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mehsi's review against another edition
5.0
This book is a retelling of the Hansel and Gretel fairy tale. I think that already says a whole lot about the story and what will happen.
For a retelling, I have to say it was masterfully done. I didn't know it was a retelling until much more hints were dropped.
The witches were scary and manipulative, especially one, who made everyone think she was the good one.
The school idea was wonderfully done, kids get food all day long. Beginning with breakfast, ending with snacks while studying... ok they were free to do whatever they want. I can imagine that also lures enough kids. Freedom, Food and Fun, 3 things kids would love to do but schools in general don't give. And then you get this school in your neighbourhood. Wow.
I loved the main character, I also felt so sorry for her, for the burden she was carrying was way too big, and I don't understand why her dad never talked more to her. Though ok, I guess he was too busy with Molly (more about her later). I was cheering throughout the whole book for our main character, saying she should continue to fight, and Oh No not go to the dark side (they do have cookies, but deadly ones). And the ending, how she fought, how brave she was, I loved that. Go girl!
Then we have various side characters, which I didn't all like. Andrew was ok, but it was a bit up and down for me. At times I really liked him, at other times I just wanted to smack him hard.
And Molly, oh dear lord Molly. She was truly and absolutely a (sorry for my language) bitch who didn't like/love kids. She even locks up our main character, gives no food, no thought that maybe it might go bad. Seriously, how did Dad marry her? I know love makes blind, but this is a serious case of blindness.
In overall this was a super wonderful, magical and lovely book. It brings up grieving, how to cope, that not everything is what it seems and much much more. I would really recommend it to everyone!
For a retelling, I have to say it was masterfully done. I didn't know it was a retelling until much more hints were dropped.
The witches were scary and manipulative, especially one, who made everyone think she was the good one.
The school idea was wonderfully done, kids get food all day long. Beginning with breakfast, ending with snacks while studying... ok they were free to do whatever they want. I can imagine that also lures enough kids. Freedom, Food and Fun, 3 things kids would love to do but schools in general don't give. And then you get this school in your neighbourhood. Wow.
I loved the main character, I also felt so sorry for her, for the burden she was carrying was way too big, and I don't understand why her dad never talked more to her. Though ok, I guess he was too busy with Molly (more about her later). I was cheering throughout the whole book for our main character, saying she should continue to fight, and Oh No not go to the dark side (they do have cookies, but deadly ones). And the ending, how she fought, how brave she was, I loved that. Go girl!
Then we have various side characters, which I didn't all like. Andrew was ok, but it was a bit up and down for me. At times I really liked him, at other times I just wanted to smack him hard.
And Molly, oh dear lord Molly. She was truly and absolutely a (sorry for my language) bitch who didn't like/love kids. She even locks up our main character, gives no food, no thought that maybe it might go bad. Seriously, how did Dad marry her? I know love makes blind, but this is a serious case of blindness.
In overall this was a super wonderful, magical and lovely book. It brings up grieving, how to cope, that not everything is what it seems and much much more. I would really recommend it to everyone!
sandeeisreading's review against another edition
4.0
The blurb said something about this book was a Hansel and Gretel retelling. But I believe, that I got more than that.
This book was so good plot wise and character wise. I just had a little problem with how perfectly it ended up, how easy it was. But other than that, this book is highly enjoyable and on some parts, hilarious.
Full review to follow.
This book was so good plot wise and character wise. I just had a little problem with how perfectly it ended up, how easy it was. But other than that, this book is highly enjoyable and on some parts, hilarious.
Full review to follow.
maryloulynninmi's review against another edition
5.0
Great story
Something is very, very wrong at school. Can Lorelei figure it out before it is too late? Good story and I loved the characters.
Something is very, very wrong at school. Can Lorelei figure it out before it is too late? Good story and I loved the characters.
bmg20's review against another edition
4.0
Tagged as 'Coraline' meets 'Hansel and Gretel' but this also reminded me a lot of 'The Witches' by Roald Dahl (in a good way!)
