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The Year of the Beasts

by Cecil Castellucci (Goodreads Author), Nate Powell (Illustrations)

3.49 of 5 stars 3.49 · rating details · 376 ratings · 143 reviews

Every summer the trucks roll in, bringing the carnival and its infinite possibilities to town. This year Tessa and her younger sister Lulu are un-chaperoned and want to be first in line to experience the rides, the food... and the boys. Except this summer, jealousy will invade their relationship for the first time, setting in motion a course of events that can only end in...more

Hardcover, 192 pages

Published May 22nd 2012 by Roaring Brook Press

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Mock Printz 2013

54th out of 75 books — 275 voters

Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol. 01 by Hiromu Arakawa

Comics & Graphic Novels written by Women

133rd out of 178 books — 43 voters

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Nov 11, 2012 Kellee rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mythology, realistic-fiction, death-or-dying, ya-teen, graphic-novels, romance, multi-genre-or-format, my-best-of-2012, teach-mentor-texts

Reviewed at: http://www.teachmentortexts.com/2012/...

4.5 stars
Such an interesting novel that will definitely get a second read. Told in a dual format of prose and graphic novel, Cecil Castellucci tells us the story of two very different girls- One is a modern day Medusa who hates what she has become and keeps turning everyone she loves into stone; the other is a teenage girl filled with jealousy for her younger sister who is dating the boy of her dreams. When finished with the book, you will def...more

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Mar 13, 2012 Jo rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya, for-review, graphic-novels, e, own

I wish I had some kind of superpower that allowed me to touch a book and get a feel of how much it was going to destroy me.
[Also, wouldn’t that make an incredibly ~~geeky~~ fantastic TV programme ~~that only I would watch~~?]
Because I thought that this book was going to be a sweet book about first kisses and sisters and lovely things.
And it was.
But it was also the kind of book that punches you in the gut.
Multiple times.
And then just as you’ve got your breath back?
BOOM.
That’s it slapping you in the f...more

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Feb 13, 2013 GRPLTeens Grand Rapids Public Library rated it 3 of 5 stars

Appeal Characteristics Graphic Novel/Blurred Genre/Format Concept-- Ultimate Weird. White Darkness weird. Sister relationships, parent/sibling relationship, friendship, love, crushes, extreme human emotions: jealousy, hate, and violence, also layered with character death, disability, mythology

This book was just...liked to toy with you. Let me start off by saying, I liked the concept idea. It not only blurs genres, but this book blurs formats. So it was designed as a fiction story, and then you a...more Appeal Characteristics Graphic Novel/Blurred Genre/Format Concept-- Ultimate Weird. White Darkness weird. Sister relationships, parent/sibling relationship, friendship, love, crushes, extreme human emotions: jealousy, hate, and violence, also layered with character death, disability, mythology

This book was just...liked to toy with you. Let me start off by saying, I liked the concept idea. It not only blurs genres, but this book blurs formats. So it was designed as a fiction story, and then you add a mythological graphic novel to connect the two stories. The design was great....the connection was as alien to me...as the concept is to other people. WITH THAT BEING SAID....

I’ve been meditating over days about what I just read. I still have no idea. I mean this book is like the old Katherine’s Paterson’s Jacob Have I loved combined with some crazy Riordan Percy Jackson...you are waiting for them to intersect....and we will be waiting. I mean--I can speculate and over dramatize (which I will) about what this book means....that just makes it harder to rate.
You could argue that since this book was from Tessa’s perspective that everything was over dramatized. You could argue since she was a teen...and so she may prove to be overly dramatic because she is a teen...I still couldn’t connect with her. I think it was because I don’t have a sister. I never had to fight with thinking my little sister was prettier or thinking about how she could steal a potential lover away from me. I was hoping that the Medusa concept would help bridge that connection gap...but all it did was made me wonder...about the symbolism and the message and the fact i’m not sure if people would want to take time out of their lives to dedicate to trying to understand this book. I didn’t. Yet, i guess for me to have such strong feelings about this book... That means something? It was just because of the end...who leaves an end like that?

