Sixteen Moons - an immortal love

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Sixteen Moons - An Immortal Love ( English Beautiful Creatures ) is a fantasy novel by the American authors Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl . It is the first volume in the Caster Chronicles series and was released on December 1, 2009 by Little, Brown, and Company. The American fantasy film Beautiful Creatures is based on him . The German publication took place in Heyne Verlag . On January 3rd, a new edition of the novel with pictures from the film was published.

content

The novel takes place in the fictional small town Gatlin, it is located away from civilization in the south of Carolina (USA). The story is told from the perspective of the protagonist Ethan Lawson Wate. He lives with his father and their housekeeper Amma, who is more like a grandmother to him, in the house where generations of his families have already lived.

Ethan's mother died in a car accident a year earlier. The story begins on Ethan's first day of sophomore year high school. Since things rarely change in Gatlin, everyone is surprised at the arrival of a new student, Lena Duchannes. Lena is Macon Melchizedek Ravenwood's niece. He is the shy owner of the oldest house in town, Ravenwood Manor. The house is considered the town's haunted house and Macon Ravenwood has not been seen by any town resident, so he is considered insane. It is only later in the story that we learn that Macon is an incubus . The reputation of her uncle is fatal for Lena, as she is now also considered crazy. On his way home, Ethan almost runs over Lena because he can hardly see anything due to a storm. He starts talking to Lena and drives her home. Ethan becomes Lena's only friend and stands by her, which doesn't give him a good reputation.

After a while, Ethan and Lena fall in love, but they are both still not aware of what exactly they are for each other. Ethan also learns that Lena is a "caster": a person who can practice magic and has certain skills. Lena and Ethan can communicate through their thoughts , this ability is called Keltling. Since there is a curse on her family caused by Geneviev Duchannes, all casters in her family will be called to be either dark or light on their 16th birthday. Light stands for good and dark stands for evil. Ethan tries to find a way to save Lena from her fate. But their way is made more difficult for them because the whole city turns against Lena. Nobody knows that Lena's mother Sarafine, who was believed dead, was behind it. The only ones who stand by them are Macon, Amma (as it turns out: a seer) and Marian, the best friend of Ethan's mother and the librarian of the city library and the secret Caster library. Lena and Ethan admit their feelings over the course of events and are officially a couple. To find a way out, look for and find the "Book of Moons", the most powerful book of casters. They learn about the book through visions they receive from a medallion that once belonged to Geneviev. Unfortunately they don't find an answer in the book, but through the spirit of Ethan's mother they get a hint: "Call yourself."

Chaos breaks out on Lena's birthday when Ridley, Lena's dark cousin, brings the whole school to Ravenwood for a party. Everything gets out of hand during the celebration. Eventually Lena, Ethan, Link (Ethan's best friend), Larkin (Lena's cousin, who turns out to be a dark caster), Hunting (Macon's bad brother), Sarafine and Marcon find themselves back on the field behind Ravenwood. Macon is injured in the fight, and Ethan, with the help of Marian, brings Gramma to the field to heal Macon. Several secrets are also revealed: Lena, since she is a natural born (more powerful caster) and her birthday is the day of the curse, can decide for herself which side she wants to go to. But if she chooses the dark side, all the light casters in her family will die and vice versa if she chooses the light. The fact that a caster can never be with a mortal without killing him also makes things worse.

Finally Lena goes crazy because a lot has been hidden from her and she can't deal with all of this. In the fight Ethan is finally stabbed by Sarafine and Lena stops time. With the help of Amma and the Book of Moons, she saves Ethan's life, but, without knowing it, swaps the life of Macon for it. The curse she utters is the same one Geneviev used to save her lover. Geneviev paid for her entire family to be subject to the vocation curse. In the heat of the moment, Lena lets the “sixteenth moon” disappear and does not have to decide, but one of her eyes turns gold (the color of the dark casters) and the other remains green. Sarafine and the other dark casters flee. The story ends with Macon found dead and Ethan comforting Lena on the roof of the crypt .

people

  • Lena's family:
Aunt Del (Aunt, Light): She can read in time.
Reece Duchannes (cousin, light): She can read faces and can tell when someone is lying.
Gramma (grandmother, light): She can copy the skills of others for a short time.
Ryan (cousin, light): She's a healer.
Twyla (aunt, light): She can talk to the dead and bring them back for a short time.
Barclay (uncle, light): He can turn things into other things permanently.
Macon (uncle, dark / light "dies" in the first book): He is an incubus ( inherently dark), but who feeds on dreams.
Larkin (cousin, Dark Dies in Book Two): He can create illusions .
Ridley (Cousin, Darkness Becomes Human in Book Two): She's a siren and can make people do what she wants.
Hunting (uncle, dark dies in the second book): He is an evil incubus that feeds on blood.
Sarafine (mother, dark dies in the second book): She is a destroyer (dark natural-born).
  • Geneviev's lover was an ancestor of Ethan.
  • Ethan is a mortal Wayward, he helps casters find their fate.
  • Link falls in love with Ridley.
  • Ridley and Lena used to be best friends.
  • Macon can see Boo Ridley through his dog's eyes.
  • Lena can influence the elements.
  • Ethan's father is crazy and is hiding in his study.

Sequels

In 2012 the sequels Seventeen Moons - Eine Unheilvolle Liebe (original title: Beautiful Darkness ), Eighteen Moons - Eine limitlose Liebe (original title: Beautiful Chaos ) and in 2013/14 also Nineteen Moons - Eine Ewige Liebe (original title Beautiful Redemption ) were published by Heyne Verlag .

Audio book

The novel is also available as an audio book, the narrator is Martin Maecker.

filming

The novel was published by Warner Bros. under the title Beautiful Creatures - Eine immortliche Liebe u. a. filmed with Jeremy Irons and Emma Thompson . The premiere took place on February 6, 2013 in Los Angeles, and the film is scheduled to open in German cinemas on April 4, 2013.

reception

Kirkus Reviews wrote that "Ethan's sarcastic narrative style will be the next book to delve into for John Green readers as well as many fans of supernatural romances." (" Ethan's wry narrative voice will resonate with readers of John Green as well as the hordes of supernatural-romance fans looking for the next book to sink their teeth into ”). Booklist also rated the book positively, stating: "There is a lot that teenagers will love : romance, magic, hauntings and the promise that more is to come" (" there's plenty of teens will like: romance, magic, hauntings, and the promise of more to come. ”). The School Library Journal praised Beautiful Creatures ' " detailed descriptions " and " satisfying conclusion " and wrote that it would appeal to fans of True Blood . Publishers Weekly criticized the book for the protracted climax , but wrote that Beautiful Creatures had a " compelling and dimensional mythology ". Despite the use of magic, the book is recognized for its authentic characters and authentic world. Linda Perez of the Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy says that Stohl is "clearly and lyrically", that the world he has created is so believable that "readers subconsciously find themselves believing in magic" (“That readers will find themselves unwittingly believing in magic”). According to Booklist's Ilene Cooper “ the 600 pages could have been cut to make a tight, better story ”.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl: Beautiful Creatures . Kirkus Reviews
  2. ^ A b Ilene Cooper: Beautiful Creatures . In: Booklist . November 1, 2009, p. 1. Retrieved March 15, 2012.
  3. ^ Grades 5 & Up: Beautiful Creatures. (No longer available online.) In: School Library Journal. Archived from the original on September 12, 2010 ; accessed on July 14, 2018 .
  4. ^ Children's Review: Beautiful Creatures Publishers Weekly