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beamasalunga's review
3.0
This collection of short stories is narrated by Christine Johnson and I enjoyed her narration. Some stories are good and promising, some are just horrible.
The Key by Rachel Hawkins - The psychic story is a good start but it was cut too short and ended vaguely. [3.5/5 stars]
Figment by Jeri Smith- Ready - A sweet friendship between Eli and Fig. I really like it. [4/5 stars]
The Twelfth Girl by Malinda Lo - I fell asleep on some parts. So boring. [1/5 stars]
The Raven Princess by Jon Skovron - I like this. [3/5 stars]
Thinner than Water by Saundra Mitchell -The darkness of the story shook me. The king married his daughter but the author's writing style is compelling which is a win for me. Out of the retellings, this one stood out for me. [4.5/5 stars]
Before the Rose Bloomed by Ellen Hopkins - This Snow Queen retelling fell flat. [1/5 stars]
Beast / Beast by Tessa Gratton - A great retelling of Beauty and the Beast [4/5 stars]
The Brothers Piggett by Julie Kagawa - This is an okay story. Kinda weird. [2/5 stars]
Untethered by Sonia Gensler - [3/5 stars] - Good writing style but not a fan of the story.
Better by Shaun David Hutchinson - Better than I expected. Wonderful story indeed! [4/5 stars]
Light It Up by Kimberly Derting - [2 /5 stars] - A "meh" retelling of Hansel and Gretel.
Sharper Than a Serpent's Tongue by Christine Johnson - It's okay and kinda miss. [2/5 stars]
A Real Boy by Claudia Gray - [3/5 stars] - I'm not familiar of this retelling but it's good.
Beauty and the Chad Sarah Rees Brennan - Why are Beauty and the Beast retellings are good? It's so adorable [4/5 stars]
The Pink by Amanda Hocking - Another retelling I'm not familiar with. It's good but the ending was a bit boring. [3/5 stars]
Sell Out by Jackson Pearce - This can be good but the ending just... [3.5/5 stars]
The Key by Rachel Hawkins - The psychic story is a good start but it was cut too short and ended vaguely. [3.5/5 stars]
Figment by Jeri Smith- Ready - A sweet friendship between Eli and Fig. I really like it. [4/5 stars]
The Twelfth Girl by Malinda Lo - I fell asleep on some parts. So boring. [1/5 stars]
The Raven Princess by Jon Skovron - I like this. [3/5 stars]
Thinner than Water by Saundra Mitchell -The darkness of the story shook me. The king married his daughter but the author's writing style is compelling which is a win for me. Out of the retellings, this one stood out for me. [4.5/5 stars]
Before the Rose Bloomed by Ellen Hopkins - This Snow Queen retelling fell flat. [1/5 stars]
Beast / Beast by Tessa Gratton - A great retelling of Beauty and the Beast [4/5 stars]
The Brothers Piggett by Julie Kagawa - This is an okay story. Kinda weird. [2/5 stars]
Untethered by Sonia Gensler - [3/5 stars] - Good writing style but not a fan of the story.
Better by Shaun David Hutchinson - Better than I expected. Wonderful story indeed! [4/5 stars]
Light It Up by Kimberly Derting - [2 /5 stars] - A "meh" retelling of Hansel and Gretel.
Sharper Than a Serpent's Tongue by Christine Johnson - It's okay and kinda miss. [2/5 stars]
A Real Boy by Claudia Gray - [3/5 stars] - I'm not familiar of this retelling but it's good.
Beauty and the Chad Sarah Rees Brennan - Why are Beauty and the Beast retellings are good? It's so adorable [4/5 stars]
The Pink by Amanda Hocking - Another retelling I'm not familiar with. It's good but the ending was a bit boring. [3/5 stars]
Sell Out by Jackson Pearce - This can be good but the ending just... [3.5/5 stars]
hbmelum's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
4.75
Lots of amazing short stories. I loved every single one of them!
deathspoets's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest and Rape
isalavinia's review against another edition
3.0
I admit it, I picked up this book because of Sarah Rees Brennan and, as always, she did not disappoint. But there were some other really great stories in this book, as well! And some that were very mediocre, indeed. It was a very unbalanced anthology. Still worth reading, because the good short stories are really good.
