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A review by caidyn
Grim by Christine Johnson
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.