OH. Wait. The Sopranos.

Anyway! If someone has some deep epiphany besides the crazed humans emotions that are expressively illustrated throughout this book...please feel me in. If you are looking for enlightenment to our human condition and teenage dramatics look elsewhere. (less)

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Feb 09, 2013 Becky rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: brothers-and-sisters, death-and-dying, graphic, ya

I don't get it.
For me it was obvious at the beginning that Tessa is the Medusa character and the alternating comics and prose chapters are supposed to come together in some profound way. Only, I didn't think it was profound or surprising or any of that.
The prose chapters are so plainly written as to be boring. They have the tone of a simple fairy tale with one dimensional characters, one dimensional relationships, and a lot of telling and not much showing, as they say.
As I was reading it I tho...more

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Dec 30, 2012 readknitread rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: drama, graphic-novel, high-school-reads, realistic-fiction, what-i-did-this-summer, middle-school-reads, romance

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. A good story that is poorly told.

The book alternates between chapters and graphical novels. Each tells a different story that is woven together at the end. The story is confusing at times and should be heartbreaking. The characters are poorly developed and shallow. This book lacks the depth that would make it good. I didn't really feel for any of the characters and when tragedy did strike I had ceased caring. The only good thing was that the pictures where drawn great. Although the mythology li...more

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Dec 29, 2012 MacK rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: am-lit, chapter-and-verse, contemporary, young-adult

I had much lower expectations for The Year of the Beasts, really no expectations at all. Would it be a high-school story? A fantastical/mythological adventure? A typical teen angst/jilted love story? Kind of, sort of, and sort of/kind of.

Those generic descriptions don't do justice to the fine balance attained by author Cecil Castelluci and artist Nate Powell. Castelluci's narrative covers the teenage Tessa struggling with her increasingly popular younger sister Lulu and feelings for the outcast...more

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Nov 11, 2012 BAYA Librarian rated it 2 of 5 stars

Cecil Castellucii and Nate Powell teamed up to deliver this hybrid novel whose disparate parts fail to congeal into a satisfactory whole. Castellucci's prose sections are about a young teen named Tessa whose younger sister Lulu suddenly becomes much cooler than her one summer, winning the hand of the boy Tessa likes. Powell's comics sections -- which appear as alternating chapters -- take place at a high school where everyone has turned into a mythological monster, with the main girl (Tessa) tra...more Cecil Castellucii and Nate Powell teamed up to deliver this hybrid novel whose disparate parts fail to congeal into a satisfactory whole. Castellucci's prose sections are about a young teen named Tessa whose younger sister Lulu suddenly becomes much cooler than her one summer, winning the hand of the boy Tessa likes. Powell's comics sections -- which appear as alternating chapters -- take place at a high school where everyone has turned into a mythological monster, with the main girl (Tessa) transformed into a Medusa complete with snake-hair and a gaze that turns people to stone.

Aside from being told in different media, these two stories threads also have wildly different tones. Casetllucci's prose tries for a breathless sense of adolescent optimism and magic -- similar to what Ray Bradbury achieved so brilliantly in Something Wicked This Way Comes -- and falls flat. Her characters are gratingly naive and feel much younger than they are supposed to be. Powell's comics are much darker, full of shadow, jagged panel borders, odd layouts, and artistic lettering. I'm a big fan of his work generally, and here his soft and lively line is used to create a powerful sense of menace and despair. However, his contributions are slight compared to the prose portions (which constitute about 3/4 of the book), and are of such a different tone as to be jarring rather than mysterious. It's not until the end of the book that we see the reason for these two plot strands, when a leftfield third-act plot twist brings it all lurchingly together while abruptly pushing the story into Problem Novel territory (Tess sees herself as a monster because of her sense of guilt! Get it?!?!) Some readers might be willing to follow Castellucci, but the move struck me as both manipulative and a cop out, favoring melodramatic tragedy rather than fulfilling the promise of either the complicated relationship between the sisters or the magical comics. It's a pity because what could have been a very interesting experiment of a hybrid novel ends up feeling limpid and waterlogged.(less)

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Oct 13, 2012 Cornmaven rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: high-school

Co-authored tale told both textually and graphically about a year in the life of a teen struggling to mature and find self-acceptance. The interesting part is that her younger sister becomes a bitter rival for the boy she likes, eventually winning that boy. There's a lot of raw emotion here, along with an ending tragedy that forces Tessa to embrace what is important.

