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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
Another fairy tale re-telling, this time of Hansel and Gretel. Quick fun reads by Jackson Pearce.
Amazing! I loved this book just as much as Sisters Red, maybe even more. I believe Jackson Pearce may be my new favorite author. Even when dealing with the impossible options of the supernatural realm, her characters are all extremely real and believable. They face real life problems on top of the creatures they battle. <3
This companion book to Sisters Red follows siblings Gretchen and Ansel as they search for independence from their past--a past which involves the disappearance of Gretchen's twin sister 12 years earlier and the dissolution of their family. An innovative twist on the "Hansel and Gretel" story, author Jackson Pearce once again uses clear fairytale tropes to spin a modern quest for self-actualization and personal strength.
My apologies for all the whited-out sections in this review! There were a lot of potential spoilers I had to try to sidestep with this one.
Characters:
Gretchen: I enjoyed her as a narrator. Gretchen is straight-forward, clear-thinking, and tells the reader what's on her mind; her narrative is easy to follow. She has some issues with trusting people (Sophia aside, because Sophia is the exception to pretty much every rule in this book), probably at least partly stemming from her traumatic past. Also, Gretchen is very self-aware, her voice feeling quite mature, which I appreciate since I sometimes find it so frustrating when a character is knee-deep in denial. She's really into introspective self-analysis, getting into the layers of her emotions and reactions, but it doesn't take over the plot. It was very easy to understand and sympathize with her, and even when she did something I didn't necessarily agree with, I found it plausible rather than annoying.
I wish we'd been shown more of Gretchen's parents and twin sister. We don't see very much of them in memories, and I didn't feel like I understood Gretchen's relationship with her parents as well as I would have liked.
Sophia: right from the start, I didn't like Sophia — probably a combination of the fact that I knew this was a Hansel & Gretel retelling (and let's face it, you're not supposed to trust the person with the candy...), that Gretchen was warned off Sophia, and just Sophia's altogether too shiny, bubbly, sickly-sweet personality. The ambiguity surrounding Sophia is done really well, and for a large part of the book I wasn't really sure what I should be feeling about her. She's a strange, complicated individual, as murky and enigmatic as Gretchen is clear. Also, Sophia has a definite talent for compartmentalizing. I almost wish we'd seen more from her perspective once we find out the motivations for her actions.
Ansel: I didn't ever really get a handle on his character or feel like his personality shone here. I do like the strong bond that Ansel and Gretchen have — I think that's a little unusual in YA — but I would have appreciated seeing more of their brother-sister dynamic. We don't see them share that much emotionally with each other, but we can tell from Gretchen's narrative how close the two of them are, particularly in terms of Ansel's role of big brother looking out for his younger sister. They're obviously very used to sticking by each other's side.
Samuel: he's a gruff, prickly sort of guy with a bit of a rough attitude. He doesn't take kindly to strangers, perhaps because he's used to people thinking he's crazy. I really loved the Samuel-Gretchen relationship. They are two people who don't normally let others in; Samuel is closed-off and still kinda hung up on his first love, and Gretchen's been in this close-knit world of just her and her brother for a long time. I think they both recognize this quality in the other person, and that's one of the things they kinda bond over. Developing this relationship requires both Samuel and Gretchen to let their guard down. The nervous anticipation surrounding a new romantic connection, the anxiety about the physicality of it, is portrayed really well here. It's new for both of them, they're unsure about it and each other, and they're not yet settled into the relationship but it's exciting at the same time. Even though we don't get that many scenes with the two of them — I would've loved some more romantic exchanges! — Pearce somehow makes it work. They don't know each other that well but there's a mutual attraction there, and they've been in these life-and-death situations with each other, so there's a certain level of trust that develops.
Premise:
This is a very loose retelling of Hansel & Gretel, but even though the whole story has been completely reshuffled, many of the key elements are present in one way or another (). The whole twist with having the siblings originally be a boy and twin sisters, and then one of the twins vanishing, was really cool. It creates this ghostly, haunting presence in Gretchen's life. She can't ever really leave her sister behind, even though, in a way, she's been left behind by her sister. While Gretchen obviously remembers how it felt to be a twin, so connected to someone else, I would have liked to have seen more of their bond through memories.
I was a little disappointed that the candy shop itself didn't play a critical role in Sweetly, since it's such an important part of the fairy tale.
I wasn't really sold on the main villains in this book, for a couple of reasons.
Plot:
Sweetly is a fairly slow-moving mystery; while there's tension, there isn't a lot of action until the very end. However, Jackson Pearce builds in unsettling clues throughout, cleverly stringing along the reader and making it creepy on a subtle level.
