Monstrous Beauty

Name: Monstrous Beauty
Brand: Macmillan Audio
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4 (2 reviews)
Author: Elizabeth Fama
ISBN: 9781427222183

Author: Elizabeth Fama

Narrator: Katherine Kellgren

Unabridged: 8 hr 1 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Macmillan Young Listeners

Published: 09/04/2012

Categories: Young Adult Fiction, Horror, Romance, Paranormal, Fairy Tales & Legends

Synopsis

Fierce, seductive mermaid Syrenka falls in love with Ezra, a young naturalist. When she abandons her life underwater for a chance at happiness on land, she is unaware that this decision comes with horrific and deadly consequences. Almost one hundred forty years later, seventeen-year-old Hester meets a mysterious stranger named Ezra and feels overwhelmingly, inexplicably drawn to him. For generations, love has resulted in death for the women in her family. Is it an undiagnosed genetic defect . . . or a curse? With Ezra's help, Hester investigates her family's strange, sad history. The answers she seeks are waiting in the graveyard, the crypt, and at the bottom of the ocean - but powerful forces will do anything to keep her from uncovering her connection to Syrenka and to the tragedy of so long ago.

About Elizabeth Fama

ELIZABETH FAMA is the author of Overboard, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, which appeared on five state lists. She lives with her family in Chicago, Illinois.

About Katherine Kellgren

Katherine Kellgren has recorded over 200 audiobooks and won four Audie Awards, three ALA Odyssey Honors, and eight AudioFile Earphones Awards. In 2011, Kellgren was named the Best Voice in Young Adult & Fantasy, and she won the Audie award for Best Female Narrator in both 2013 and 2014. Kellgren has also appeared onstage in London, New York and Frankfurt. She has recorded numerous plays and dramatizations of novels for the radio, including winners of the Peabody Award. She is a graduate of The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. In naming Kellgren a “Golden Voice,” AudioFile magazine noted that she is a "marvel with accents...she is definitely a narrator to keep an ear out for." She lives in New York City.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Wendy Darling on October 18, 2012

Take a photographic tour of the Monstrous Beauty world as Elizabeth Fama stops by The Midnight Garden to kick off her blog tour! Plus win a finished hardcover of the book. It was a woman--as pale and luminescent as a ghost, with swirling white hair. Ezra startled, dropping his pencil into the wate......more

Goodreads review by Giselle on September 05, 2012

I have tried to read mermaid books - a new hype in today's YA market - and book after book I keep finding myself disappointed, realizing that these water beings are simply not my forte... until now. Is it the dark, twisted plot? Is it the violent, yet beautiful story? Is it the combination of local......more

Goodreads review by Nafiza on August 01, 2012

This is a mermaid story. Consider yourself warned. I have yet to read a mermaid story that I actually really, really liked. I was hoping to like this as much because it comes backed by our lovely Wendy but I think this is one of the few times our tastes will diverge. I found the novel strong, likabl......more

Goodreads review by Cassi aka Snow White on September 17, 2012

When I first started Monstrous Beauty I was practically begging "please don't be just another paranormal romance, please!" Mermaids are probably my favorite mythical creature andI have long searched for a good mermaid story. Most mermaid books just don't work for various reasons. When the book starte......more

Goodreads review by Coranne on December 28, 2011

Whew. This was an intense book- not what I expected at all. I think I am going to break this one down into a few parts: The Cover: Take a look at this cover- she is pretty right? Long blond hair, smoky eyes, doing her model thing. The first thing I want to say is- this cover is ALL WRONG. Don't get me......more

Quotes

“Fama does not shy away from the big issues: love, death, longing, lust, fear, and revenge all play out through her complex and multidimensional characters.” —Booklist

“Monstrous Beauty packs a serious, sexy wallop.” —Bookpage

“Fama (Overboard, 2002) delivers a beautifully written, romantic ghost story with an artful construction that incorporates a murder mystery and detailed historical fiction.” —BCCB

“History buffs, fantasy lovers, and mystery fans will all find something to please them in this engrossing story…” —School Library Journal

“horror and humanity are adroitly handled…” —Publishers Weekly

“...this stylish fantasy mesmerizes.” —Kirkus

Awards

Odyssey Honor Audiobook