Castellucci presents the textual part, told in third person. At first the reader sees very typical yet mild teenage behavior and th...more

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Oct 11, 2012 Terri rated it 3 of 5 stars

CLN - Printz possibility #3

"The Year of the Beast," which is getting some Printz buzz, is told in alternating chapters of prose and graphic novel formats. The prose chapters concern two sisters, Tessa and Lulu. When Tessa's younger sister:

1. gets the boy Tessa thinks she likes, Charlie
2. starts hanging out with Tessa's best friend, Celina
3. grows taller and more beautiful

Tessa is consumed with jealousy. Because of her envy, she makes Lulu's life miserable, all the while carrying on a secret rel...more CLN - Printz possibility #3

"The Year of the Beast," which is getting some Printz buzz, is told in alternating chapters of prose and graphic novel formats. The prose chapters concern two sisters, Tessa and Lulu. When Tessa's younger sister:

1. gets the boy Tessa thinks she likes, Charlie
2. starts hanging out with Tessa's best friend, Celina
3. grows taller and more beautiful

Tessa is consumed with jealousy. Because of her envy, she makes Lulu's life miserable, all the while carrying on a secret relationship with an edgy, outcast boy, Jasper. Her jealousy leads to tragedy and loss. The alternating chapters, told in graphic novel format, use Medusa mythology as a metaphor for Tessa's story - the water imagery, the hair, the jealousy, are all there. They foreshadow what will happen to Tessa and her sister. We know early on in the book where this is all going to lead.

I liked the unusual format of this novel - it made for a fast read. I enjoyed some of the characters, especially the edgy, "alternative" parents and Jasper. However, all of the characters could have been more well-developed.

I did not like how misleading the opening was for me. As I read, "They rolled into town in the middle of the day: large covered wagons and flatbed trucks hauling disassembled rides that looked like futuristic dinosaur bones," I was thinking "Something Wicked This Way Comes"? "Night Circus"? I expected a dark, mysterious story about the circus. I got a somewhat tedious novel about childish jealousies. Tessa's petty jealousies and immature ploys to pay her sister back - for what I am not sure - got tiresome. She was not a likeable character. Therefore, when her world fell apart, it was difficult to feel any sympathy for her. She was cruel to everyone she loved and cared about, and ended up destroying them all. And, this was another one of those "literary" books that will probably win awards this season and that most teens won't persist through. How many of them will have any understanding of the Medusa mythology that makes up the core of the graphic novel chapters in the book? Many of the "literary" aspects of the book will be lost on many teens. As an adult with some knowledge of this myth, I could appreciate and mostly understand what the authors were getting at. And, while I appreciate authors who believe in the ability of teens and write "smart" books, their expectations can be totally unrealistic at times. And I deplore it when adults award "teen" books that teens have no interest in.

So, while, I had no trouble getting through the book (it did keep my interest), I don't think most teens will enjoy it. I have had it on display for the entire school year and no one has picked it up. It will require hand selling - the cover doesn't help.(less)

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Oct 08, 2012 Diane rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, washyarg, graphic-novel, romance

Tessa and Lulu are sisters and friends. Even though Lulu is a year younger, they get along well until a boy that Tessa likes starts dating Lulu, Tessa’s best friend Celina starts hanging out with Lulu, and Lulu has a growth spurt and gets taller and prettier than Tessa. Tessa’s jealousy starts to take over. The only time Tessa is really happy is when she’s with Jasper, a boy that’s an outcast. Interspersed with the story of Tessa and Lulu is a graphic novel that’s really an allegory – the story...more

