Reviewed by: J. Hanna, a Professional Writing major at Taylor University

Introduction

Title: Beast

Author: Chawna Schroeder

Publisher: Enclave

Publication Date: 2016

Format: Print Book

Length: 255 pages

OVERVIEW

Beast grew up feral until a cruel hunter finds her in the woods. She does her best to please him, but when push comes to shove, if he isn’t happy, he takes it out on her. She sleeps with his dogs and fights with them for food. When the hunter’s cabin burns down, Beast is found by slave traders. On the way to market, a girl named Tabby befriends Beast and they make a plan for escape. Tabby renames Beast as “Sarah,” even though Beast doesn’t think the name fits. But no escape plan is perfect, and when Tabby’s protection arrives to buy her back, there is more competition for Beast than they were prepared for, A master hunter Beast whom calls “Two-Eyes” buys her instead.

Beast is taken to his castle and kept in the dark with the other animals he will soon hunt for sport. The Keeper trains her, building up her strength so maybe she’ll be able to lead Two-Eyes on the greatest hunt of his life. When the time for the hunt comes, Beast is faster and smarter than the other animals and gets away, eventually seeking food in a house in another town where she runs into Princess Tabby and her “pack” made up of King Elroy and his traveling party. They take Beast in and give her protection, but Two-Eyes isn’t finished searching for her yet. As King Elroy makes it more and more difficult for Two-Eyes to get her, tensions rise until the kingdom is given over to Two-Eyes in a wager, saving Tabby and Beast’s lives.

The princesses are taken away and tortured until a man Sarah calls Tracker finds them and gets them out. In the escape, Tracker is able to rescue Sarah, but Tabby is caught again. Once safe, they make plans to go back and rescue Tabby, each attempt leaving someone behind so they’re never fully safe or away. The last to be captured being King Elroy. Desperate to get him back before Two-Eyes kills him and keeps the kingdom for good, Sarah proposes a wager against Two-Eyes: another hunt with her as the prey: Winner takes all.

Limited by the vocabulary of a young, uneducated child who understands the world through the eyes of an animal, Schroeder tells an enrapturing tale of love and redemption, showing the full extent of what it means to have a new identity in God.

ASSESSMENT

Rating (1 to 5)

4 Stars

Suggested Audience

Young Adult readers who struggle with feelings of acceptance and question how God could love them.

Christian Impact

This book displays the bounds of limitless love that can’t be earned and the difficult nature of accepting a new identity from God.

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