Beautiful Creatures

On Saturday, Ethan spends the day with the Sisters. Through the Sisters’ conversation, Ethan gets the idea that the Book of Moons might be with Genevieve in her grave.

Lena tells Aunt Del and Reece that she and Ethan need to go to the graveyard at Greenbrier for a history project. At the cemetery, the ghost of Genevieve appears sitting on top of her gravestone. Lena and Ethan tell Aunt Del and Reece that they are looking for a book in Genevieve’s grave, and Ethan starts to dig with Genevieve watching him. Aunt Del offers to use her powers, and they see flashes of Ivy burying the book with Genevieve. They dig up the book. Lena uses her powers and erases the memory of finding the book from Aunt Del’s and Reece’s minds. Ethan tries to give Genevieve the locket back. She refuses it and tells him it does not belong to her.

Ethan and Lena go through the Book of Moons in Lena’s room. They realize it will take a long time to decipher which spell they need. The next day at school, Ethan asks Lena to go to the winter formal with him. He also asks her to be his girlfriend, which she agrees to.

Ethan picks Lena up at Ravenwood for the winter formal. When they arrive at the high school gym, they are shocked to see that Link brought Ridley as his date. Ethan tries to warn Link about Ridley, but Ridley has already enchanted Link, who does not listen to Ethan. As the photographer takes Ethan and Lena’s picture, a bucket over their head releases soap and water that ruins Lena’s dress. One of the basketball players tells Lena she should have stayed home, and Ethan punches him.

As the school announces the winter formal court, Ridley tells Lena that no one should get away with what they did to her. Lena says she just wants to go home, but Ridley uses her power to make the lightbulbs in the gym explode and the sprinklers go off, ruining all the other girls’ hair and dresses. At Ravenwood, Macon tells them he knows what happened at the dance because Boo followed them. Since Boo is a Caster dog, Macon sees everything he sees.

A few days after the dance, the DAR announces they will hold a disciplinary committee with the school board to discuss Lena’s behavior. Ethan drives Lena to the committee so she can defend herself. Mrs. Lincoln tells the board that Lena should be expelled for assault and claims that Lena pushed Emily off the stage at the winter formal, causing her to break her leg. Mrs. Lincoln claims that similar situations have happened at Lena’s old schools. She reads from a form that claims that Lena “suffers from bipolar disorder […] people who suffer from this affliction are prone to violent and unpredictable behavior” (397). Mrs. Lincoln tells the board that Lena’s mother was bipolar and that she murdered Lena’s father.

In the middle of the meeting, Macon and Marian arrive. The gym gasps as Macon introduces himself since Macon has never left Ravenwood. Macon points out the lack of evidence against his niece. Macon owns most of the land in Gatlin and threatens to tear buildings down and build a Wal-Mart if the school expels Lena. Then, Macon begins to tell secrets about members of the board and the DAR, from affairs to alcoholism, all of which he learned through Boo, who wanders the town at night. The board crumbles and agrees to allow Lena to stay at the high school.

After the disciplinary meeting, most people keep their distance from Lena. Ethan and Lena continue to work through the Book of Moons. Lena becomes discouraged about her fate. She breaks up with Ethan because she worries that she will go Dark and that Ethan will have no friends left in Gatlin. Ethan tries to change her mind, but she refuses to listen.

As Christmas approaches, Ethan misses his mom. He visits Marian, who comforts him and reminds him that he can choose his own fate. When he arrives home, Lena is waiting for him on the front steps. She apologizes, and Ethan asks her to stop pushing him away. They kiss and go inside. Ethan hears his dad taking a shower. He decides to show Lena how the study door opens for him without him touching it. As the door unlocks before them, Ethan enters the room, missing his mom. Ethan looks over his father’s book and realizes that there are no words on the pages. He realizes that his father lied to him and has just been sitting in the study for months, not writing a book.

Ethan’s father finds them in the study. On Ethan’s command, the door shuts and locks Ethan’s father outside. As Ethan’s father pounds on the door, Ethan shows Lena evidence of his mother trying to communicate with them. They discover a message from Ethan’s mom in a book that spells out “Claim Yourself.” When they leave the study, Ethan confronts his dad about lying about the book. His father apologizes and tells Ethan he just wanted to be in the study because it made him feel close to Ethan’s mother.

Ethan tells Lena that his mother’s message means that there is a way for her to Claim herself. Lena does not seem sure, but they continue to search for a spell. Lena tells Ethan that she wishes she had not met him sometimes because it makes the possibility of turning Dark so much harder. Ethan promises her that he will not let her turn Dark.

With Lena’s birthday only a week away, Lena starts to lose hope that they will find a spell to help her. One night, Ethan has another nightmare, and when he wakes up, he realizes Macon is in his bedroom. Ethan asks him what he is doing in his room, and Macon tells him that he was listening to his dreams. Macon says that he is not a Caster, but an Incubus. He feeds on people’s dreams, which is why Ethan never finds out how his nightmare about Lena ends.

Amma bursts through the door and tells Macon to leave. Macon says that Ethan’s dreams are dangerous and that he wants to protect him and Lena. Macon tells Ethan that the ending of Ethan’s dream would be too painful for Lena to see and that he decided to spare her the pain. Ethan tells Macon to stay out of his head, and Macon leaves.