THE KEY by Rachel Hawkins (Bluebeard) - ★★★★
Lana's mother is a psychic, she does readings in their trailer. And Lana is feeling a bit ashamed of the way she and her mother live when Skye, the gorgeous guy from her French class, brings another classmate, Milly, to come and consult her mother on the whereabouts of the missing Kimberly - Skye's ex-girlfriend and Milly's best friend.
Lana's mother's prediction for her that day is that she would have to run, and fast!
Oh, this was so creepy! Hawkins managed to tell a perfectly satisfying story in just a few pages, but this would have made a wonderful full-length novel.
FIGMENT by Jeri Smith-Ready (Puss in Boots) - ★
Eli's father dies in a boating accident, they weren't close, but his dad left him a plush cat, informing him it would bring him luck. Eli is already a very talented musician, maybe a little luck is all he needs...
I didn't feel this story at all, but that's merely a matter of personal preference, since it combines two elements I have always disliked: the fairy tale Puss in Boots and teenaged dudes who carry a guitar everywhere.
THE TWELFTH GIRL by Malinda Lo (The Twelve Dancing Princesses) - ★★
Liv is transfered to a new boarding school which seems pretty boring except for one thing: Harley. Harley is a girl who flaunts all the rules, she doesn't follow the school's dress code, she arrives late to class, and she occupies a turret with her eleven friends, with whom she goes out partying every night. Liv is eager to get closer to Harley, she doesn't know whether she wants to be her, or wether she wants her, but either way she wants to become part of her group. But a palm-reader warned her to stay away from them...
I liked the whole other world through a trap-door, and how Lo retold this tale - I usually like Lo's stories because you can always count on her to skip the usual "there was this boy and it was insta-love", she takes the time to build the relationships in a dreamy way and, of course, the boy is a girl - but this time I didn't really feel this. Harley may as well have been the usual YA love interest stereotype, the whole thing needed to be more developed, it didn't quite work as a short story.
THE RAVEN PRINCESS by Jon Skovron (The Raven) - ★
I don't get it? What was this? The whole point of a fairy tale retelling is to retell the fairy tale, not re-write the exact same story as the original in your own words...
THINNER THAN WATER by Saundra Mitchell (Donkeyskin) - ★★★★★
tw: pedophilia, rape, abuse, incest
I hate this fairy tale so fucking much I didn't even know if I would be able to write an unbiased review of Mitchell's retelling... But Mitchell's writing was absolutely, flawlessly beautiful.
Merula's mother died after giving birth to her, making her father promise he'd never marry again, unless to a woman as beautiful as she was.
The story starts horribly, as one would expect - but Mitchell showed the readers how absolutely revolting this abuse is, and the insidiousness of victim blaming. And Merula, despite her circumstances, was a true survivor and a delight to read.
BEFORE THE ROSE BLOOMED by Ellen Hopkins (The Snow Queen) - ?
Sorry, I just skipped this one, I really do not like vers libre.
BEAST/BEAST by Tessa Gratton (Beauty and the Beast) - ★★
It was alright, but nothing really stood out.. I liked how the Beast was described, but I didn't feel much of a connection between the Beauty and the Beast.
THE BROTHERS PIGGETT by Julie Kagawa (The Three Little Pigs) - ★★★
Percival Pigget is madly in love with Maya Thornton, a beautiful girl whose grandmother is rumoured to be a witch. But it takes him ages to gather the nerve to speak to her. But, when he does, things seem to be going well between them. Until Percival sees something that breaks his heart.
I was side-eyeing this story almost to the very end because of all the "Nice Guy" entitlement, really, all Percival was missing was a fedora... But suffice to say it had a very satisfying ending :)
UNTETHERED by Sonia Gensler (The Shroud) - ★★★★★
Another fairy tale I hate, what with its sick message of ~Mothers who lose their children should bear their grief quietly because the child belongs to God now, and cannot rest in peace if she mourns~. Get out of my face with this shit, to be honest.
Gensler's retelling was amazing, though. It treated grief with respect, it made the reader feel it and sympathise. And if you're not familiar with the fairy tale, this retelling can be read as a mystery.
