Beast by Brie Spangler

Tall, meaty, muscle-bound, and hairier than most throw rugs, Dylan doesn’t look like your average fifteen-year-old, so, naturally, high school has not been kind to him. To make matters worse, on the day his school bans hats (his preferred camouflage), Dylan goes up on his roof only to fall and wake up in the hospital with a broken leg—and a mandate to attend group therapy for self-harmers.

Dylan vows to say nothing and zones out at therapy—until he meets Jamie. She’s funny, smart, and so stunning, even his womanizing best friend, JP, would be jealous. She’s also the first person to ever call Dylan out on his self-pitying and superficiality. As Jamie’s humanity and wisdom begin to rub off on Dylan, they become more than just friends. But there is something Dylan doesn’t know about Jamie, something she shared with the group the day he wasn’t listening. Something that shouldn’t change a thing. She is who she’s always been—an amazing photographer and devoted friend, who also happens to be transgender. But will Dylan see it that way? 

AMAZON

MY THOUGHTS:
5/5 STARS

I went into this book blind... 

The ARC showed up at my door and I immediately started it without reading the back. So imagine my surprise when Jamie's identity was revealed... It's not at all what I expected, but it worked so well. You can definitely call it a twist on Beauty & the Beast and I LOVED it. 

The words of this book wrapped around me and slowly pulled me beneath the surface of norm. It was heartwarming, educational, emotional, and inspiring. The focus was on first love, self exploration,  self harm, and painful peer pressure, but there was so much more between the words. Dylan is a troubled boy who is self conscious about his appearance.

"I like you too." she says.
"You are a wonderfully horrible boy."

When he "falls" off his roof and ends up in group therapy, his world is turned upside down. Jamie is going through a transition... When her and Dylan start to hang out, emotions slowly form into something a tad forbidden. Dylan is oblivious to the situation and when the truth is revealed it sends him running the opposite way. Slowly though, he lets his guard down and opens up to what his heart truly wants...

I wouldn't say I have an closed mind, but I definitely wouldn't seek out a trans book. After reading this one though, my feelings have changed. The Author did so good at making this book beautiful and all consuming that at the end I craved more. I wanted to know what happened to Jamie and Dylan after high school. I wanted to know if their love made it...

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO ALL READERS!