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sereia8's review against another edition
5.0
The story of Hansel and Gretel was ingeniously woven through several Grimm stories, which weren't edited for blood and gore like so many are. The author's warnings throughout added to its charm.
arytaco's review against another edition
4.0
A darkly toned, but lightly humored reworking of the Hansel and Gretel tale from the Brothers Grimm, Adam Gidwitz succeeds in balancing acceptable meta elements with genuine horrors (particularly cannibalism, severed limbs and a trip to Hell). For the right audience, this is one great bedtime story.
cathy_acasefullofbooks's review against another edition
3.0
If you have squeamish or easily scared children, I'd definitely recommend previewing this book. Nothing is overly descriptive and is moved past quickly, but there's a lot of old, classic fairy tale violence and cutting off of body parts.
shelbymarie516's review against another edition
4.0
a perfectly gross middle grades book. You want the filth and gore on a middle school level? This is the series for you.
mariahistryingtoread's review against another edition
1.0
I disliked this almost immediately. The story itself is fine, if not a little average.
What ruins it is how often Gidwitz chooses to break the fourth wall. Throughout the entire novel Gidwitz insists on intruding on events as an omniscient narrator. I hate this kind of storytelling. It completely breaks the immersion to have this unnecessary intrusion on the situation. It feels as if the author doesn't trust their audience or wants to force the reader to experience the book from their specific, narrow perspective. In this case Gidwitz seemed obsessed with the idea that the reader know that this was the 'real' story no holds barred. And constantly reiterating how dark this story is or telling little kids to leave the room if it's too much has the exact opposite effect. I'm a squeamish adult, but even for me the subject matter isn't all that bad. I've read more unsettling or creepy middle grade stuff before; which makes it even worse. This barely scratches the surfact yet Gidwitz is hyping the material like it's Stephen King for kids. It honestly feels very out of touch adult underestimating kids. Kids can handle way more than you'd think, on that we agree. However, I feel as if Gidwitz is still coming from a place of underestimation if he feels as if this book is particularly out there. It also feels as if I'm reading Gidwitz's random thoughts he jotted down as he wrote. At one point he tells this anecdote about how he used to come to the sad part in books and he'd try to disassociate himself from the moment in order to guard against the hurt. This has absolutely no benefit to the story. I am naturally processing my emotions as I read. If I need to take a moment for myself I will do that. I don't need a narration to interrupt the book in an attempt to relate to me or cushion the blow.
Outside of that glaring issue everything else is merely okay. Hansel and Gretel tripping through lesser known fairytales. Then around halfway it finally becomes one continuous story. I would have preferred if this were like a traditional novel in that it's one long story the whole time and the chapter breaks were used where they worked the best in the narrative. Instead the breaks are clearly delineated lines between the fairytales. This hurts the overall narrative as it feels less like one story that Hansel and Gretel are driving forward and more like a series of reimagined fairytales featuring Hansel and Gretel. Eventually the story does becomes more linear. Despite this change, the chapters being so specifically defined continues, which is unfortunate. Every single chapter starts off with 'once upon a time' adding to how disjointed it felt.
The characters aren't developed at all. There clearly is supposed to be an arc of the kids coming into their own by the end except the detached way the story is conveyed left me feeling entirely unsympathetic to the kids' plights. They're two dull kids who randomly decide to stop being...selfish? I guess? They don't really have any faults to overcome. Gretel also noticeably has more to do and more significance than Hansel; a decision that made me question why the twins were chosen as the backbone of the story in the first place.
There was never any suspense because Gidwitz was always telegraphing what was coming next. This made the book a slog most of the time.
I was taken in by the cover and the promise of a fun, edgy spin on a popular tale. Admittedly, this book did have its own original take on Hansel and Gretel. I did like the actual concept. It just wasted its potential in the execution.
What ruins it is how often Gidwitz chooses to break the fourth wall. Throughout the entire novel Gidwitz insists on intruding on events as an omniscient narrator. I hate this kind of storytelling. It completely breaks the immersion to have this unnecessary intrusion on the situation. It feels as if the author doesn't trust their audience or wants to force the reader to experience the book from their specific, narrow perspective. In this case Gidwitz seemed obsessed with the idea that the reader know that this was the 'real' story no holds barred. And constantly reiterating how dark this story is or telling little kids to leave the room if it's too much has the exact opposite effect. I'm a squeamish adult, but even for me the subject matter isn't all that bad. I've read more unsettling or creepy middle grade stuff before; which makes it even worse. This barely scratches the surfact yet Gidwitz is hyping the material like it's Stephen King for kids. It honestly feels very out of touch adult underestimating kids. Kids can handle way more than you'd think, on that we agree. However, I feel as if Gidwitz is still coming from a place of underestimation if he feels as if this book is particularly out there. It also feels as if I'm reading Gidwitz's random thoughts he jotted down as he wrote. At one point he tells this anecdote about how he used to come to the sad part in books and he'd try to disassociate himself from the moment in order to guard against the hurt. This has absolutely no benefit to the story. I am naturally processing my emotions as I read. If I need to take a moment for myself I will do that. I don't need a narration to interrupt the book in an attempt to relate to me or cushion the blow.
Outside of that glaring issue everything else is merely okay. Hansel and Gretel tripping through lesser known fairytales. Then around halfway it finally becomes one continuous story. I would have preferred if this were like a traditional novel in that it's one long story the whole time and the chapter breaks were used where they worked the best in the narrative. Instead the breaks are clearly delineated lines between the fairytales. This hurts the overall narrative as it feels less like one story that Hansel and Gretel are driving forward and more like a series of reimagined fairytales featuring Hansel and Gretel. Eventually the story does becomes more linear. Despite this change, the chapters being so specifically defined continues, which is unfortunate. Every single chapter starts off with 'once upon a time' adding to how disjointed it felt.
The characters aren't developed at all. There clearly is supposed to be an arc of the kids coming into their own by the end except the detached way the story is conveyed left me feeling entirely unsympathetic to the kids' plights. They're two dull kids who randomly decide to stop being...selfish? I guess? They don't really have any faults to overcome. Gretel also noticeably has more to do and more significance than Hansel; a decision that made me question why the twins were chosen as the backbone of the story in the first place.
There was never any suspense because Gidwitz was always telegraphing what was coming next. This made the book a slog most of the time.
I was taken in by the cover and the promise of a fun, edgy spin on a popular tale. Admittedly, this book did have its own original take on Hansel and Gretel. I did like the actual concept. It just wasted its potential in the execution.
mehsi's review against another edition
5.0
Loved the narrator breaking the 3rd or 4th wall and just step in between stories to warn you for parts that are gruesome or that it isn't the end and many other things. Really laughed a lot while reading those.
Also loved that all the stories though separate got woven into one big story.
Also loved that all the stories though separate got woven into one big story.
vtsarahd's review against another edition
3.0
I purchased this book for my fourth grade classroom as it was nominated for the Nutmeg Book Award in Connecticut for the intermediate grades. While the book started off entertainingly and I enjoyed the narrator's interjections throughout the text, the content was very disturbing and a bit much for elementary students. The book was well-written and each fairy tale was cleverly woven in with the next, but I might think twice if I were buying it for a child that is sensitive to violent content.
puzzlegirl30's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0