BETTER by Shaun David Hutchinson (The Pied Piper) - ★★★★★
tw: rape
Aboard the space ship Hamelin, Pip is an artificial human built for the purpose of being experimented upon, so that a cure may be found for the disease killing the Hamelin's children. All the Hamelin's children lie in stasis, waiting to be awoken when a cure is found, all but one: Levi. Levi is Pip's only friend, the only one who sees her as a real person, and Pip is willing to do anything to save Levi from the disease that's laying his body to waste.
This was an absolutely amazing story about love, loss, impending death, being disabled, and what it means to be human; and I really, really wish it would be developed into a full book!
LIGHT IT UP by Kimberly Derting (Hansel and Gretel) - ★★★★
Greta and Hansen's dad is dying of cancer, and their greedy step-mother, under the pretext of a family camping trip, abandoned them in the woods. They wander lost, and nearly hopeless until they come upon a cabin. The ranger within it offers to drive them to the ranger station so they can radio for help, but first they should eat some deliciously tender steaks...
This was so creepy, omg!!
SHARPER THAN A SERPENT’S TONGUE by Christine Johnson (Diamonds and Toads) - ★
How can you write a retelling with less content than the original? Nothing actually happened, and every facet of the story was weak and undeveloped.
A REAL BOY by Claudia Gray (Pinocchio) - ★
I hate it when sci-fi starts off with a scientist turning to another and going, "Oh no, this is wrong, we're playing God". Believe me, if awesome shit is happening no scientist is going to say that. Even if I'd just finished re-watching Jurassic Park and someone turned to me and went, "Hey, want to bring dinosaurs back to life?" I wouldn't say, "Wait a sec, hasn't this film taught us blah blah?" No. I'd be knocking people out of my way so I could finally bring velociraptors back.
So when Blue (a special snowflake who is changing her actual name to Blue because of her dyed blue hair streaks) turns to one of her cybernetics professors when they're creating the greatest robot and starts thinking about God and whatever, and then zaps the robot awake and insta-loves him... I'm sorry, but no.
SKIN TRADE by Myra McEntire (The Robber Bridegroom) - ★
Morbid as the original fairy tale is, I always laugh at the part where the other girl drinks three glasses of wine and dies - what a lightweight! But yeah, the cannibalism that follows puts a downer on everything... Even if the bride gives the most badass wedding toast in history. If you haven't read this fairy tale, please go read it because it's actually amazing.
The retelling however, was not.
BEAUTY AND THE CHAD by Sarah Rees Brennan (Beauty and the Beast) - ★★★★★
Beauty's father barely escaped with his life from the Beast's castle - he only managed to flee because he promised the Beast his son in service. Having no son, he thought himself really clever. But Beauty finds this dishonourable conduct reproachable. So she disguises herself as a boy and off she goes to the Beast's castle. The Beast is one among many who have lived in the castle - this Beast is named Chad. Chad was totally uncool to this broad and she just kidnapped him from his frat house, dropped him into the castle, and turned him into a monster. Not cool, am I right?!
But now Chad has this totally awesome new bro called Beauty (not judging your name, bro! parents, right?) to hang out with, and he's so great, just throwing keggers at the castle and being best bros, and he's so... dreamy... NO HOMO. Well... perhaps a little homo. Perhaps a lot.
This was so, so funny! I loved Chad! I loved Beauty! I loved their story! Go read this right now!
THE PINK by Amanda Hocking (The Pink) - ★
I never liked this fairy tale, angels everywhere, people tearing people to pieces, husbands shutting their wives in towers to starve to death, a really creepy kid, and almost everyone redeemed by God.
This retelling didn't bring anything particularly new to the fairy tale, so...
SELL OUT by Jackson Pearce (Snow White) - ★★
Snow White with a twist! Emmett has the dubious gift of bringing back to life any corpse he kisses. So he makes his living kissing rich dead people. His next assignment is Elise Snow. She used to go to school with him, the rich girl in class who'd bully him and made fun of him for being poor.
I guess this is supposed to be very deep about how people change and you're supposed to forgive the bullies who tormented you because they are now changed people, but I'm not here for this, so no.
It started out great though, and it was well written...
natverse's review against another edition
4.0
Never underestimate a good short story. Some of these were disturbing and fantastic. I particularly enjoyed "Figment," "The Key," "The Raven Princess," "The Twelfth Girl," "Thinner than Water," and "Beast/Beast." Who am I kidding? I enjoyed all but a couple. Seriously, these are great retellings. And I'm super creeped out them too. :D
caidyn's review against another edition
3.0
3.4/5
Spoilers below.