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Sep 22, 2012 Barbara rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: death, families, fantasy, friendship, graphic-novels, ncbla2013, romance, school, self-esteem

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Siblings Tessa and Lulu have always been close, partly because they are so close in age. Tessa is 15, and Lulu is 13. But their closeness becomes a thing of the past after the girls go to a carnival without their parents. Tessa feels betrayed and left out when a romance blossoms between Lulu and Charlie, the boy on whom she has a crush. Although Tessa has her own admirer and secret romance with Jasper, a neighbor unable or unwilling to conform to the social expectations of his peers, she cannot...more

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Jun 26, 2012 Hugo Schoen rated it 1 of 5 stars

Cecil Castellucci inspired me with this book. After finishing the last page and glancing at her credits, I thought aloud, "I really need to get involved in writing childrens books". I tore through 'The Year of the Beasts' in just a couple hours, anxious for the emotions that previous reviewers said would come exploding out of my chest. I wanted those tears. My patience was rewarded with the thought that young people today, young readers, must be grossly misjudged in their ability to interpret an...more

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Jun 08, 2012 Jennifer Haight rated it 3 of 5 stars

The cover reads “Alternating chapters of prose and comics are interwoven in a story that will break your heart and crack it wide open at the same time.” Although I didn’t feel intimate enough with the characters to be torn apart by the surprise twists I did find the book intriguing and was curious to see where the story would go.

“The air filled with a music the lulled each person to a dreamy calm and seemed to come
from a time when life was better.”

Lulu is Tessa’s little sister and she feels con...more

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Jun 03, 2012 Daniel McCloskey rated it 4 of 5 stars

This hybrid novel alternates between comics and prose to tell a coming of age story from dueling perspectives--(PART 1)a straightforward realistic narrative in prose format and (PART 2) a fantastical dreamscape perspective in comic format (as illustrated by Nate Powell).

This is the first work I've read from Cecil Castellucci, but definitely not the first Nate Powell work I've seen. Nate Powell's artwork here is as beautiful as ever. His line-work is precise but far from rigid. The comic panels a...more This hybrid novel alternates between comics and prose to tell a coming of age story from dueling perspectives--(PART 1)a straightforward realistic narrative in prose format and (PART 2) a fantastical dreamscape perspective in comic format (as illustrated by Nate Powell).

This is the first work I've read from Cecil Castellucci, but definitely not the first Nate Powell work I've seen. Nate Powell's artwork here is as beautiful as ever. His line-work is precise but far from rigid. The comic panels are often un-framed, but the pages keep a relevantly simple structure which will likely keep the pages quite readable to novice comic readers that may be interested in this book (I really can't say enough good things about Nate Powell).

The prose sections were light and fast, from the point of view of a teenage girl who is dealing with jealousy, love, secrecy, and a general injection of boy interest in her life. Cecil is clearly a seasoned author who's prose, though simple, will stop you from time to time with a images as vivid as a "puddle of skin."

For me, however, the driving force of this story was the dichotomy between the comics and prose. . .

Timeout for full disclosure: I came to this novel because of it's format. I have recently completed a hybrid novel that alternates between comics and prose similarly--which probably skews my opinion here somewhat.

...Like I was saying the disparate content in the two forms makes a driving question in this narrative. Like in Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World the reader is forced to wonder how or if these narratives join. Cecil clearly plays with this expectation by describing Tessa's hair as somewhat alive, while in the comic pages Tessa is illustrated with living snakes for hair. The opening of the story at a creepy carnival plays into the expectation for magic and in the prose magic has happened--the magic of kisses and young love.