There were a few things plot-wise that I took issue with. For one, you have to suspend some disbelief once everything's revealed. The explanation at the end felt a little rushed; most of the book is building up to this and then it felt like we didn't get enough information (). There are a lot of unanswered questions (some of which I suspect will be addressed in the next book, Fathomless — I have to admit the ending of Sweetly sets up very well for the next in the series). I guessed a sizeable chunk of the mystery surrounding Sophia, but not all of it ().
Also, I thought Gretchen should have asked more questions of Samuel about what had happened at the chocolate festivals previously. He was rather spare on the details!
That said, I loved that the author "went there" with the ending, involving a well-choreographed, symbolic "must-die" sort of death. In a way, though, I think it might have been even more powerful storytelling if Gretchen had experienced a little more suffering or loss ()
Writing style:
Overall, the writing here is strong. Jackson Pearce does a really good job of getting us right into Gretchen's head (the narration is quite close 1st-person). Despite the fact that Gretchen is a rather closed-off, distanced individual in some ways, the narration still puts us smack-dab in her head. This allows us to bypass that hurdle that other people have when they try to get close to her — which is necessary, I think, in order for the reader to really "get" Gretchen.
Some of the descriptions of setting and atmosphere also shine, like the chocolatier and the forest. And throughout the novel Pearce manages to create an uneasy, subtly disturbing mood, without compromising her narrator's intelligence or integrity. I didn't feel like Gretchen was really lying to us, or being stupid; she didn't have the same instincts as I did, but all the same, as a reader I wanted to like her.
Given Gretchen's penchant for self-examination, there is some repetition in her thought content. Gretchen is very aware that she's actively trying to change who she is, and these themes of overcoming fear and stepping out of the role of "scared little girl" are perhaps stated a little too obviously at times.
Final verdict: 4 shooting stars.
Disclaimer: I received a review copy from the publisher.
Note: Sweetly does contain some mature content (primarily violence).
Characters:
Gretchen: I enjoyed her as a narrator. Gretchen is straight-forward, clear-thinking, and tells the reader what's on her mind; her narrative is easy to follow. She has some issues with trusting people (Sophia aside, because Sophia is the exception to pretty much every rule in this book), probably at least partly stemming from her traumatic past. Also, Gretchen is very self-aware, her voice feeling quite mature, which I appreciate since I sometimes find it so frustrating when a character is knee-deep in denial. She's really into introspective self-analysis, getting into the layers of her emotions and reactions, but it doesn't take over the plot. It was very easy to understand and sympathize with her, and even when she did something I didn't necessarily agree with, I found it plausible rather than annoying.
I wish we'd been shown more of Gretchen's parents and twin sister. We don't see very much of them in memories, and I didn't feel like I understood Gretchen's relationship with her parents as well as I would have liked.
Sophia: right from the start, I didn't like Sophia — probably a combination of the fact that I knew this was a Hansel & Gretel retelling (and let's face it, you're not supposed to trust the person with the candy...), that Gretchen was warned off Sophia, and just Sophia's altogether too shiny, bubbly, sickly-sweet personality. The ambiguity surrounding Sophia is done really well, and for a large part of the book I wasn't really sure what I should be feeling about her. She's a strange, complicated individual, as murky and enigmatic as Gretchen is clear. Also, Sophia has a definite talent for compartmentalizing.
Spoiler
in a way, you sorta have to sympathize with her, because she loved her sister and was doing all this for her. But at the same time, she was condemning all these girls to death, and she knew it and did it anyway...which is so hard to forgive. It was really interesting how she flipped between this overly bright, cheery, fake personality and the real person — guilty, upset, lonely — beneath.Ansel: I didn't ever really get a handle on his character or feel like his personality shone here. I do like the strong bond that Ansel and Gretchen have — I think that's a little unusual in YA — but I would have appreciated seeing more of their brother-sister dynamic. We don't see them share that much emotionally with each other, but we can tell from Gretchen's narrative how close the two of them are, particularly in terms of Ansel's role of big brother looking out for his younger sister. They're obviously very used to sticking by each other's side.
