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Beast
In the caged depths of an urban reservoir lives a monstrous creature. Its existence is unknown to anyone except the teenage boy who feeds it. Six years ago it was a vicious little baby, now it has grown enormous, and its rusting pen can't hold it much longer. Stephen has kept the Beast a secret against all the odds. He's got other painful secrets - like why he never sees his mother, or mentions his brother Selby, and wishes his father was dead. Stephen's life in foster care, always bad, is getting worse, and he's not a boy who plays by the rules. But his extraordinary efforts to free himself of the Beast make him a hero that listeners will never forget.
This thrilling teenage novel, which presents physical and psychological danger with masterful skill, and human relationships with warmth and wit, launches the career of an outstanding new writer.
Length 5 hours 52 minutes
This thrilling teenage novel, which presents physical and psychological danger with masterful skill, and human relationships with warmth and wit, launches the career of an outstanding new writer.
Length 5 hours 52 minutes
6 pages, Audiobook
First published June 29, 2006
22 people are currently reading
249 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
May 14, 2024
A nostalgic 4* - Beast is the first proper book I ever remember when I was but a wee nipper.
The story centres around a teenager who’s crocodile gets loose - but the real story between the lines is about the troubled life of the protagonist who’s in and out of care and had an awful life, causing him to be awful to other people. It’s a nice short book and wraps up really well, even if a little too quickly.
The story centres around a teenager who’s crocodile gets loose - but the real story between the lines is about the troubled life of the protagonist who’s in and out of care and had an awful life, causing him to be awful to other people. It’s a nice short book and wraps up really well, even if a little too quickly.
February 15, 2017
hhmm, beast... what can i say ....
well, it was pretty exciting, had my mouth open a couple of times, lol . the writing was amazing and i liked to imagine reading it in a British accent, hihi.
the story is about a boy who's keeping a vicious crocodile for about five years, a strange birthday gift from his father, now that the beast is strong and eats a lot , he wants to get rid of him, how he does that....or doesn't ..... well i recommend you read it o-O
well, it was pretty exciting, had my mouth open a couple of times, lol . the writing was amazing and i liked to imagine reading it in a British accent, hihi.
the story is about a boy who's keeping a vicious crocodile for about five years, a strange birthday gift from his father, now that the beast is strong and eats a lot , he wants to get rid of him, how he does that....or doesn't ..... well i recommend you read it o-O
June 4, 2017
Listened to the audiobook version of this. Quite entertaining, good voice. Probably wouldn't listen to it again though.
February 6, 2024
This book was just ok for me, it was more about the boy and his life, rather than the beast.
I guess I was expecting more carnage and less teenage drama.
I guess I was expecting more carnage and less teenage drama.
March 24, 2024
I only read this because of the cover😭
August 8, 2020
The first half of the book wasn't very interesting. It was slow. But then it picked up and was enjoyable.
November 5, 2009
What first caught my eye was the book cover. It looks really cool and it feels even better - like reptile skin. I love little extras like these that add to the atmosphere of the book.
The story was told through Stephen's point of view and Ally Kennen managed very well to give him the voice a 17 year old outcast kid would have. It felt nice to be in his head because he had this certain sense of humour and a nice, short way of expressing himself.
My empathy for him developed quickly. When he was accused for setting fire to those houses I wanted to scream at the police and his social worker, they got me that angry. It was a little hard to take that Stephen hardly reacted but he definitely had good reasons not to.
I loved how most of the characters developed throughout the book. Carol turning from evil to nice. I guess she actually fell in love with Stephen a little but I like how there wasn't mentioned much about it, except for really subtle things like holding hands in dangerous situations.
The step by step mentioning of Stephen's past, his family and especially his brother really added depth to his character in my opinion, it developed in a perfect pace.
When the beast wasn't properly described in the first few chapters I thought it'd be something more amazing than a giant crocodile. In my mind a vague shape of a dinosaur or some other kind of monster had formed. It's okay that it actually just was a huge crocodile but it could've been clearer from the start, would've erased some annoying shadowy shapes from my imagination.
