A fun read reminiscent of the Lemony Snicket. The characters are darkly funny, and the story does an excellent job of balancing mean acts with humor and wit. It shows that even people who seem to be evil have the ability to change when shown love.

I enjoyed this story...

This is not a story that rewrites a life history of bad behavior. This is not a story of evil. There is a Beast, but not like what one would expect. There is boiled cabbage. There are difficult relationships.

This is a story about choices: easy choices, hard choices, and difficult choices. This is a story about selfishness and greed.
This is a story about a possible chance for redemption, but for who? How?
Read it and find out.

I had heard so many good things about this book, but still, when I picked it up, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. This one was a RIDE. I absolutely HATED Bethany to start with and was sure she deserved whatever fate she had coming to her.

The character growth was *chef's kiss*. The ending was very unexpected, in several ways, and I can't wait to continue this series. Definitely one I'd recommend to kids. I think it's the perfect mix of sincerity and humor that will appeal to middle grade readers.

This wonderful tale reminded me of Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach mixed with Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events. Ebenezer Tweezer wants to remain young. He is over 500 years old already! In order to stay young, he needs to feed the beast who becomes more and more greedy as the years go by. Bethany is an orphan who specializes in creating chaos and is unwittingly destined to be the beast's next dinner.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for this e-arc.

This was just a 2 1/2 star read for me, rounded up to 3.

This was an interesting middle grade book. It wasn't a delight for me though. We have quirky characters and of course, a monster. Kids would probably love this book. I, however, did not. The entire time I was reading it, I kept thinking would I really let an 8 year old read this and even now, I'm not sure.

This book was dark for a middle grade novel. I would have eaten it up as a kid!

Ebenezer Tweezer is about to turn 512 years old. He lives in a 15 story house and a beast lives in the attic. They have an arrangement: Ebenezer feeds The Beast whatever is asks for, and The Beast provides Ebenezer with a life tonic to live one more year. The Beast's food requests keep getting more extravagant over the centuries. Its most recent request--days before Ebenezer's 512th birthday, when his life potion will run out --is he wants to eat a plump, juicy child. So, Ebenezer sets out to find the perfect child to feed The Beast, but gets way more than he bargained for when he finds Bethany!

Dark, but enjoyable. May be too mature for more sensitive middle graders.

The Beast and the Bethany was a delightful read. Unexpected twists and turns at every chapter. Ebenezer owes his 512 long years to taking care of The Beast, but how far will he go? When he brings home Bethany he begins to question his reasoning about the decisions he's made. Perfect for students who are looking for a scary book and who want a humor at the same time.

The Beast and the Bethany is an entertaining middle grade fantasy book. Ebeneezer is 511 years old and has been kept alive that long by a Beast that he feeds all kinds of things. This year is different as the Beast wants to eat a child for the first time ever. Ebeneezer finds Bethany, a naughty child that he doesn't feel bad about feeding to the Beast but she is too skinny and in the time it takes to fatten her up things may have changed.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book for an honest review.

The Beast and the Bethany by Jack Meggit-Phillips was a fun read; what happens when you cross two extremely unpleasant people (an obnoxious little girl and a vain Dorian Gray wannabe) with a monster? It means you have to create a monster that is much worse than the two of them combined.

Ebeneezer has been feeding the beast for hundreds of years. He found it in his backyard and kept it as a pet, caring, and feeding for it until it morphs into a terrifying monster that wants to be fed a child as its latest meal (very Little Shop of Horrors). Ebeneezer tries to find it a child to eat, focusing on Bethany, an orphan he adopts. Bethany and Ebeneezer torment each other. Even though Ebeneezer is the adult in the relationship, he’s like an overgrown child himself and it’s hard to muster sympathy for him.

This is a quick read and probably suitable for older middle-grade readers who are fans of books on the creepier side.

