyle, readers will enjoy his transformation from cruel and brutal Kyle to the kind-hearted and sweet Adrian. Flinn accents the modernized version by including an online chat room support group for those transformed (a group in which the Little Mermaid and the Frog Prince make appearances). An author's note includes a short history of Beauty and the Beast tales and how she found her inspiration for her story, what she calls "two abandoned teens who find one another".