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A review by milktoast
Sweetly by Jackson Pearce
4.0
I love fairytale reimaginings. Several of my favorite recent YA novels are in this genre, from Shannon Hale’s Goose Girl to Malindo Lo’s Ash (Cinderella) to Jackson Pearce’s previous novel, Sisters Red. I don’t read enough YA to really know if this is a staple of the genre or a new trend, but either way, I am pleased.
Sweetly, which is a companion novel to Sisters Red (set in the same universe but no shared characters), doesn’t disappoint. Gretchen and Ansel, our modern day Hansel and Gretel, escape the witch in the woods as children, but Gretchen’s twin sister does not. She vanishes. In their late teens, Gretchen and Ansel leave their home, hoping to put their past behind them, and head for the ocean. Their car breaks down in a small town in South Carolina and they stay with Sophia, a beautiful and friendly, but mysterious candymaker. Although they hear stories of women who have disappeared in the town, Gretchen builds a friendship with Sophia and finds a sense of home until one evening she wanders out into the forest and is almost killed by the same creature she saw as a child. Gretchen vows to stop the vanishing of women in this town—but she must uncover many painful secrets to do so, including some of the woman she has come to regard as her first real friend.
I didn’t love it the way I loved Sisters Red, but I didn’t expect to. Even though I don’t have a sister, the relationship between the two women was my favorite part. Gretchen’s interactions are split between her brother, her love interest, and Sophia. I found the parts with Sophia the most captivating. Without spoiling anything, I’ll say she’s quite interesting. The love interest story was sweet, but like in Sisters Red, I could take it or leave it. It’s not that Pearce can’t write a good love story—As You Wish is particularly adorable—it’s just that everything else she’s doing is so much more interesting to me.
Anyway—If you like Jackson Pearce, fairytale retellings, or YA stories with a strong female protagonist, check it out.
Sweetly, which is a companion novel to Sisters Red (set in the same universe but no shared characters), doesn’t disappoint. Gretchen and Ansel, our modern day Hansel and Gretel, escape the witch in the woods as children, but Gretchen’s twin sister does not. She vanishes. In their late teens, Gretchen and Ansel leave their home, hoping to put their past behind them, and head for the ocean. Their car breaks down in a small town in South Carolina and they stay with Sophia, a beautiful and friendly, but mysterious candymaker. Although they hear stories of women who have disappeared in the town, Gretchen builds a friendship with Sophia and finds a sense of home until one evening she wanders out into the forest and is almost killed by the same creature she saw as a child. Gretchen vows to stop the vanishing of women in this town—but she must uncover many painful secrets to do so, including some of the woman she has come to regard as her first real friend.
I didn’t love it the way I loved Sisters Red, but I didn’t expect to. Even though I don’t have a sister, the relationship between the two women was my favorite part. Gretchen’s interactions are split between her brother, her love interest, and Sophia. I found the parts with Sophia the most captivating. Without spoiling anything, I’ll say she’s quite interesting. The love interest story was sweet, but like in Sisters Red, I could take it or leave it. It’s not that Pearce can’t write a good love story—As You Wish is particularly adorable—it’s just that everything else she’s doing is so much more interesting to me.
Anyway—If you like Jackson Pearce, fairytale retellings, or YA stories with a strong female protagonist, check it out.