Throughout the book I expected the beast to actually turn out to be a friendly pet. Every time it came running at Stephen I expected it to lick his hand innocently and cuddle its head against him. I was a bit disappointed this never happened but at least it didn't eat Stephen when it had the chance to do so.
The book had a good ending and it made me really happy that the beast (or Malackie) didn't have to die.
The story was told through Stephen's point of view and Ally Kennen managed very well to give him the voice a 17 year old outcast kid would have. It felt nice to be in his head because he had this certain sense of humour and a nice, short way of expressing himself.
My empathy for him developed quickly. When he was accused for setting fire to those houses I wanted to scream at the police and his social worker, they got me that angry. It was a little hard to take that Stephen hardly reacted but he definitely had good reasons not to.
I loved how most of the characters developed throughout the book. Carol turning from evil to nice. I guess she actually fell in love with Stephen a little but I like how there wasn't mentioned much about it, except for really subtle things like holding hands in dangerous situations.
The step by step mentioning of Stephen's past, his family and especially his brother really added depth to his character in my opinion, it developed in a perfect pace.
When the beast wasn't properly described in the first few chapters I thought it'd be something more amazing than a giant crocodile. In my mind a vague shape of a dinosaur or some other kind of monster had formed. It's okay that it actually just was a huge crocodile but it could've been clearer from the start, would've erased some annoying shadowy shapes from my imagination.
Throughout the book I expected the beast to actually turn out to be a friendly pet. Every time it came running at Stephen I expected it to lick his hand innocently and cuddle its head against him. I was a bit disappointed this never happened but at least it didn't eat Stephen when it had the chance to do so.
The book had a good ending and it made me really happy that the beast (or Malackie) didn't have to die.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 14, 2012
Reviewed by Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com
If you like the Sci-fi channel offered by your local cable company, you will want to read BEAST by Ally Kennen. Its mysterious beginning will grab your attention, and the rest of the book will have you on the edge of your seat.
Stephen has been living in foster homes for years. The family he has been with the past four years hasn't been half bad, but he's reached the age limit for foster care and is about to be sent packing. He's got to get packed, find a decent job, and if that's not enough, he needs to take care of a "little" problem he's been dealing with for years.
It's the Beast - a twelve-foot crocodile he's raised from a baby. His father gave it to him six years ago for his birthday. No one knows the thing is still alive. Stephen has been keeping it in a watery cage near the local reservoir. Now that he is leaving his foster home, he's got to do something with the Beast. Its cage is becoming dangerously unsafe and finding food is an increasing problem. What can he do? Should he let someone else know about the creature? Can anyone else even help?
Kennen's early chapters leave room for speculation that soon change to a frantic, desperate tone. BEAST contains the stuff of nightmares and is sure to entertain even the most reluctant reader.
If you like the Sci-fi channel offered by your local cable company, you will want to read BEAST by Ally Kennen. Its mysterious beginning will grab your attention, and the rest of the book will have you on the edge of your seat.
Stephen has been living in foster homes for years. The family he has been with the past four years hasn't been half bad, but he's reached the age limit for foster care and is about to be sent packing. He's got to get packed, find a decent job, and if that's not enough, he needs to take care of a "little" problem he's been dealing with for years.
It's the Beast - a twelve-foot crocodile he's raised from a baby. His father gave it to him six years ago for his birthday. No one knows the thing is still alive. Stephen has been keeping it in a watery cage near the local reservoir. Now that he is leaving his foster home, he's got to do something with the Beast. Its cage is becoming dangerously unsafe and finding food is an increasing problem. What can he do? Should he let someone else know about the creature? Can anyone else even help?
Kennen's early chapters leave room for speculation that soon change to a frantic, desperate tone. BEAST contains the stuff of nightmares and is sure to entertain even the most reluctant reader.