As of late, Middle-Grade books seem to be popping up everywhere but there have been some amazingly good ones that I never would have thought I'd be able to enjoy. This is one those stories that is perfectly suited for the younger crowd but are still a fun adventure for adults as well. Highly recommended!
This debut novel was extremely well-written and will keep any reader entranced till the end. Not just an entertaining read, this comes equipped with a deep message that I feel will be easily understood by younger readers.
In addition to the near-perfect cover, there were several pictures throughout the story that I loved.
Considering they appear similar I would guess that the inside art was done by the same artist but I couldn't find the information to confirm. The artist to the cover though is Alexander Jansson. I would highly recommend you check out his website and view some of his other works - they're amazing!
As of late, Middle-Grade books seem to be popping up everywhere but there have been some amazingly good ones that I never would have thought I'd be able to enjoy. This is one those stories that is perfectly suited for the younger crowd but are still a fun adventure for adults as well. Highly recommended!
This debut novel was extremely well-written and will keep any reader entranced till the end. Not just an entertaining read, this comes equipped with a deep message that I feel will be easily understood by younger readers.
In addition to the near-perfect cover, there were several pictures throughout the story that I loved.
Considering they appear similar I would guess that the inside art was done by the same artist but I couldn't find the information to confirm. The artist to the cover though is Alexander Jansson. I would highly recommend you check out his website and view some of his other works - they're amazing!
postitsandpens's review against another edition
4.0
I will say upfront that if you call something a fairy tale retelling, I am probably going to read it. My love of fairy tales really knows no bounds, and I am always especially intrigued when an author sets the retelling in modern times. The Sinister Sweetness of Splendid Academy is indeed set in modern times, and is one of those books where hardly anyone realizes just what's happening and how odd (or magical) the occurrences are. The narrator is a fifth grade girl named Lorelai, who is still reeling from her mother's death, which she feels she played a role in. It's her secret guilt, and it's basically burying her. When you combine what Lorelai is going through (she also struggles with a learning disability that her father won't seek treatment for) with the fairy tale aspect, you get a book that is quite dark for its target age group, at least in my opinion. That's not to say it's over the top dark, because it's not, but there's really nothing fluffy about this book in the slightest.
The Sinister Sweetness of Splendid Academy is a retelling of Hansel and Gretel, and definitely goes the way of the Grimm Brothers in terms of its "happily-ever-after" qualities. While her father marries her "stepmonster" Molly, a school is literally built over the weekend. When the school Lorelai was supposed to attend mysteriously burns down, her father and Molly decide to send Lorelai and her brother, Brian, to the new Splendid Academy. The school seems too good to be true: the children get two meals for free, the class sizes are fairly small, there are hardly any rules at all, and the playground is straight out of every single child's combined imagination. But Lorelai and her classmate, Andrew, soon discover that something very strange is going on at the school, and become the only two to realize who's really in charge and what the ultimate plan is for the students.
Considering that this is a retelling of Hansel and Gretel, you can probably guess where this book goes in terms of its overall plot. But there were a lot of things that made me wince; Lorelai's stepmonster is absolutely awful and I wanted to shake her father for not seeing just how terrible a person she really is; one of the teachers in the school treats the children absolutely terribly, which hurt my educator-trained heart; and Lorelai is clearly suffering from her mother's death and no one has done a single thing for her. Add to that Andrew's problem with obesity, and this book has no shortage of deep and dark topics. But I found it all to be handled really well; nothing was dumbed down in any way, but it was still something that's readable and able to be comprehended by the age group that's most likely going to be drawn to the book. I give the author two thumbs up for not shying away from the darkness and even embracing it at some points. I felt like it added a richness to the story that wouldn't have otherwise been there if she'd gone made things "happily-ever-after" fluffy.