The Key - 3.5/5: Very interesting and it was a bit fun. I thought that it was a good ending. Catching in the short story.
Figment - 5/5: Longer, but it was definitely good. I enjoyed the narrator of the story and the mystery that it started out with. A good story of triumph.
The Twelfth Girl - 4/5: Ah. Finally. Third person narration. A good ending as well, nice cliffhanger so the reader can decide what happens.
The Raven Princess - 3/5: Not the most interesting, but it kept the the heart of the old stories with no names given, except for the minimal descriptions of what they were.
Thinner Than Water - 4/5: A touchy subject, but it was done very well; it was done just right where it wasn't too creepy, but made your gut twist at the right moment -- also didn't implement the whole hugely common theme of rape used by most YA authors, something that makes me choose not to read them. I enjoyed the story of it, with putting off a man she didn't want to marry, something that I feel is common in fairy-tales, but with the twist of it being her father.
Before the Rose Bloomed: A Retelling of the Snow Queen - 4/5: This is the whole reason I got the book from the library. All for Ellen Hopkins, my favorite YA author. Definitely done in the heart of fairy-tales with talking animals, but had a Biblical turn to it. I liked how it was unique with being told in acts.
Beast/Beast - 2/5: It was basically the same story of Beauty and the Beast. Wasn't that impressive at all.
The Brothers Piggett - 4/5: Surprisingly good in my opinion. I'm not a huge fan of Kagawa and I have read a few books by her, but they weren't to my liking. But this one was different, the villains being the ones protecting their brother, when you think about what was implied and explicitly told about what they had done.
Untethered - 3.5/5: It was a bit of a twist, and a nice one at that. It wasn't the most catching, but the ending made it when it all came around. I wish that it had been a bit longer.
Better - 1/5: The premise was good, but, really? A rape scene? That had NOTHING to do with the rest of the story? AT ALL? I'm sorry, but things like that make me mad beyond belief. Rape is not something that you should just do for a light-hearted little add-in to make your protagonist someone you should like, even though it is a pointless act in the first place. One star for the story/plot. Everything else taken away for the unneeded rape scene. After reading some reviews, I feel like I'm the only one who hated this story so much.
Light It Up - 4.5/5: I really enjoy the story of Hansel and Gretel, and this was basically the same story, just in a modern setting. With this story, you can't get much more unique -- perhaps if you told it from the cannibal's point of view it would be ten times more interesting -- but this was still a good one. And the title ties in very well.
Sharper than a Serpent's Tongue - 2/5: I remember reading this tale as a child. Bad sisters get the ugly things coming out of them, good one gets the beautiful things. But, again -- I sound like a broken record, rape again? At least the hint it could have happened? Oh my. This reminds me why I dislike YA. At least this time it played a tad more into the plot, which is what should happen if you make the choice to use rape as a writer.
A Real Boy - 5/5: I could tell what fairy-tale this was, and it took on its own futuristic way that was good and perhaps better than the original tale. I thought it was very good, obviously shown in my rating. A love story at heart, and it was one told well in the short amount of pages.
Skin Trade - 1/5: It wasn't one of those stand out and I barely understood what was going on. I wasn't impressed with this one. Didn't help that I had no idea what fairy-tale it was.
Beauty and the Chad - 5/5: Okay, this one just might be my favorite. Hilarious retelling of Beauty and the Beast, and I definitely got quite a few laughs from it. Loved how the modern was mixed in with the old, and the bit of a confusion over Beauty being the stable boy. Chad was brilliant.
The Pink: A Grimm Story - 3/5: I didn't know the fairy-tale here, so I didn't really know how to compare it. But, I did enjoy the story. Bad guy, an escape with the help of a forever faithful love. Not very modern, but it was still good.
Sell Out - 3/5: I'm not a huge fan of Snow White or Sleeping Beauty -- I couldn't really tell which one this was since they're both pretty similar tales, but I'm leaning more towards Snow White. So, this one was different and I enjoyed the bit of him professionally bringing people back to life. Pretty good.
Spoilers below.
The Key - 3.5/5: Very interesting and it was a bit fun. I thought that it was a good ending. Catching in the short story.
