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38 reviews for:
The Witch's Guide to Cooking with Children: A Modern-Day Retelling of Hansel and Gretel
Keith McGowan
3.07 AVERAGE
38 reviews for:
The Witch's Guide to Cooking with Children: A Modern-Day Retelling of Hansel and Gretel
Keith McGowan
3.07 AVERAGE
I desperately wanted to like this book but once I was finished all I could think was "What the heck was that?" It left so many questions unanswered, and it suffered from character glut. There were so many characters and each seemed to be trying to have their own plot (or importance to the main plot) but none really did. Did that shop owner help them? Not really. What is with the parents? Why did Swift understand German? The sheepdog was trained in German, nobody said Swift was. Why was Connie such a little brat towards her brother to the point of ruining his life/self-esteem? How did that help anything? Is the curse broken? What was the curse? What was the prize? Is this going anywhere? That is how you end it!?!?!
I will read the second one to see if any of these questions are answered but I highly expect they will not be.
I will read the second one to see if any of these questions are answered but I highly expect they will not be.
Cute modern-day interpretation of the Hansel and Gretel tale. The bits told from the witch's POV were clever.
I tried to like this one and finished it soon but I couldn't enjoy to read it. Retelling Hansel and gratel in modern era, buth both character little annoying.
I was really excited about this book. And then I was really disappointed by this book. It had such promise, but then it fell apart into rushed conveniences that were trying too hard to be Lemony Snicket, and missing the mark.
At least it didn't take that long to read.
At least it didn't take that long to read.
This was such a clever idea but the book just fell short on delivery. As intrigued as I was by the concept I'm not sure that I will continue with the series. The book's retelling of Hansel and Gretel was really charming, but it was as if McGowan was splicing Grimm with Lemony Snicket, and it just came out...wrong? The most intriguing portions of the narrative were from the witch's perspective. Her dialogue served as a moral guide for children to be well-behaved or else their parents would pay the witch to come and eat them. Also, McGowan's re-purposing of the metal DONATION boxes as "children drop-off centers for witches" was completely hilarious and original. Honestly, the book is great, until Sol and Connie (our child heroes) take over the narrative. Bah...I wanted a good witch story.
Solomon and Connie Blink are moved to a new town, Grand Creek by their father and stepmother. Unknown to them the town is the home of Fay Holaderry and her dog, J. Swift. Holaderry is a witch who specializes in relieving parents of unwanted children. She keeps a notebook titled, “How to Cook and Eat Children: A Cautionary Tale.” Also unknown to eleven-year old Sol and his eight-year old sister is that the man they think is their father is actually his evil twin who has done away with their real father years ago. Will Sol’s scientific skill and Connie’s natural cleverness outsmart Holaderry and their phony parents? It looks bad when they meet their new neighbor and her dog Swift. Swift is carrying a bone in his mouth, a human bone.
Merlington does a marvelous job of voicing McGowan’s characters and bringing out the sly humor in this tale of daring do and sibling solidarity in the face of spooky and acute peril.
Merlington does a marvelous job of voicing McGowan’s characters and bringing out the sly humor in this tale of daring do and sibling solidarity in the face of spooky and acute peril.
dongeng hansel and gretel yg dimodernisasi dengan apik dan rapi. kisahnya mengalir lancar ttg dua bersaudara sol dan connie yg niatnya akan dibuang oleh orang tua (bukan kandungnya) dan tukang sihir jahat yg tinggal di sebelah rumah. sayangnya peran sol terlampau besar hingga karakter connie tampil sbg tempelan saja. endingnya punya twist yg cukup mengejutkan... dan menggantung, bersambung ke buku lanjutannya.
I was disappointed by this short audiobook. It started out all very well, our narrator was a witch, and she lovingly described her favorite dish...children. She went on to expound on the procedures around getting hold of children for her cookery. It turns out she'd been around quite some time, from Hansel and Gretals time in fact, and had established quite a business for herself. Parents whose children were peevish and rude could drop them off in any number of 'donation' bins located at such unexpected places as movie theatres or call for a pick up and leave the kids off on some street corner, etc.
Our two unsuspecting victims, Sol and Connie, recently moved next door to our witch's very house. You'd think she'd be more nervous about hunting where she lived, but no, she immediately plans an elaborate dinner around the two. However, in an amazing and unexpected twist, Connie and Sol are rather sharp children who have no particular interest in being eaten.
They evade capture after their scheming father leaves them for pick-up on a street corner, believing they'd be lost. He didn't reckon on young Sol's mapquest printouts and knowledge of area busing schedules. Things continue in that vein until Connie angers a librarian. Big mistake kiddo. She is immediately bundled in a handy burlap sack (what librarian doesn't have a few of those lying around for just such emergencies) and set out for pick-up.
I admit that I was rubbed the wrong way by the 'evil librarian.' But that was only a small contribution to the failure of this novel in my eyes.
The plot introduced many bizarre things, such as that Sol and Connie's father was not really their father, the fact that both their step-mother and not-father were relatives to the original parents of the hansel and gretel tale, their mum went missing in some bizarre scientific expedition, and it goes on...tons of little plot snags that are never revealed or even addressed. It was rather frustrating.
Then the novel just ended. Of course, (not much of a spoiler alert here) they defeat the witch, but still have no idea dad is not-dad, their mum is still mysteriously missing and they are apparently just on the road now, homeless wandering children setting off into the sunset. Also, Sol never did forgive Connie for ruining his Science Fair project and framing him for setting fire to the school. What a churl.
Our two unsuspecting victims, Sol and Connie, recently moved next door to our witch's very house. You'd think she'd be more nervous about hunting where she lived, but no, she immediately plans an elaborate dinner around the two. However, in an amazing and unexpected twist, Connie and Sol are rather sharp children who have no particular interest in being eaten.
They evade capture after their scheming father leaves them for pick-up on a street corner, believing they'd be lost. He didn't reckon on young Sol's mapquest printouts and knowledge of area busing schedules. Things continue in that vein until Connie angers a librarian. Big mistake kiddo. She is immediately bundled in a handy burlap sack (what librarian doesn't have a few of those lying around for just such emergencies) and set out for pick-up.
I admit that I was rubbed the wrong way by the 'evil librarian.' But that was only a small contribution to the failure of this novel in my eyes.
The plot introduced many bizarre things, such as that Sol and Connie's father was not really their father, the fact that both their step-mother and not-father were relatives to the original parents of the hansel and gretel tale, their mum went missing in some bizarre scientific expedition, and it goes on...tons of little plot snags that are never revealed or even addressed. It was rather frustrating.
Then the novel just ended. Of course, (not much of a spoiler alert here) they defeat the witch, but still have no idea dad is not-dad, their mum is still mysteriously missing and they are apparently just on the road now, homeless wandering children setting off into the sunset. Also, Sol never did forgive Connie for ruining his Science Fair project and framing him for setting fire to the school. What a churl.