September 4, 2007
Stephen is a 17-year-old foster child with a shady past who’s got a large problem. I've seen this book on the shelves a couple of times, but for some reason I assumed that the beast it was referring to was a metaphor for child abuse in his past, or something like that.
It's not. The beast is a huge crocodile that his father gave him, and it's big and hungry and dangerous and he has to figure out what to do with it.
A real crocodile. That's freaking awesome.
And it is. Stephen is trying to deal with his foster family, with the fact that when he turns 18, he’s going to be kicked out of his foster home and sent to the same shelter where his dad lived as an ex-con, and also trying to deal with the 13-foot man-eating crocodile that he has hidden in a cage in a reservoir.
This isn’t a deep read, but it is a good fast one. Also, it has a crocodile. I can’t think of any other teen book I’ve ever read where the character has to cope with teen stresses, AND a crocodile.
Awesome.
It's not. The beast is a huge crocodile that his father gave him, and it's big and hungry and dangerous and he has to figure out what to do with it.
A real crocodile. That's freaking awesome.
And it is. Stephen is trying to deal with his foster family, with the fact that when he turns 18, he’s going to be kicked out of his foster home and sent to the same shelter where his dad lived as an ex-con, and also trying to deal with the 13-foot man-eating crocodile that he has hidden in a cage in a reservoir.
This isn’t a deep read, but it is a good fast one. Also, it has a crocodile. I can’t think of any other teen book I’ve ever read where the character has to cope with teen stresses, AND a crocodile.
Awesome.
Read
October 2, 2011I wish I'd read this book a while ago. Beast has lots to offer those boys who dont like to read read. There's a lot of action, powerful description of really weird, gross situations (within the first couple of chapters, the main character cuts up a pig and is discovered with the partially dismembered corpse and a saw in his hands), and a feeling of alone that I believe is common to the experience of many young people today. Stephen, the main character, starts the book with a list of the worst things he's done in his life. Many of them aren't just criminals, they're criminal, but he tops the list with a murder he intends to commit. You can hardly get a better opening than that. Stephen's crippled relationships with everyone around him, his lack of enthusiasm about everything in his life except things he can't talk to anyone else about, and his essential goodness as a person, a son, and a human being, are fascinating to read. Kennan takes an unrealistic situation and makes it not only realistic, but hopeful.
October 25, 2017
It was okay. First person is not my thing so that made it hard to read, and outside of a general moral standpoint/sense of justice I didn't connect with the main character, Stephen. The social worker/foster family made me mad, of course, from the injustice of it all but being given all the facts I had about Stephen in a laundry list of "I like this.." or "I think that..." he felt very sterile. I got told everything through the first person point of view about him and it made him boring. I found Carol a lot more interesting, perhaps because I as a reader got actions and then read interpretations from them instead of being told everything.
The nebulous descriptions of the beast were cool and gave mystery but it was disappointing that the beast was just a large crocodile. I mean, it's cool and the whole warm cave system thing was super interesting. But all the build up of this fantastic beast that made it sound mythical or magical kind of took away from the actual exciting and interesting bits of the crocodile managing to survive in England. Instead of going "wow how is this surviving?" I was all "oh, it's only a crocodile."
It kind of wandered to the end of the story. Like there was such a focal point on if the crocodile would escape the cage that I thought it was going to be a rush to the end/increase pace but it didn't. I was surprised it got out like half way through and I kept expecting the pace to pick up but? It didn't really. It was an okay read.
The nebulous descriptions of the beast were cool and gave mystery but it was disappointing that the beast was just a large crocodile. I mean, it's cool and the whole warm cave system thing was super interesting. But all the build up of this fantastic beast that made it sound mythical or magical kind of took away from the actual exciting and interesting bits of the crocodile managing to survive in England. Instead of going "wow how is this surviving?" I was all "oh, it's only a crocodile."