Samuel: he's a gruff, prickly sort of guy with a bit of a rough attitude. He doesn't take kindly to strangers, perhaps because he's used to people thinking he's crazy. I really loved the Samuel-Gretchen relationship. They are two people who don't normally let others in; Samuel is closed-off and still kinda hung up on his first love, and Gretchen's been in this close-knit world of just her and her brother for a long time. I think they both recognize this quality in the other person, and that's one of the things they kinda bond over. Developing this relationship requires both Samuel and Gretchen to let their guard down. The nervous anticipation surrounding a new romantic connection, the anxiety about the physicality of it, is portrayed really well here. It's new for both of them, they're unsure about it and each other, and they're not yet settled into the relationship but it's exciting at the same time. Even though we don't get that many scenes with the two of them — I would've loved some more romantic exchanges! — Pearce somehow makes it work. They don't know each other that well but there's a mutual attraction there, and they've been in these life-and-death situations with each other, so there's a certain level of trust that develops.
Premise:
This is a very loose retelling of Hansel & Gretel, but even though the whole story has been completely reshuffled, many of the key elements are present in one way or another (
Spoiler
for instance, the fire scene is a neat twist on the oven in the original!I was a little disappointed that the candy shop itself didn't play a critical role in Sweetly, since it's such an important part of the fairy tale.
Spoiler
I'd like to think the candy Sophia makes is magical, because there are a couple times when it seems to have an effect on the characters who are eating it. However, it isn't explicitly stated one way or the other, unfortunately.I wasn't really sold on the main villains in this book, for a couple of reasons.
Spoiler
I'm not big on werewolves generally, and I thought it was a bit of a cop-out to use the same villains here that were used in Sisters Red. It just seemed a little too easy and convenient that they turned out to be the "witch" that terrorized the children. I also would have liked some more background information on the wolves and their behaviour; sometimes it seems like the author expects us to know about them from reading Sisters Red (it's been a while since I read that one so I didn't remember the details).Plot:
Sweetly is a fairly slow-moving mystery; while there's tension, there isn't a lot of action until the very end. However, Jackson Pearce builds in unsettling clues throughout, cleverly stringing along the reader and making it creepy on a subtle level.
There were a few things plot-wise that I took issue with. For one, you have to suspend some disbelief once everything's revealed. The explanation at the end felt a little rushed; most of the book is building up to this and then it felt like we didn't get enough information (
Spoiler
for instance, I still don't know what happened to Sophia's mom and why the werewolves came into the house for her dadSpoiler
I pretty much figured out the werewolf-seashell-Sophia connection, but not the layer involving her sisterAlso, I thought Gretchen should have asked more questions of Samuel about what had happened at the chocolate festivals previously. He was rather spare on the details!
That said, I loved that the author "went there" with the ending, involving a well-choreographed, symbolic "must-die" sort of death.
Spoiler
You could kind of see the death of Sophia coming, because Gretchen, Ansel and Samuel were the inarguably "good guys" and Sophia was certainly not, so if anyone was going to go down in a blaze of glory it was going to be her.Spoiler
for example, if Samuel or Ansel had died...although I admit that would have been bleak!Writing style:
Overall, the writing here is strong. Jackson Pearce does a really good job of getting us right into Gretchen's head (the narration is quite close 1st-person). Despite the fact that Gretchen is a rather closed-off, distanced individual in some ways, the narration still puts us smack-dab in her head. This allows us to bypass that hurdle that other people have when they try to get close to her — which is necessary, I think, in order for the reader to really "get" Gretchen.
Some of the descriptions of setting and atmosphere also shine, like the chocolatier and the forest. And throughout the novel Pearce manages to create an uneasy, subtly disturbing mood, without compromising her narrator's intelligence or integrity. I didn't feel like Gretchen was really lying to us, or being stupid; she didn't have the same instincts as I did, but all the same, as a reader I wanted to like her.
Given Gretchen's penchant for self-examination, there is some repetition in her thought content. Gretchen is very aware that she's actively trying to change who she is, and these themes of overcoming fear and stepping out of the role of "scared little girl" are perhaps stated a little too obviously at times.
Final verdict: 4 shooting stars.
Disclaimer: I received a review copy from the publisher.
Note: Sweetly does contain some mature content (primarily violence).
3.5 stars
Not as exciting as Sisters Red for me, but I still really like the different rebel longs Pearce is creating. She is making them her own and I'm really interested in reading the next installment.
Not as exciting as Sisters Red for me, but I still really like the different rebel longs Pearce is creating. She is making them her own and I'm really interested in reading the next installment.
I don't know. I didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. The story did not include as many elements of Hanzel and Gretel as I thought it would. It was a good story, but I had a hard time really caring about the characters. I was glad when some romance finally entered the scene. And I couldn't put the book down at the end. There was tons of action and gore.
I enjoyed this book as a whole, but there were definitely parts that were slow.
I enjoyed this book as a whole, but there were definitely parts that were slow.
