The Beast and the Bethany, book 3, keeps the monster mglit fun chomping on

Somehow or another, we didn’t read The Beast and the Bethany book 2. We did read The Beast and the Bethany and absolutely loved it. That book has an appeal that’s a blend of Wednesday, the more malevolent parts of Despicable Me, and just a touch of gross characteristics you want from a beast that’s capable of vomiting anything it thinks of. It’s a book’s testament if it’s able to allow readers to skip a book in the series or to jump into it cold, and still be able to follow along, enjoying the story. The Beast and the Bethany: Battle of the Beast does that in a way that drags along reluctant middle school readers with monstrous ease.

Battle of the Beast opens up with a look at the parrots who are talking in the jungle whilst awaiting the return of their friend Claudette. I remember Claudette from the first book; she’s a parrot who is great friends with Bethany. Just as the welcome-back party is about to commence, a trio of D.o.R.R.i.S agents (Division of Removing Rapscallions in Secret) emerge from a puddle. They want to warn the parrots that Claudette was indeed gravely wounded and to not be shocked when they see her. Sure enough, when she pops out of the puddle, she’s a mangled, mess of a non-flying parrot whose first words are to save Bethany.

For a book series that I really enjoyed the initial release, this introduction was great for us. It would also work if this is your first entry in the world of The Beast and the Bethany. The situation, even if you don’t know the characters is curious, full of wonder, moves at a quick pace, and alludes to a big bad that is beyond redemption.

The story then moves onto a dream where Bethany is haunted by the sheer insidiousness of the Beast. It’s a hungry, massive-sized monster that eats living things and has negatively impacted everything it has touched. So much so that Ebenezer, the somewhat human man who had been taking care of it, has accumulated so much guilt that he’s opened up a business whose sole purpose is to do good. It’s here where it’s important to point out that Bethany lives with Ebenezer, who adopted her through a foster care situation.

The Beast had been doing his bidding for hundreds of years until Bethany came along and seemed to tame it. Then, something happened in The Bethany and The Beast book 2, Revenge of the Beast, that led to the Beast being locked away in a far-away place under the care of D.o.R.R.i.S. As Battle of the Beast continues we learn that the agents of D.o.R.R.i.S have tamed the Beast, and believe that it’s ready to be placed back into society, again, under the care of Ebenezer.

Bethany doesn’t trust the Beast. Ebenezer is unsure, but when the Beast turns into a magic regurgitation machine, which has an uncanny ability to conceive whatever would make people happy, he quickly embraces the new Beast. Sure, these objects are covered with bile and have just been summoned from the belly of this large thing in a dog costume, but it’s what the people wanted, and give the people what they want.

When we were reading Battle of the Beast, it did wander for a page or two when the big, bad Beast has suddenly become good. This is a trope that we tire of because, more often than not, we know how it’s going to turn out. The Beast and the Bethany, book 3 managed to avoid that because it’s laced with sardonic wit in a way that made Wednesday so much fun to watch. The give and take between Bethany, Ebenezer, the Beast and the supporting characters is quick, and funny, and keeps readers guessing, even if they really know, or think that they know, how it will all end.

This is also a very fun book to read. That’s such a simple trait to have as a book, isn’t it? All readers, especially those reluctant, mglit readers, want is to be entertained. All too often those same readers are tasked with reading something archaic or dramatic in class. It’s important to demonstrate to those same readers that books are meant to be engaging. The form that The Beast and the Bethany: Battle of the Beast takes is the fun, silly, engrossing (and slightly gross) trip through reading fun town, population: everyone who reads this book.

The Beast and the Bethany: Battle of the Beast is by Jack Meggitt-Phillips with illustrations by Isabelle Follath and is available on Simon & Schuster.

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