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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
Much more mature than I expected, and that is a pleasant surprise. The unknown narrator forewarning ill tidings is strongly reminiscent of Lemony Snicket. This book offers much to think about. Bravo, Mr. Gidwitz.
I personally like the old silhouette covers immeasurably better than the new cartoon style ones.
Anyway, regardless of the cover, this is a fantastic book. I’m surprised I got past all the blood and terror as a kid though. It was the hilarious narration and impeccable writing that did it. You’re just reading along—vaguely horrified and loving it—when Adam whacks you with a well-aimed and extremely out-of-nowhere punch of Feels. I think that’s what makes this book so good; Adam’s writing really connects with you as a reader.
Actually, the plot makes it good too. Because it’s just pure gold.
And the ravens.
Slap a raven and/or crow in any book and I’ll enjoy it just for that.
I’m such a sucker for my favorite things.
Anyway, regardless of the cover, this is a fantastic book. I’m surprised I got past all the blood and terror as a kid though. It was the hilarious narration and impeccable writing that did it. You’re just reading along—vaguely horrified and loving it—when Adam whacks you with a well-aimed and extremely out-of-nowhere punch of Feels. I think that’s what makes this book so good; Adam’s writing really connects with you as a reader.
Actually, the plot makes it good too. Because it’s just pure gold.
And the ravens.
Slap a raven and/or crow in any book and I’ll enjoy it just for that.
I’m such a sucker for my favorite things.
My 9- year-old daughter tore through this book at lightning speed, and then insisted I read it. Surprisingly, I found it a bit dark for my tastes! Oh, I was warned -- both by the title and by frequent cautionary notes from the narrator. But somehow I wasn't truly prepared for the mix of gore and psychological horror in a kids' book!
I didn't want to like this book from the moment my daughter said "it's not THAT violent, other then the kids killing their parents in the first chapter"! And yet... I did like it. I am still torn on the violence, however. It's a faithful re telling of Grimm, which ARE violent but I am also tired of all the good fantasy books being so violent.
I had to read this for a kid lit class in our fairytale unit and I really enjoyed this! I loved Hansel & Gretel and the references to Grimm fairytales. The writing was beautifully descriptive and it doesn’t shy away from the truly dark material in the Grimm fairytales. A lot of times people want to protect their children from stories about hell and beheadings and beasts...but this one does not hold your hand. There are usually warnings from the narrator (yes the fourth wall is broken a lot in this book to give useful commentary that I actually enjoyed cuz its exactly what I was thinking) before any of the gory or slightly scary things. I loved how descriptive the writing was and I really enjoyed the characters outside of Hansel and Gretel as well. I would recommend this to 10-13 year olds who have a taste for the dark and macabre.
This was a fun, quick read. The author cleverly puts Hansel and Gretel into other more obscure Grimm tales. I couldn't decide on whether or not I liked the narrator's voice. Sometimes it was humorous at other times annoying. Original read though!
dark
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
I really wanted to like this book more than I did. The premise is unique-- Hansel and Gretel are in several classic fairy tales. The stories are told in a simple, engaging manner. Themes of familial relationships and under-standing/understanding are touched on (in some cases it's a bit heavy-handed, but not unpleasant).
However, this book has a narrator who likes to interject flippant comments. I usually enjoy footnotes, asides, etc, but in this case it only served to draw me out of the story. I don't really care to read the author daring the reader to read the next "scary" or "gory" bit and I definitely don't want to have this read page-long comments in the middle of a chapter that do nothing to further the story.
All in all it was a quick, pleasant read, made even more enjoyable once I started to skip the bold asides.
However, this book has a narrator who likes to interject flippant comments. I usually enjoy footnotes, asides, etc, but in this case it only served to draw me out of the story. I don't really care to read the author daring the reader to read the next "scary" or "gory" bit and I definitely don't want to have this read page-long comments in the middle of a chapter that do nothing to further the story.
All in all it was a quick, pleasant read, made even more enjoyable once I started to skip the bold asides.
Does a good job making Grimm's fairy tales more relatable. I enjoyed that each chapter was a story in and of itself, but also contributed to the greater plot line.