It kind of wandered to the end of the story. Like there was such a focal point on if the crocodile would escape the cage that I thought it was going to be a rush to the end/increase pace but it didn't. I was surprised it got out like half way through and I kept expecting the pace to pick up but? It didn't really. It was an okay read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 14, 2021
Beast is a YA thriller by Ally Kennen that follows 17 year old Stephan, a foster child with a complicated past. Stephan is hiding a secret. A pet, that was given to him by his father. But this pet isn’t like your cat or my dog. No, this pet it much larger, and much more dangerous. During the story, we see the ways in which Stephan has to secretly feed this pet, and the worries he has surrounding it. If it will get out, if it will kill someone. If it will kill him. There’s a lot of mystery going on in the first half of the book, which keeps you reading and wanting to find out more.
-
POSITIVES:
* interesting storyline
* nice, quick and easy read
* mysteriousness of the storyline makes you want to carry on reading
-
NEGATIVES:
* pretty slow at the start
* a lot of passages that felt a little unnecessary
* nothing stood out majorly to me
* there's probably some bigger metaphorical meaning behind this book, but I'm probably just too plain-thinking to see it
-
Nevertheless, this was an interesting one, with a storyline that I’ve never seen before so kudos for Ally Kennen for that!
You can read an extended version of his review on my Wordpress blog at:
https://loiereads.wordpress.com/?p=1680
-
POSITIVES:
* interesting storyline
* nice, quick and easy read
* mysteriousness of the storyline makes you want to carry on reading
-
NEGATIVES:
* pretty slow at the start
* a lot of passages that felt a little unnecessary
* nothing stood out majorly to me
* there's probably some bigger metaphorical meaning behind this book, but I'm probably just too plain-thinking to see it
-
Nevertheless, this was an interesting one, with a storyline that I’ve never seen before so kudos for Ally Kennen for that!
You can read an extended version of his review on my Wordpress blog at:
https://loiereads.wordpress.com/?p=1680
December 12, 2017
I was so surprised by this book. It was recommended to me, but I didn't really think it would be up my alley. I wanted to read it, to be able ti discuss it with my the people who dud the recommendation, but I thought I didn't think I was gonna have much more to say than "Yeah, sure, cool book". But this story really got me! There's tension and drama and mystery, and it was such a fun read! And maybe one of the best parts, there isn't a sqeezed in love interest that's just there for the sake of it. The book consentrates on what's important to the story, and I really loved that. The Only thing I felt a little bit cheated on was the backstory of the main character. And by that I don't mean that I didn't get any, just that I found him so interesting that I wanted much more. So yeah, I really liked it, totally worth a read!
December 12, 2019
This book is brilliant! Stephen has to creep around doing odd things like using his money to buy whole pigs! And then has to make sure he is not seen when he takes it through a secret way through the woods.
Why?
Because he has been in care, and because of things he has done in the past, people interpret wrongly his actions and his secretive behaviour.
He learns that he will soon have to leave the family he is with. Not because of behaviour, but because he is 17 and being moved out of the system. This really gets to him. All this back story and issues he is facing gives him the idea that everyone has an ulterior motive, even when they are being kind.
But the secret through the woods becomes the biggest problem because it is fraught with danger. No one knows about it, so he has to work it out on his own. But how?
The reading of the book was brilliant!
Why?
Because he has been in care, and because of things he has done in the past, people interpret wrongly his actions and his secretive behaviour.
He learns that he will soon have to leave the family he is with. Not because of behaviour, but because he is 17 and being moved out of the system. This really gets to him. All this back story and issues he is facing gives him the idea that everyone has an ulterior motive, even when they are being kind.
But the secret through the woods becomes the biggest problem because it is fraught with danger. No one knows about it, so he has to work it out on his own. But how?
The reading of the book was brilliant!
December 15, 2018
This book isn't bad. Stephen is a likeable protagonist, if something of a anti-hero with his criminal past. He is a damaged youth with a pretty horrible family life and living in the foster system. The over all plot was underwhelming. The truth about the Beast was actually pretty boring.
