Beastly or Ghastly?

Beastly by Alex Flinn

I'm not really sure where to begin with this.  I think most know the story behind Beauty and the Beast.  Shallow, mean and vain young man irritates the wrong girl (that is really a witch) and she turns him into a hideous beast.  He has a set amount of time to find someone that can look past the nightmare of how he looks and fall in love with him.  He, in return, must love her.  Roses, mirrors and rooms filled with broken furniture are usually involved.  This story is no different.  Kyle Kingsbury is rich, spoiled and mean-spirited teenager.  He seeks out opportunities to show the world what kind of filth he really is.  He leads a "goth" girl to believe he is going to escort her to prom and then shows up with another (equally disgusting) girl in an effort to humiliate her.  The goth girl turns out to be a witch and transforms Kyle into a beast.  His dad locks him up in a New York estate with a tutor and a maid.  Enter low-life dad of Lindy. He breaks into the house one night and was caught by Kyle (or Adrian, as his teenage, angsty self prefers to go by).  In exchange for his freedom, he gives Kyle is daughter.  Blah Blah blah, he falls in love, lets her go, she comes back (just in time of course), they kiss, spell is broken. I apologize if I just spoiled it for you.  Critics claim it has a "twist."  I, personally, don't see it.  It is told from the beast's point of view but I think that most other versions (including Disney) do a pretty thorough job of mapping out the beast's feelings and motivations.  I don't know that we need to dedicate an entire book to it.  The big difference is online shopping. Kyle does a lot of it. I don't remember that in any other version.  The online chatting, however, is RIDICULOUS!!  He chats with other (very Disneyish) characters that either have been transformed or want to be.  I loathed those parts of the book.  I was unimpressed with the book in general.  By all means, retell a much loved story but intrigue us please!  If I had to recommend it to someone it would be junior high girls only, I think.