Figment - 5/5: Longer, but it was definitely good. I enjoyed the narrator of the story and the mystery that it started out with. A good story of triumph.
The Twelfth Girl - 4/5: Ah. Finally. Third person narration. A good ending as well, nice cliffhanger so the reader can decide what happens.
The Raven Princess - 3/5: Not the most interesting, but it kept the the heart of the old stories with no names given, except for the minimal descriptions of what they were.
Thinner Than Water - 4/5: A touchy subject, but it was done very well; it was done just right where it wasn't too creepy, but made your gut twist at the right moment -- also didn't implement the whole hugely common theme of rape used by most YA authors, something that makes me choose not to read them. I enjoyed the story of it, with putting off a man she didn't want to marry, something that I feel is common in fairy-tales, but with the twist of it being her father.
Before the Rose Bloomed: A Retelling of the Snow Queen - 4/5: This is the whole reason I got the book from the library. All for Ellen Hopkins, my favorite YA author. Definitely done in the heart of fairy-tales with talking animals, but had a Biblical turn to it. I liked how it was unique with being told in acts.
Beast/Beast - 2/5: It was basically the same story of Beauty and the Beast. Wasn't that impressive at all.
The Brothers Piggett - 4/5: Surprisingly good in my opinion. I'm not a huge fan of Kagawa and I have read a few books by her, but they weren't to my liking. But this one was different, the villains being the ones protecting their brother, when you think about what was implied and explicitly told about what they had done.
Untethered - 3.5/5: It was a bit of a twist, and a nice one at that. It wasn't the most catching, but the ending made it when it all came around. I wish that it had been a bit longer.
Better - 1/5: The premise was good, but, really? A rape scene? That had NOTHING to do with the rest of the story? AT ALL? I'm sorry, but things like that make me mad beyond belief. Rape is not something that you should just do for a light-hearted little add-in to make your protagonist someone you should like, even though it is a pointless act in the first place. One star for the story/plot. Everything else taken away for the unneeded rape scene. After reading some reviews, I feel like I'm the only one who hated this story so much.
Light It Up - 4.5/5: I really enjoy the story of Hansel and Gretel, and this was basically the same story, just in a modern setting. With this story, you can't get much more unique -- perhaps if you told it from the cannibal's point of view it would be ten times more interesting -- but this was still a good one. And the title ties in very well.
Sharper than a Serpent's Tongue - 2/5: I remember reading this tale as a child. Bad sisters get the ugly things coming out of them, good one gets the beautiful things. But, again -- I sound like a broken record, rape again? At least the hint it could have happened? Oh my. This reminds me why I dislike YA. At least this time it played a tad more into the plot, which is what should happen if you make the choice to use rape as a writer.
A Real Boy - 5/5: I could tell what fairy-tale this was, and it took on its own futuristic way that was good and perhaps better than the original tale. I thought it was very good, obviously shown in my rating. A love story at heart, and it was one told well in the short amount of pages.
Skin Trade - 1/5: It wasn't one of those stand out and I barely understood what was going on. I wasn't impressed with this one. Didn't help that I had no idea what fairy-tale it was.
Beauty and the Chad - 5/5: Okay, this one just might be my favorite. Hilarious retelling of Beauty and the Beast, and I definitely got quite a few laughs from it. Loved how the modern was mixed in with the old, and the bit of a confusion over Beauty being the stable boy. Chad was brilliant.
The Pink: A Grimm Story - 3/5: I didn't know the fairy-tale here, so I didn't really know how to compare it. But, I did enjoy the story. Bad guy, an escape with the help of a forever faithful love. Not very modern, but it was still good.