Review here: http://teenreads.com/reviews/9780316068659.asp
This is the second book which I’ve read by Jackson Pearce as this is the second book in her fairy tale retellings series. The first book was a re-telling of Little Red Riding Hood and this was a re-telling of Hansel and Gretel. Jackson Pearce’s writing style is very quick and engaging to read although I almost found it a little immature at times. The plot itself was quite slow moving, but I really enjoyed the character development that took place within the plot. I didn’t particularly connect to any of the characters, but they were all likeable and well-developed. I also liked how this book followed on from the first one, but you don’t have to necessarily read them in the published order.
This book follows Gretchen and Ansel – a brother and sister duo – who after being kicked out their house by their step-mother, are still getting over the disappearance of their younger sister. When they stumble across the decrepit town of Live Oak they soon befriend Sophia, the ethereal owner of the Chocolatier who the residents of Live Oak have long known to distrust. And they have good reason. After her annual chocolate festival, girls disappear from the town never to be seen again. Gretchen knows that something is wrong and determined to find out what, with or without the help of her brother – who quickly becomes infatuated with Sophia. With the help of local boy Samuel, can Gretchen discover the dark secret that lurks in the woods? And can Gretchen and her brother begin to move on from their dark past?
I really liked the characters in this story – especially Ansel and Sophia – and I think that the relationships formed between the characters were realistic and relatable. I particularly liked Ansel and the way that he protected and cared for his sister and Sophia, and the way in which he tried to control everything. I also found the way that the townspeople viewed Sophia, Gretchen and Ansel interesting to read about. I loved the description that went into how Sophia made her chocolates and it really captured the atmosphere of her little cottage. I didn’t really connect to any of the characters on a personal level and some of the characters really, really irritated me but overall I did enjoy the characters for the most part.
Although I initially liked the plot, it was very slow moving and nothing popped out at me and wanted me to read on. I felt as though some of the major plot ‘twists’ happened to be very predictable and most of the time, they didn’t add anything to the overall story. I was annoyed at how some characters handled situations, especially Gretchen who is supposed to be the kick-butt lead character. She would ramble on about her changing feelings for a chapter or so, even though her feelings hardly change and her development felt really immature. I don’t know whether it’s because I’ve been reading works from true wordsmiths lately, but Jackson Pearce’s writing whilst being fast to read feels almost childish and immature.
Overall I’d give this story a 3, maybe a 3.5, out of 5 stars. I enjoyed the story and the characters without looking too much into it, but the writing annoyed me at times, the plot felt predictable and I just think that Jackson Pearce isn’t really for me.
This book follows Gretchen and Ansel – a brother and sister duo – who after being kicked out their house by their step-mother, are still getting over the disappearance of their younger sister. When they stumble across the decrepit town of Live Oak they soon befriend Sophia, the ethereal owner of the Chocolatier who the residents of Live Oak have long known to distrust. And they have good reason. After her annual chocolate festival, girls disappear from the town never to be seen again. Gretchen knows that something is wrong and determined to find out what, with or without the help of her brother – who quickly becomes infatuated with Sophia. With the help of local boy Samuel, can Gretchen discover the dark secret that lurks in the woods? And can Gretchen and her brother begin to move on from their dark past?
I really liked the characters in this story – especially Ansel and Sophia – and I think that the relationships formed between the characters were realistic and relatable. I particularly liked Ansel and the way that he protected and cared for his sister and Sophia, and the way in which he tried to control everything. I also found the way that the townspeople viewed Sophia, Gretchen and Ansel interesting to read about. I loved the description that went into how Sophia made her chocolates and it really captured the atmosphere of her little cottage. I didn’t really connect to any of the characters on a personal level and some of the characters really, really irritated me but overall I did enjoy the characters for the most part.
Although I initially liked the plot, it was very slow moving and nothing popped out at me and wanted me to read on. I felt as though some of the major plot ‘twists’ happened to be very predictable and most of the time, they didn’t add anything to the overall story. I was annoyed at how some characters handled situations, especially Gretchen who is supposed to be the kick-butt lead character. She would ramble on about her changing feelings for a chapter or so, even though her feelings hardly change and her development felt really immature. I don’t know whether it’s because I’ve been reading works from true wordsmiths lately, but Jackson Pearce’s writing whilst being fast to read feels almost childish and immature.
Overall I’d give this story a 3, maybe a 3.5, out of 5 stars. I enjoyed the story and the characters without looking too much into it, but the writing annoyed me at times, the plot felt predictable and I just think that Jackson Pearce isn’t really for me.