“Beheld” retells various well-known fairytales including “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Rumpelstiltskin,” “East of the Sun and West of the Moon” and “The Ugly Duckling.” This book is the newest addition to modern fairytale retellings by accomplished New York Times bestselling author Alex Flinn, author of “Beastly.”
“Beheld” is more like an anthology than a novel. Starting in the 1690s and ending in present day, “Beheld” tells a tale of decades. All of its tales are told partially through the perspective of Kendra, a witch, who serves as the protagonist in many of Flinn’s books.
“Little Red Riding Hood” is perhaps the stiffest of all the fairy tales and retold with the least originality. Little Red is a reverend’s daughter in Salem, Massachusetts, where she appears innocent until Kendra catches her conversing with a wolf.
Little Red Riding Hood is presumably from a lineage of werewolves, but the book gives no indication about the origin of her change, only harsh symptoms such as spasms and excessive itching. The reverend blames these symptoms on witchcraft.
For Kendra, this is the beginning of her love story with James Brandon, a warlock who serves as her love interest for the duration of the novel. She meets him in Salem, and James accuses her of being a witch. Kendra has no idea how he knows, and his understanding is never revealed. James immediately tells her to flee Salem, but our protagonist ends up getting trapped and eventually separated from her love.
James and Kendra’s romance seems out of nowhere and a bit too insta-love for most mature readers’ taste, especially since the central conflict is their romance and Kendra’s quest to find James. Their romance should realistically be a little more substantial than it comes across as in this first story.
After being freed from the trials in Salem, Kendra begins the search for James. This search will lead her to Bavaria and then London, where she experiences tales based on “Rumpelstiltskin” and “East of the Sun and West of the Moon.”
Both stories rely again on unrealistic love, continuing to fail the test of being anything except cliché.
The final story is a version of “The Ugly Duckling” featuring two high school friends who are both seemingly unattractive. One wishes to be taller, sacrificing their friendship. But just when it seemed too late, tragedy brought them back together.
Overall, “Beheld” was a very gushy, feel-good book that lacked depth and maturity, unlike other Flinn books. “Beheld” didn’t live up to its potential and felt very forced, even somewhat repetitive, compared to other books she has written.
“Beheld” would have been better if she had stayed solely focused on one or two fairy tales or even just the story of Kendra searching for James. But so many plots being forced into such a small book felt rushed. This phenomenon especially affected the romance. This is an uncommon blunder for Flinn, who is gifted at writing love stories.
The characters seemed to have no logical thought and felt extremely unrealistic, even compared to the fairytales they portrayed.
For those looking for an easy, engaging, fluffy read that doesn’t require too much critical thought, this book may be just the thing they need, but this book won’t fit the bill for everyone.