All in all, I found The Sinister Sweetness of Splendid Academy to be a very enjoyable read. It deals with some heavy topics, particularly for the age group it's marketed for, but it does it in a way that anyone would understand and be able to relate to the story. Throw in some fairy tale magic, a fabulous climax, and a headstrong main character, and you get a book that's engaging and thought-provoking, without the completely over-the-top ending that usually occurs in the fairy tales we all know and love. If you want a book where the main character isn't perfect, but takes control of her destiny and tries to right the wrongs in her life, then I'd definitely recommend this. It's now available in North America from a bookseller of your choice.
An e-galley was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The Sinister Sweetness of Splendid Academy is a retelling of Hansel and Gretel, and definitely goes the way of the Grimm Brothers in terms of its "happily-ever-after" qualities. While her father marries her "stepmonster" Molly, a school is literally built over the weekend. When the school Lorelai was supposed to attend mysteriously burns down, her father and Molly decide to send Lorelai and her brother, Brian, to the new Splendid Academy. The school seems too good to be true: the children get two meals for free, the class sizes are fairly small, there are hardly any rules at all, and the playground is straight out of every single child's combined imagination. But Lorelai and her classmate, Andrew, soon discover that something very strange is going on at the school, and become the only two to realize who's really in charge and what the ultimate plan is for the students.
Considering that this is a retelling of Hansel and Gretel, you can probably guess where this book goes in terms of its overall plot. But there were a lot of things that made me wince; Lorelai's stepmonster is absolutely awful and I wanted to shake her father for not seeing just how terrible a person she really is; one of the teachers in the school treats the children absolutely terribly, which hurt my educator-trained heart; and Lorelai is clearly suffering from her mother's death and no one has done a single thing for her. Add to that Andrew's problem with obesity, and this book has no shortage of deep and dark topics. But I found it all to be handled really well; nothing was dumbed down in any way, but it was still something that's readable and able to be comprehended by the age group that's most likely going to be drawn to the book. I give the author two thumbs up for not shying away from the darkness and even embracing it at some points. I felt like it added a richness to the story that wouldn't have otherwise been there if she'd gone made things "happily-ever-after" fluffy.
All in all, I found The Sinister Sweetness of Splendid Academy to be a very enjoyable read. It deals with some heavy topics, particularly for the age group it's marketed for, but it does it in a way that anyone would understand and be able to relate to the story. Throw in some fairy tale magic, a fabulous climax, and a headstrong main character, and you get a book that's engaging and thought-provoking, without the completely over-the-top ending that usually occurs in the fairy tales we all know and love. If you want a book where the main character isn't perfect, but takes control of her destiny and tries to right the wrongs in her life, then I'd definitely recommend this. It's now available in North America from a bookseller of your choice.
An e-galley was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
raevynsilverana's review against another edition
2.0
It was a creative idea but more disturbing than I was anticipating. The ending made me want to ask the author "Who hurt you?"
lexieb's review against another edition
5.0
This book helped remind me why I still adore middlegrade.
It managed to be cute, sweet, genuinely emotional, and creepy, sometimes all within the span of a few pages. In a YA novel, that'd be almost bizarre; but in here? Not in the slightest. Children have such a fantastic array of emotions, and are so very capricious. They can switch from delighted to horrified to curious within the span of minutes. And they have this honest, black and white view of the world that has always fascinated me more than anything.
At first, this tripped me up. While some of the characters were wonderful and real and intensely likable--Lorelei, Andrew, even Brian, despite his jerkiness--some of them seemed to be flatly evil, with no redeeming traits to speak of. But then I remembered something, something I suppose I'd forgotten in the many months between my last middlegrade read. I remembered that simply because Lorelei perceived these people as purely awful did not mean they were, in actuality, evil incarnate; it was simply how she saw them. Lorelei is not a little kid, but even at her age, children have this tendency to make things out in such a way that the world is easier to grasp. There are blacks and whites, rights and wrongs, but there are no shades of gray.
I'd accepted this, so it came as a very, very pleasant surprise when Nikki Loftin showed me that Lorelei could see the shades of gray, at least a bit.