Ebenezer Tweezer is 511 years old. In exchange for keeping it fed, the beast he keeps pukes out a serum that keeps him alive, beautiful, and young. This year, though, the beast demands something new. He wants to eat a child, and not just any child, a plump, juicy child. Ebenezer is a little reluctant, but faced with aging and dying, he’ll do what he must to appease the beast. The zoo is a bust, but the local orphanage is always trying to get rid of children. Ebenezer meets a few really great children that he likes, so he knows they are out. None of them deserve to be the beast’s dinner, but then he meets Bethany. Contrary, trouble-making Bethany. Yes, she’ll do just fine. There’s only one problem, she’s too skinny. The beast demands Ebenezer fatten her up first. During the time that takes, however, Ebenezer grows a little attached to her, and even dreads feeding her to the beast. Perhaps they’ll become friends after all.

This middle-grade, fantasy adventure was a ton of fun, and just what I needed this week. Between personal life and what’s going on in the country, I didn’t have the brain space for too much “realness.” This book provided a welcome distraction. The stakes are very high, and it’s a little scary, but it’s also a fun adventure about misjudging people, digging below their surface, and friendship.

The characters are dynamic, and I loved growing with them, because Bethany isn’t the only one who needs to do some growing and learn a little compassion. Ebenezer is 511 but still hasn’t managed to care much about anyone other than himself, and I loved how the characters grew on each other, and ultimately, me. I’d definitely give this one to my niece in a couple of years when her reading level is a tad higher. I think she’d love it.

It’s still a pretty new release, so check it out at your favorite, local bookstore or request it from your library.

This short book is a combination of a bit dark and riotously funny. It's The Portrait of Dorian Gray if Roald Dahl had written a less Gothic version, but with an ever hungry Beast keeping Ebenezer alive instead of a cursed portrait. Ebenezer has been serving the Beast in a symbiotic (sort of) relationship for 511 years. On this 512th year The Beast has decided he would like to eat a child, thus enters the Bethany. Bethany is an orphan with a quick wit and a head for mischief, but can she outwit The Beast? What follows is a tale of strange adventures in a local bird shop, a 15 story magic house, and the local orphanage. Ebenezer and Bethany are really quite funny together. I will be suggesting this for so many readers for Christmas!

Ebenezer Tweezer has secrets. First of all, he is 511 years old, and soon he will be 512. Second, he keeps the deadliest beast known to man on the fifteenth floor of his giant house. And third, he’s promised the beast a child to eat so that the beast will give him the magical potion he needs to stay alive before his upcoming birthday. But where can he find a child to feed to the beast?

Ebenezer first tries the zoo, but it turns out that parents get angry with you when you try to put one of their children into a bag at the zoo. Then he goes to the bird-keeper’s shop, to see if he had any children. He didn’t but he did suggest that Ebenezer try the orphanage. What a perfect idea!

Ebenezer goes to the orphanage, and that’s where he meets Bethany. After meeting some darling and polite children, Ebenezer realizes he can’t feed one of these delightful children to the beast. He needs a child who is naughty. He needed a child who is mean. And that’s when he sees Bethany, sitting on top of a boy, trying to stuff worms into his nose.

Ebenezer knows that Bethany would be perfect for the beast. He adopts her immediately.

However, everyone knows that plans rarely go the way they’re supposed to. And that’s what happens once Ebenezer gets Bethany home. Everything changes for Ebenezer, and for Bethany, in the most surprising ways.

The Beast and the Bethany is the most delightful book I’ve read in a long time. It’s described as a little bit Lemony Snicket and a little bit Roald Dahl, and it’s that. But it’s also lovely and funny and dark and creative in a new way that’s hard to compare to anyone else. Author Jack Meggitt-Phillips has arrived on the scene with a hilarious instant classic. Parents, librarians, and educators will do well to remember his name. You’ll be hearing it for many years to come, if the beast is kind enough to allow him more years of writing. The adorable illustrations by Isabelle Follath add even more whimsy to this spirited new book.

I absolutely loved The Beast and the Bethany, and I recommend it to readers of all ages who are still kids at heart. It is completely charming, wonderful, inventive, charming, and it will leave you hungry (wink, wink) for more!

Egalleys for The Beast and the Bethany were provided by Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing, with many thanks.

Thanks to netgalley and Aladdin for access to this arc.