Sell Out - 3/5: I'm not a huge fan of Snow White or Sleeping Beauty -- I couldn't really tell which one this was since they're both pretty similar tales, but I'm leaning more towards Snow White. So, this one was different and I enjoyed the bit of him professionally bringing people back to life. Pretty good.
debshelf's review against another edition
4.0
3.75 stars. As with most collections of short stories, I enjoyed some of these more than others. My surprise favorite was actually "Beauty & the Chad" which made me laugh out loud unexpectedly more than once.
becca_akins's review against another edition
4.0
Retellings are one of my favorite things to read and this collection was full of great ones.
carols's review against another edition
2.0
This book is a collection of short stories based on the Grimms' fairy tales. There is some true talent within these pages, but there are also many disturbing scenes that make me hesitate to recommend this book. The original tales have gruesome things (rape, incest, murder), but this book seems to dwell on them in a way that made me highly uncomfortable.
nexusgoblin's review against another edition
4.0
Grim is a great collection of fairy tale retellings, one of my favorite things to read. There is a lot of variety and each story pulls from a different fairy tale, except two which share Beauty and the Beast. There are a ton of stories packed into this one, so I’ll only touch on the ones that really stood out to me.
I loved Figment by Jeri Smith-Ready, which I think is based on Puss-in-Boots. It was such a interesting and at times incredibly sweet story, while it still held some of the sadness inherit to fairytales. Thinner than Water by Saundra Mitchell which pulls from Donkeyskin really surprised me. Donkeyskin is a really heartbreaking fairytale that I try to avoid to be honest, so I wasn’t expecting to really like this one. It does have one of the more serious topics (incest – it is forced upon her) but the ending and the main characters determination made it all worth it. The Brothers Piggett by Julie Kagawa was definitely one of the better retellings, as it actually built upon and veered away from the original story of The Three Little Pigs while still remaining recognizable. Better by Shaun David Hutchinson, based on The Pied Piper, was done with a fantastic sci-fi twist and took a wicked turn that I wasn’t expecting at all.
I wasn’t all that fond of Before the Rose Bloomed by Ellen Hopkins (based on The Snow Queen) because her poetic style didn’t really fit the story. I did like that she mixed biblical stories with the fairy tale but it just wasn’t my thing. The Raven Princess by Jon Skovran is based on The Raven tale (not the poem), and for the most part it is nearly the same story with more details and a bit of twist…which was pretty disappointing. Beauty and the Chad by Sarah Rees Brennan, based on Beauty and the Beast and it’s honestly the weirdest retelling I’ve ever read. It’s pretty funny at times and sort of sweet but way bizarre.
Overall I’m really pleased with the story collection in Grim! There was a lot of variety and while they were retellings of fairy tales some were more contemporary or sci-fi than fantasy. I love reading anthologies like this because there is so much variety in one “topic” and you can always find new authors or rediscover authors you haven’t read in a while. So if you enjoy fairy tale retellings and you like short stories, then go for it! You’re bound to find some stories that you’ll like and who knows you might find a new favorite author!
I loved Figment by Jeri Smith-Ready, which I think is based on Puss-in-Boots. It was such a interesting and at times incredibly sweet story, while it still held some of the sadness inherit to fairytales. Thinner than Water by Saundra Mitchell which pulls from Donkeyskin really surprised me. Donkeyskin is a really heartbreaking fairytale that I try to avoid to be honest, so I wasn’t expecting to really like this one. It does have one of the more serious topics (incest – it is forced upon her) but the ending and the main characters determination made it all worth it. The Brothers Piggett by Julie Kagawa was definitely one of the better retellings, as it actually built upon and veered away from the original story of The Three Little Pigs while still remaining recognizable. Better by Shaun David Hutchinson, based on The Pied Piper, was done with a fantastic sci-fi twist and took a wicked turn that I wasn’t expecting at all.
I wasn’t all that fond of Before the Rose Bloomed by Ellen Hopkins (based on The Snow Queen) because her poetic style didn’t really fit the story. I did like that she mixed biblical stories with the fairy tale but it just wasn’t my thing. The Raven Princess by Jon Skovran is based on The Raven tale (not the poem), and for the most part it is nearly the same story with more details and a bit of twist…which was pretty disappointing. Beauty and the Chad by Sarah Rees Brennan, based on Beauty and the Beast and it’s honestly the weirdest retelling I’ve ever read. It’s pretty funny at times and sort of sweet but way bizarre.
Overall I’m really pleased with the story collection in Grim! There was a lot of variety and while they were retellings of fairy tales some were more contemporary or sci-fi than fantasy. I love reading anthologies like this because there is so much variety in one “topic” and you can always find new authors or rediscover authors you haven’t read in a while. So if you enjoy fairy tale retellings and you like short stories, then go for it! You’re bound to find some stories that you’ll like and who knows you might find a new favorite author!