Even those characters that should be completely despicable, the ones you know you're supposed to hate, root against, hope for their demise, etc., were not the evil, mustache-twirling (hair-twirling, since they're female?) villains that one might find in a middlegrade book for the younger ages. They were terrible, yes, and I was rooting for Lorelei to defeat them, yes, but there were these small moments, these small emotions, that made them so very real, despite the fantastic circumstances.
I adored that. I adored every last character in here, but most of all, I adored Lorelei. She was sweet and troubled and determined and far, far better than most MCs you'll find in YA today. They could learn a thing or to from this girl, this eleven-year-old who loves her family and loves her friend and will do anything to save the people around her, no matter how they may act towards her.
That's not the only thing I was fond of. I liked the writing, simple and smooth; I liked the plot, with its fast, even pacing that rushed me through this in less than a day; I liked the whole concept, completely creepy and completely original. Granted, I guessed the main plot within the first 30 pages, but I do not fall within this book's intended audience. I suspect that for the average 7-12 year old, the plot will be a wonderful mystery.
More than all this, though, the characters made the story. Nikki Loftin has a real talent for creating characters that you can't help but love, and that, that guarantees I will read anything she writes, no matter the genre.
4.5 stars, but I loved the characters enough that it's being rounded to 5.
It managed to be cute, sweet, genuinely emotional, and creepy, sometimes all within the span of a few pages. In a YA novel, that'd be almost bizarre; but in here? Not in the slightest. Children have such a fantastic array of emotions, and are so very capricious. They can switch from delighted to horrified to curious within the span of minutes. And they have this honest, black and white view of the world that has always fascinated me more than anything.
At first, this tripped me up. While some of the characters were wonderful and real and intensely likable--Lorelei, Andrew, even Brian, despite his jerkiness--some of them seemed to be flatly evil, with no redeeming traits to speak of. But then I remembered something, something I suppose I'd forgotten in the many months between my last middlegrade read. I remembered that simply because Lorelei perceived these people as purely awful did not mean they were, in actuality, evil incarnate; it was simply how she saw them. Lorelei is not a little kid, but even at her age, children have this tendency to make things out in such a way that the world is easier to grasp. There are blacks and whites, rights and wrongs, but there are no shades of gray.
I'd accepted this, so it came as a very, very pleasant surprise when Nikki Loftin showed me that Lorelei could see the shades of gray, at least a bit.
Even those characters that should be completely despicable, the ones you know you're supposed to hate, root against, hope for their demise, etc., were not the evil, mustache-twirling (hair-twirling, since they're female?) villains that one might find in a middlegrade book for the younger ages. They were terrible, yes, and I was rooting for Lorelei to defeat them, yes, but there were these small moments, these small emotions, that made them so very real, despite the fantastic circumstances.
I adored that. I adored every last character in here, but most of all, I adored Lorelei. She was sweet and troubled and determined and far, far better than most MCs you'll find in YA today. They could learn a thing or to from this girl, this eleven-year-old who loves her family and loves her friend and will do anything to save the people around her, no matter how they may act towards her.
That's not the only thing I was fond of. I liked the writing, simple and smooth; I liked the plot, with its fast, even pacing that rushed me through this in less than a day; I liked the whole concept, completely creepy and completely original. Granted, I guessed the main plot within the first 30 pages, but I do not fall within this book's intended audience. I suspect that for the average 7-12 year old, the plot will be a wonderful mystery.
More than all this, though, the characters made the story. Nikki Loftin has a real talent for creating characters that you can't help but love, and that, that guarantees I will read anything she writes, no matter the genre.
4.5 stars, but I loved the characters enough that it's being rounded to 5.
wiseowl33's review against another edition
4.0
Who doesn't want to run in the halls at school? Loved this story! It was just the right amount of creepy to funny with adventure mixed in! Very enjoyable! Will highly recommend it to my kids at school!
lindacbugg's review against another edition
3.0
3.5
This is one of those times I wish GR had 1/2 point ratings. But I want to read her next book so that's saying something :)
This is one of those times I wish GR had 1/2 point ratings. But I want to read her next book so that's saying something :)