SPOILERS
I would have found it more interesting if the Beast was something supernatural, or at least a prehistoric remnant. A crocodile is actually pretty underwhelming. The characters were good, but this book needed more of a punch.
SPOILERS
I would have found it more interesting if the Beast was something supernatural, or at least a prehistoric remnant. A crocodile is actually pretty underwhelming. The characters were good, but this book needed more of a punch.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 27, 2018
My daughter started reading this but it was a bit old for her, it's more of a teenage book. So I took it over and found it a surprisingly good read. I would read her other books.
The Beast is Stephen's biggest secret. His life in foster care is getting worse, and he's in trouble with the police. All the odds are against him, but his efforts to free himself of the Beast make him a hero that readers will never forget.
The Beast is Stephen's biggest secret. His life in foster care is getting worse, and he's in trouble with the police. All the odds are against him, but his efforts to free himself of the Beast make him a hero that readers will never forget.
July 1, 2025
2.5 ⭐️
I did pick this up to be a quick holiday read about what I thought would be a deadly shark - I missed the obvious picture of a crocodile on the cover!!
It felt like the majority of the book consisted of the MCs internal thoughts, feelings and opinions, which wouldn’t have been all bad if there would have been more happening in way of the story.
Slowly paced, and fewer actual interactions with the ‘beast’ than I’d expect. A easy quick read though.
I did pick this up to be a quick holiday read about what I thought would be a deadly shark - I missed the obvious picture of a crocodile on the cover!!
It felt like the majority of the book consisted of the MCs internal thoughts, feelings and opinions, which wouldn’t have been all bad if there would have been more happening in way of the story.
Slowly paced, and fewer actual interactions with the ‘beast’ than I’d expect. A easy quick read though.
January 31, 2019
Personally I really liked this book. I liked how the author created suspense and how she used indirect characterization to describe the characters. The one thing that I did not like was that I felt as though this book could be read to a young child. I thought that some parts of the story was childish. That is why I gave it a 4 out of 5 stars.
August 6, 2023
This book was the biggest waste of time and was 100% not worth reading or finishing. The whole premise of the story is just absolutely ridiculous. I only finished this book because, by the time I realized how stupid it was, I was already more than halfway through. Don’t read this garbage can of a book. You will be disappointed.
May 4, 2018
Loved every bit of it! I liked that no blood (human blood at least) had been shed. Felt so much for Stephen. And I find the ending both sad and happy. It’s like losing something and then finding something else after it.
I only wonder what happened to Stephen’s dad and why he just disappeared.
I only wonder what happened to Stephen’s dad and why he just disappeared.
March 9, 2020
A young adult tale of a teenage boy living in care who has a frightening secret: in a reservoir he looks after an animal that he was given six years ago as a baby but has now grown into a monster. A good enough story with a touch of metaphor about it.
January 3, 2018
great easy read, not what I was expecting when i started reading it but it was still enjoyable
November 29, 2018
I thought that this book is amazing I can never tell what’s going to happen I have red it millions of times and I just can’t stop it’s fantastic
January 30, 2019
Absolutly loved it
April 27, 2020
Can someone please tell me how the book ends a give me a summary of the book with spoilers and details worth to known? Please
Greating a Greg that wants to read but don't have time
Greating a Greg that wants to read but don't have time
June 21, 2020
This was one of the books I read while in juvy, I really enjoyed the book
March 15, 2023
Honestly really good love so much I’m so glad I own it
June 19, 2025
A quintessential book from my childhood that I still recommend to this day!! Love it to pieces :)
September 19, 2025
Random kringloop boekje
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October 30, 2019Beast was a really good book. Stephen the main character in Beast is faced with many challenges that he has to overcome, from him consistently being blamed for crimes or the fact that he is living in his 6th foster home. However Stephen has a way bigger problem he has to face. Beast is a very action packed book and has many things you would have never seen coming.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews