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    The Beast Is an Animal
    The Beast Is an Animal
    The Beast Is an Animal
    Audiobook8 hours

    The Beast Is an Animal

    Written by Peternelle van Arsdale

    Narrated by Candace Thaxton

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    A girl with a secret talent must save her village from the encroaching darkness in this “achingly poetic” (Kirkus Reviews) and deeply satisfying tale.

    Alys was seven the first time she saw the soul eaters.

    These soul eaters are twin sisters who were abandoned by their father and slowly grew into something not quite human. And they feed off of human souls. When her village was attacked, Alys was spared and sent to live in a neighboring village. There the devout people created a strict world where fear of the soul eaters—and of the Beast they believe guides them—rule village life. But the Beast is not what they think he is. And neither is Alys.

    Inside, Alys feels connected to the soul eaters, and maybe even to the Beast itself. As she grows from a child to a teenager, she longs for the freedom of the forest. And she has a gift she can tell no one, for fear they will call her a witch. When disaster strikes, Alys finds herself on a journey to heal herself and her world. A journey that will take her through the darkest parts of the forest, where danger threatens her from the outside—and from within her own heart and soul.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateFeb 28, 2017
    ISBN9781508227823
    Author

    Peternelle van Arsdale

    Peternelle van Arsdale is a book editor, essay and short story writer, and the author of The Beast Is an Animal and The Cold Is in Her Bones. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, where she is at work on her third novel. Visit her at PeternellevanArsdale.com.

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    Reviews for The Beast Is an Animal

    4/5

    91 ratings11 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Alys has trouble sleeping and one night when she wanders she meets the soul eaters. The soul eaters are each other's mirror image, they're twins and they are always together. When their father sent them away for their own safety their life as soul eaters slowly started. They've grown wild, they devour people's souls and there's an insatiable hunger inside of them. People fear the soul eaters as much as the Beast, which they believe is great evil, but what does that mean exactly? Alys can resist the lure of the soul eaters and her life is being spared. The grownups in her village aren't so lucky, they can't escape the two sisters.

      Alys and the other children of her village need a fresh start, but they will never be able to shake what happened to them. Somehow Alys has a connection with the soul eaters. She also meets the Beast, which scares her and makes her curious at the same time. There's a difficult task ahead of her, but will she succeed? Or is she just like the twins, dark inside without any goodness? Alys has to find out who she is exactly and only then can she become who she's supposed to be. There is no safety for anyone though and the danger keeps growing, will she have enough time?

      The Beast Is an Animal is a fantastic creepy story. The soul eaters are both awful and fascinating at the same time. They are together, but they are one instead of two. They are hungry for souls, they're the nightmarish characters of nursery rhymes and they strike at night when people least expect it. They can erase entire villages and those who have faith are willing to keep evil away, they are trying to stay safe at all costs. This has a reversed effect and I loved how Peternelle van Arsdale plays with the boundaries of good and evil, she does that in a marvelous thought-provoking way. I couldn't wait to find out what would happen to the two sisters, the Beast, the children and Alys and the people she loves. This kept me on the edge of my seat and I read The Beast Is an Animal in one sitting because I was completely spellbound and couldn't put it down.

      Peternelle van Arsdale has a beautiful writing style. I loved the way she describes what's in the hearts of her main characters. Alys has an amazing multilayered personality. She constantly struggles with what she is and who she is and I was captivated by her from the beginning. Peternelle van Arsdale's vivid imagination is gorgeous and because of it Alys has a versatile personality that's based on contrasts. She is fierce and loyal, she's kind, but defiant, she's light and dark and she isn't afraid to look into her own soul. That is something I really enjoyed about The Beast Is an Animal, it shows the importance of self-knowledge and that makes the story extra special. Alys is going through plenty of emotions, each of them interesting and unexpected. Her story reads like a fairytale and is just as enchanting. I really loved this incredibly well written scary book.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Incredible story , catching and entertaining. Beautifully narrated. One of the best books I have read/listened so far.
    • 4/5
      Nice narration and a lovely story ... worth listening to
    • 4/5
      I took this book out on a recomendation from the library, and I loved it. I think it was my first time reading about Soul Eaters as the supernatural creature and I thought they were fantastic and really well done.
    • 4/5
      A gripping read - Alys is a really great main character. But I wanted to learn more about her world... and the ending seemed a bit rushed.
    • 4/5
      It was a normal night for Alys. She couldn't sleep and went out to explore when two hauntingly beautiful women passed her and briefly spoke to her. How could Alys know that they were soul eaters? When she woke up the next morning, all of the adults in the town were dead. Defaid, a nearby town, takes pity on the abandoned children for a price. These children must guard their gates at night to protect the city for the rest of their lives. Alys feels out of place and rumors swirl around her as someone who met the soul eaters and lived. This is in addition to an ability that Alys has to hide for fear of being condemned as a witch. Can she live among these supersititious people and will the soul eaters stay away from their town?The Beast is an Animal is a dark fantasy novel that reminds me thematically of the film The Witch. Alys is surrounded by a society cowed by a specific type of religion implemented in a way to keep everyone in their place. The higher ups are obviously corrupt and the ones underneath say nothing to keep their space in society. If you step out of line, you could be ostracized, tortured, or killed. Alys is in even more danger because she has a supernatural power and she helps a healer who uses unlawful herbs and treatments to help women on top of being the only one to interact with the soul eaters and live. Alys is a restless girl who doesn't flourish in an oppressive environment. She relatably finds it hard to keep silent when authorities are clearly wrong and fights the most for the people she loves. Alys shows a more modern perspective in the face of backwards, misogynistic, and corrupt rulers.There are two supernatural figures that are thought to be the same, but turn out to be quite different. The story of the soul eaters is a place exactly like Defaid where the girls were ostracized as children for being twins and female. Their rejection from society coupled with the death of their mother and their ensuing hatred for these people caused them to become monstrous soul eaters. They lure people away like sirens, calling names, singing songs, and tempting people with whatever they want most. The Beast is supposed to be the devil in Christianity, torturing people and luring people to sin, but it isn't that at all. The Beast is simply the force of nature personified, neither evil nor good. The only thing it wants is balance in nature, which the soul eaters disrupt, and calls for Alys' help. Alys is also a little of both. Her power can allow her to feel other's pain and heal them or consume their life force as soul eaters do. She can easily follow in their footsteps or use her power to stop them. The Beast is an Animal is a dark fairy tale that shows this society's opposition to nature at the time and how the search for evil can create evil where there was none. The story moves a little slowly, but I was completely entrenched in the story the entire time. Alys shows an unconventional strength that is rarely shown in YA novels. She may not be physically strong or completely modern, but she has an emotional strength and a power of her own. I very much enjoyed this novel and I will look for more by Peternelle van Arsdale.
    • 4/5
      Using simple but evocative language, Arsdale weaves a dark fairy tale with a heroine and a Beast who are neither as simply good or simply evil as such characters in these stories often are. There's a love story (but not with the Beast--this is not a Beauty and the Beast re-telling), but it doesn't really enter the narrative until close to the end and never devolves into some lurid love triangle or angsty drama.

      One of the things I enjoyed most about this was the way even the soul eaters were given backstory and made sympathetic. They weren't evil to start with, but were made that way by the assumptions of those around them and the stories that were told about them.

      This is, ultimately, a story about story and how the tales we tell about ourselves and others shape who we and they become.
    • 3/5
      Raised by strict, devout people after soul eaters attacked her village and spared only the children, Alys grows up longing for the freedom of the forest while hiding a gift that would mark her as a witch.
    • 4/5
      Read by Candace Thaxton. Alyce is among the children in her village who survived an attack by soul eaters that killed all the adults. Now a teenager who was taken in and raised in a religiously devout village, she realizes she has an ability that would cast her out as a witch. Thaxton's reading is terse and compelling. Although her approach is understated, nuanced shifts in tone and personality reveal the horrors of the unknown and the paranoia of the villagers.
    • 5/5
      A sober story, heightened by the emotional magic of its elevated fairy tale-esque prose, this story of a girl trapped in a cycle of supernatural violence and fear will stick with you. Alys was 7 years old when she first met the soul eaters, twin sisters who were cast out by village and father due to superstition, who have become vengeful, fear-eating monsters. They pass Alys by, but go on to kill every adult in her small village. Alys's struggles as a second-class, adopted child, her innate magical talents that she must keep under wraps, and even her third chance at a good life, with people who love and accept her, underlie the message of this fable: what you are doesn't dictate what you do, and you are not doomed to repeat the damage inflicted upon you. A compelling entry into the YA fable market. This book reminded me in setting and story strongly of the indie horror film Witch, which I hated--this story neatly avoids the problems of that film, while engaging with Puritan-style superstitions and actions.
    • 5/5
      Oh. My. Goodness. This story is so dark, so delicious, so creepy, that you'll be glued to its pages and unable to uncurl your fingers from around its edges. Alys is a girl who lives in a world that fears the soul eaters, twin sisters who were once abandoned by their father and slowly became something "not quite human"... and who feed off human souls. The villagers also believe that these soul eaters are controlled by the Beast, but Alys... well, she begins to feel connected to the soul eaters. Maybe even to the Beast. And when the forest calls to her, beckoning and offering freedom, Alys finds herself on a journey not only for herself, but for everyone in the world she calls home. It's strange and wonderful and horrifying and absolutely riveting. I think I might need to read it again.