By Adam Gidwitz4 delicious chocolate chunk cookies.
Cover Love: It is a perfect cover for the book. Dark & creepy--two children against the big bad world. Love it!
Why I Wanted to Read This: I had seen a lot of positive reviews on Good Reads and a few blogs so I really wanted to give it a try! Here's synopsis from Good Reads:
In this mischievous and utterly original debut, Hansel and Gretel walk out of their own story and into eight other classic Grimm-inspired tales. As readers follow the siblings through a forest brimming with menacing foes, they learn the true story behind (and beyond) the bread crumbs, edible houses, and outwitted witches.
Fairy tales have never been more irreverent or subversive as Hansel and Gretel learn to take charge of their destinies and become the clever architects of their own happily ever after.
I Kept Reading Because: It was very interesting. A quick read with a lot of great little stories inside one bigger story.
Romance?: Surprisingly little since this is a take off of several fairy tales.
What I Liked (& Didn't): First off, you should know that I am not a fan of A Series of Unfortunate Events. I like my stories tied up with a neat bow at the end. So, when I read all the comparisons to those books it made me a little hesitant. I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, it was dark and bloody and you felt very sorry for Hansel and Gretel, but it was also funny and empowering.
If I want to delve deeply into the undercurrents of this book I would say you could say it is about two children with a less than desirable home situation who pull themselves up and try and make a better way for themselves. I say try because it rarely works. But, they keep at it and grow and become strong by then end.
But as you read I say, don't delve too deeply, just ride the ride and enjoy the story, the writing and the narrator!
What I Would Like To See: Not sure. I liked the ending , I liked the growth and I enjoyed the story. I am not sure there are too many more places to go with this one.
To Sum Up: Get this into the hands of readers who like A Series of Unfortunate Events, but also kids who "get the joke" if you know what I mean.
Book requested and received from Dutton Juvenile. Thanks Allison!
Tween Tuesday is hosted by Sarah--the GreenBeanTeenQueen. Check her out!
I've seen this one around a lot and I'm not sure I'd like it. I didn't like Series of Unfortunate Events either, but I have lots of tweens who did!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you reviewed this. I've been curious about it for a while! :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for this review! I've been eyeballing this book and it's good to see what the drawbacks may be.
ReplyDeleteI've never read Series of Unfortunate Events. What kind of kids do you think tends to like them?
ReplyDeleteI like that this book sounds like the characters grow.
I've seen this book and I heard how he came up with the idea by reading this unknown fairy tale to these second graders (I think) where in the end, the kids of the story - their heads fall off and then have to be sewn back on. The kids loved it! The fact that he goes into lesser-known fairy tales makes me curious to read it.
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