(view spoiler)

In the end I thought this was a good fast read that used comics and prose in a a way that was innovative and successful. I would recommend it for a younger crowd, but if you like love triangles, looming uncertainty, and left fields then give it a go. It's worth the experience.(less)

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May 20, 2012 Mark rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: coming-of-age, death-and-dying, family, graphic-novels, relationships, romance-star-crossed-or-otherwise, sibling-rivalry, young-adult-literature, mythology

"Despite their best intentions, there was a friction between the sisters that was undeniable. You could feel it in the house. They sat with it at breakfast. They passed it between them as though it were something simple, like the salt or the bacon or the coffee.

Tessa had tried to suppress the grudge she had about Lulu stealing Charlie. She had kept it inside, pushed down to fill all the crushed cracks about it. Tessa knew that she should maybe let it go. But still, it wasn't fair. Tessa felt str...more "Despite their best intentions, there was a friction between the sisters that was undeniable. You could feel it in the house. They sat with it at breakfast. They passed it between them as though it were something simple, like the salt or the bacon or the coffee.

Tessa had tried to suppress the grudge she had about Lulu stealing Charlie. She had kept it inside, pushed down to fill all the crushed cracks about it. Tessa knew that she should maybe let it go. But still, it wasn't fair. Tessa felt strongly that despite the fact that she secretly had Jasper, it didn't matter."

Tessa and Lulu are sisters, not quite two years apart in age (Tessa is finishing her 10th grade year, Lulu her 8th). They've always shared everything, and been as close as sisters can be. Until the annual carnival comes to town, and the sisters are able to go on their own for the first time. Tessa has harbored a crush on Charlie, the football player, for some time, but it's Lulu who he kisses that night, and Lulu who becomes his girlfriend. Tessa is beyond jealous, even when she begins to secretly see Jasper, an edgy, loner boy, who's seen as strange by the rest of Tessa and Lulu's circle of friends. Tessa finds small, subtle ways of getting back at Lulu, to let her know how much she's hurt her. But near the end of summer, at the river by their house, Tessa learns that jealousy only runs so deep, and that sometimes time simply runs out before apologies hold any meaning.

Whoa, did this book make me go back and do a quick reread! The chapters alternate between Castellucci's simple yet deep, almost fairy tale-like prose, and Powell's graphic panels, depicting the story's characters as mythological creatures. As the narrative comes to a close, you realize that the illustrated chapters have not necessarily been telling the story you've thought (ok, at least I thought that), and only by going back and reading the illustrated chapters straight through can you see and appreciate all the subtle, marvelous ways that these two authors bring their stories together. This is a powerful story of contemporary family relationships, which will not appeal to all readers - the characters are not completely likeable, particularly Tessa and her intense jealousy. Still, they are real, and sympathetic. Fans of graphic novels, as well as those who like to be pushed as they read, should appreciate this one. (less)

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Feb 11, 2012 Andrew Shuping rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novel

ARC provided by NetGalley

Two seemingly different storyline, but one idea weave together to present this powerful and heartbreaking tale. Every summer the carnival rolls into town and for the first time ever Tessa is allowed to go to the carnival un-chaperoned with her best friend, Celina. The price to pay? Her younger sister Lulu gets to come along as well. All three girls hope to capture the eye of a boy for a summer romance, but jealousy enters their lives when the boy Tessa had an eye latche...more

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Feb 02, 2013 Bridget rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013-reads, 2013-book-talks, ya-fic

This is a really well done story. The book alternates text and graphic novel chapters, and there are two stories which tie together near the end. The text follows a pair of sisters and their friends and first boyfriends over a summer and into the fall, while the graphic novel follows a single Medusa girl and her struggles and high school experience. I really enjoyed the art.

I also had one pretty big personal issue with the whole book. The girl on the cover, to me, looks like she could be a numbe...more This is a really well done story. The book alternates text and graphic novel chapters, and there are two stories which tie together near the end. The text follows a pair of sisters and their friends and first boyfriends over a summer and into the fall, while the graphic novel follows a single Medusa girl and her struggles and high school experience. I really enjoyed the art.

I also had one pretty big personal issue with the whole book. The girl on the cover, to me, looks like she could be a number of races. All of the graphic novel pieces are in black and white, and while some characters in those parts are clearly one race or another, I think you could read her however you choose. And in the novel part of the text, for the most part, characters races aren't made explicit. Except, on page six, when the younger sister, Lulu "giggled, covering her mouth with her tiny white hand." It's the only place where skin color is mentioned at all. And I really wish it hadn't been. Or, that they had used any word other than white. Pale, light, something else. I would have liked it much more if it could be read as a racially diverse story, which, despite that one line, I tended to see it as.

A while ago, I read Brandon Sanderson's Warbreaker, and something similar happened to me. Throughout most of the book I'd envisioned one character as looking Indian; dark hair, deep tan skin. I'm not sure if I inferred that via the character's name, or some other character description, since it's been a while since I've read it. But near the very end that character is plainly described as white with blond hair. And it completely messed up my mental picture, which bothered me enough that it's stuck with me this long.

With books that have fantastical elements, I really enjoy when they have a diverse cast of characters, and, barring the authors intent, it's nice to be able to construct a mental picture on your own. One throw away description, like "tiny white hand" can really change the reading experience. And in this case, I think it would have been a better book without that one word.(less)

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Jun 05, 2012 bjneary rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya

With alternating chapters of prose and comics, Cecil Castellucci has woven a gripping tale of sisters, young love, a summer of changes and jealousy that will rip two sisters apart. Tessa and her younger sister Lulu have always hung around together and been very close. But this summer, Tessa is old enough to go to the carnival alone and not be embarrassed about what her parents look like, say and do. But Tessa will not be allowed to just hang out with her best friend, Celina. If Tessa wants to go...more With alternating chapters of prose and comics, Cecil Castellucci has woven a gripping tale of sisters, young love, a summer of changes and jealousy that will rip two sisters apart. Tessa and her younger sister Lulu have always hung around together and been very close. But this summer, Tessa is old enough to go to the carnival alone and not be embarrassed about what her parents look like, say and do. But Tessa will not be allowed to just hang out with her best friend, Celina. If Tessa wants to go to the carnival with her best friend, Celina---younger sister Lulu must come too. Tessa has had a crush on Charlie forever and this will be the night that they hold hands or kiss--Tessa can feel it. When she gets separated from Charlie in line, it is Lulu who goes into the sideshow with Charlie and emerges holding hands. This is the beginning of Lulu's first relationship and Tessa's mounting jealousy toward her sister. But Castellucci doesn't just paint these sisters black and white----there is irrational feelings and moods---Tessa loves her sister, and wants the best for her---just not with Charlie. When strange boy Jasper seems to keep popping up, Tessa begins a secret relationship with Jasper (made easier by the fact that he lives next door to Celina---where the sisters spend so much time)and as the summer rolls on---Tessa really cares for Jasper but still is angry with her sister because not only did she steal her secret crush; Lulu has gotten taller and needs more clothes and shoes. Her mother keeps buying Lulu new things but not Tessa. I really liked the allusion to Medusa, who turns anyone who looks at her to stone. You can see the inner turmoil of Tessa through Medusa's hair of snakes. Tessa hates herself for feeling this way; but she just can't help it. What will happen to the sisters, Charlie and the secret boy, Jasper? You must read this, I was totally unprepared for the climax---even though there were hints, signs, etc. As always, I love Cecil's books, now I love Nate Powell's graphic illustrations, I was left with such a tragic feeling...(less)

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Jul 11, 2012 Edan rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book is more a 4.5 star book for me, but I'm rounding up because 1) The prose-graphic novel hybrid genre was unique and pretty dang spectacular and worth an extra point or two, and 2) Cecil is my homegirl, and 3) Why not? Sometimes this book did indeed amaze me.

I really liked the sad, dark places this book went--not only in the events, but the feelings of its main character, Tess. She has some pretty unsavory thoughts about her sister; they are selfish thoughts: immature and complicated and...more

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Feb 01, 2013 Courtney rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: death-dying, experimental, teen-fiction, graphic-book

I've been meaning to read Castellucci for some time now. Since this new one got a lot of buzz, I figured it might be an OK place to start. Now, I think I might be hooked.
This is the story of a girl named Tessa who is, this year, just old enough to go to the town's carnival without parental supervision. Tessa is still stuck taking her younger sister, Lulu, along with her and her friends. Tessa isn't happy about it, but it's better than having their parents along. There's a boy, you see, and Tess...more

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Jun 19, 2012 Nicole Sobon rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: netgalley

Originally posted on Nicole's YA Book Haven:

Reviewed on April 6th, 2012:

"Year of the Beasts" was not what I expected. At all. However, that isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Let me start by saying this: Did you happen to catch that little bit in the description that says that this book "will break your heart and crack it wide open at the same time"? `Cause it will. It most definitely will.

"Year of the Beasts" is a book that alternates between traditional prose and fantastic illustrations. What I lik...more

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Jan 03, 2013 Kaalomai rated it 3 of 5 stars

this story is told both with words and pictures in alternating chapters of novel and graphic novel. i appreciate the creativity and the unique approach though i found the images a bit confusing at times and wasnt always sure how they applied to the story even though i went back after i finished and reread them all. but i still liked the unconventional approach.

in general the story is not a happy one. it is heavy and serious and for me, depressing. i dont usually read those kind of books (or see...more

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Jun 24, 2012 Emilia rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novel, young-adult, mythology

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I saw this on another blog and was instantly drawn into the book because of the cover. The cover is amazing. The expression on the girl's face shows her distaste with having snakes for hair and she looks intense and angry. From the blog posting and the cover, it seemed like this book is based on mythology, specifically, Medusa. However, after reading it, that is both true and not true. Spoilers are below!

Tessa and her younger sister, Lulu, find that jealousy begins ripping them apart after Lulu...more I saw this on another blog and was instantly drawn into the book because of the cover. The cover is amazing. The expression on the girl's face shows her distaste with having snakes for hair and she looks intense and angry. From the blog posting and the cover, it seemed like this book is based on mythology, specifically, Medusa. However, after reading it, that is both true and not true. Spoilers are below!

Tessa and her younger sister, Lulu, find that jealousy begins ripping them apart after Lulu begins dating Tessa's crush. Tessa becomes very jealous and feels like she is losing her best friend and the boy she liked and also sees her sister blossoming into a young adult and gaining attention. At the same time, Tessa is falling for a boy that everyone else thinks is weird and she hides this from her sister and friends. The story culminates in Lulu being killed after they go swimming in the flooded river and the aftermath. The plot was pretty heart wrenching, although I saw it coming once Tessa, Lulu and their friends went swimming.

The book is both graphic novel and prose. It goes back and forth, and the illustrations mirror what is happening in the story. The graphic novel solely focuses on the Medusa story, except Medusa is a high school student. I had trouble figuring out how the graphic novel matched the story, but then towards the end of the book, the illustrations reflect how Tessa feels about herself and her sister. The illustrations also appear to "begin" towards the middle of the prose. Once I understood how the Medusa plot line tied in with the main plot line, it became an effective way to tell the story, but it was a little confusing at first.

I was expecting a little more Medusa and mythology from the book, so I think the cover is a little misleading. The story is mostly Tessa and her feelings, especially her jealousy of her sister and is a coming of age story, albeit, a very tragic one. I did appreciate how Tessa does not really solve any of her problems and is still grieving over her sister at the end. The ending is open ended and the reader does not know what happens to Tessa after her sister dies and after her secret boyfriend rejects her. This can be tied into the myth of Medusa, as Medusa does not have a happy ending either. However, I wish the mythology had been more apparent in the prose.

Overall, I liked the use of Medusa as an exploration of a teen's coming of age, but I feel like this wasn't utilized as well as it could have been. The cover was misleading, not only in the plot, but I was also expecting only a graphic novel.(less)

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Nov 23, 2012 Heidi rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya, graphic-novel, read-2012

I'll just say it, I was expecting something about a circus. Not that I'm crazy about them but the beginning sentences made me believe that the polot would center on a circus. Wrong. Told in alternating prose and graphic novel chapters, this is the story of teen angst, sibling rivalry, and grief. Tessa and her best friend let Tessa's younger sister, Lulu, hang out with them. When the circus comes to town and Lulu steals the heart of Tessa's crush, Charlie, Tessa tries to reign in her jealousy and...more

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Jun 28, 2012 Annie rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is devastating. And not just because of the ending when you finally realize how to the two stories (the real-life one told through text and the mythological one told through interspersed, graphic-novel chapters) fit together. It's emotionally hard to read because if there's one thing Cecil Castellucci is good at, it's capturing that feeling of being an outsider.

I think one of the reasons that high school can be such a brutal time is that even people who have great friends and a loving...more

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Nov 28, 2012 Renee rated it 2 of 5 stars

The Year of the Beasts is half novel and half graphic novel. The novel part starts out with the story of Tessa, who is finally old enough to go to carnival that arrives each summer without her parents and with her friends instead. She reluctantly agrees to bring her younger sister, Lulu with her. The plan for the carnival besides trying out all the rides and checking out the freak show - is that Tessa will finally be able to spend some time with her long time crush. Things don't go as Tessa plan...more

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Aug 19, 2012 Kathy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-august

Maybe I should have given this another half star, because there are not all that many books that deal with so many of the facets of grief, including guilt and anger as well as the just plain loneliness and disappointment. Not to mention how hard it is to express all or any of this to anyone else.

***SPOILER ALERT***
The very thing that makes this book difficult to get into is part of what makes it so accurate and interesting. The graphic novel chapters are actually Tessa's reaction to her sister,...more

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Feb 06, 2013 Gina rated it 4 of 5 stars

SPOILER ALERT

This book reminded me of Lois Lowry's first novel, A SUMMER TO DIE, which features Meg (protagonist, plain sister) and Molly (gorgeous sister) and the complex feelings Meg has for her sibling (who gets leukemia and dies). The sister relationship felt quite real to me. I also really liked how this book came together toward the end, as the parallels between stories/universes were revealed. (I figured out early on that the centaur was Charlie, and the Minotaur was Jasper, but the witch...more

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Jun 06, 2012 Dolores rated it 3 of 5 stars

I really like the concept of this book. I love the idea of mixing graphics and prose. This is a pretty well done mix, but I did have some problems with the story. I guess I found it a bit hard to believe that parents thought it "cute" that their 13-year-old was in such a serious relationship. Dating a boy who was driving? A relationship that seemed to be getting progressively more physical? Not cute. And they seemed WAAYY too clueless. That all felt contrived to exacerbate the jealously between...more

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Oct 09, 2012 Amy rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: cln, young-adult

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Tessa and Lulu are sisters, and along with Tessa's best friend Celina, they form a boy-crazy group of friends. Tessa has a major league crush on Charlie but after being paired up in the tent of oddities at the carnival, Lulu and Charlie come out holding hands and suddenly, just like that, are inseparable boyfriend/girlfriend. Tessa is beyond jealous until she starts secretly making out with the odd-boy-out, Jasper. Tessa's secret relationship with Jasper puts her at odds with her group of friend...more

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About Cecil Castellucci

Cecil Castellucci is an author of young adult novels and comic books, most notably Boy Proof and The PLAIN Janes. Upcoming in 2012 is her new hybrid prose / graphic novel The Year of the Beasts illustrated by Nate Powell.

She is also the author of First Day on Earth, Rose Sees Red, Beige, The Queen of Cool and Janes in Love. Her short stories can be found in various anthologies such as After, Teeth...more

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Quotes from The Year of the Beasts

“There's a beast in all of us, you know,' Jasper said.
'No,' Tessa said.
'Yes, a monster right inside of us all,' Jasper said.
They wondered what theirs looked like. They faced each other and blinked while making faces to try to capture the phantom.” — 3 people liked it

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