This is a dark(er) book. It’s also written in a delightfully exaggerated, and also old-timey, style that let me know that it’s just make believe. It’s funny and I think it would be marvelous to hear the audiobook or even, dare I suggest, see it as a movie. One thing it’s definitely not is a sparkly unicorns and fluffy bunnies story. At times I was so happy to watch Ebenezer and Bethany go after each other, snarling and snapping. Both deserve to have the other act badly towards them and make each other miserable. It takes learning some hard truths about themselves from seeing things through the other person’s eyes to turn this handcart to hell around.

I enjoyed watching the initial battle between Ebenezer and Bethany. There is fun artwork scattered throughout. Both MCs grow and change. A lot of fun secondary characters round out the plot. I could see how the Beast was going to be dealt with but perhaps it was made a touch obvious so that children will be sure that there is a way to deal with it. It also has an ending that is happy yet also – just slightly – keeps its dark edge. B+

Absolutely delightful. The Roald Dahl comparison is spot-on; the premise is great; the character development is great. I know I’ll be handselling this one to kids often and easily.

I received a digital copy from Netgalley for an honest review.


This was adorable and a lot of fun to ready. The Beast and the Bethany is marketed as Lemony Snicket meets Roald Dahl, but I'd even throw in a dash of Portrait of Dorian Gray as well. This book was everything I needed right now: fun, ridiculous, silly, and full of little easter eggs of other fun Middle-Grade books.

From page one Jack Meggitt-Phillips lets you know that our main characters aren't the heroes of this story. In fact, both Ebenezer and Bethany are morally grey characters. Which in any story setting are normally my favorite. While I didn't so much enjoy either Ebenezer or Bethany they worked well within the story to go up against the Beast, the real villain of this story.

I also really enjoyed all the side characters that popped in and out. The owner of the bird shop was probably my favorite, and no one was happier about what happened to Miss Fizzlewick than myself. With the side characters, you're able to see the growth that Ebenezer and Bethany make throughout the story as they react, and interact, with these characters.

Speaking of the bird shop, that was some of my favorite parts being introduced some of the crazy animals that Jack Meggit-Phillips introduced. Followed by how he sort of meshed the timeline together so it's kind of a modern world that kids recognize, but also there was this sort of older feel with the mention of the Sweet's Shop and the Outdoor Market.

Another positive for me was just how over the top this book was. It wasn't just a little exaggerated, it is absolutely ridiculous, but in a way that is fun and hilarious. Each crazy moments adds a fun element to the story to keep readers of all ages hooked. It took everything I love about Roald Dahl and gave it an Edward Gorey spin.

And, I love a Middle-Grade book with artwork inside. I thought the pieces that were included were great, it gives a good idea of what the characters look like, and adds a bit of whimsy to the story as well.

Lastly, the ending felt very fitting and I was glad it was kind of a happy ending where Bethany and the Beast are concerned, almost like there is another story there. I also really enjoyed the fourth wall break at the very end.

My only sort of warning is this on the macabre side and there is a pretty heavy theme of death. I kid this is definitely a book I would have loved and read again and again. Even as an adult I really enjoyed it and the escape from the world is allowed. So I'm huge thank you again to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for a chance to read this a few weeks early!

To review The Beast and the Bethany, I really had to consider how I would have felt about this book as a kid, rather than how I felt as an adult. I really am not a fan of books where, say, a sentient bird is fed alive to a monster, especially in a way that's supposed to be funny. (This has more to do with me than with the book.) But as a kid, I probably would have enjoyed the dark humor contained in these pages. And I think a lot of other kids will, too.

I did appreciate the growth I saw from the two main characters throughout the book, especially Bethany. I'm not sure all of it was fully earned or believable - one event in particular seems to drastically change Bethany more than I think one such event would - but then again, this is a fairly short children's book and a lot is crammed into it.

The description of "Lemony Snicket meets Roald Dahl" is apt, especially the comparison to the latter author. The characters, plot, and use of language definitely reminded me of Dahl's works. Kids who like these authors will probably enjoy The Beast and the Bethany as well.

I would give this one three stars for myself, but rounding up to four to keep the target audience in mind.