Fairy tales for the horror set blend themselves into one intact thread that’s satisfying enough to overcome an intrusive narrator. The storyteller’s voice (presented in bold type) opens by asserting that original Grimm tales are “awesome,” “violent and ... bloody,” while “all the versions of the stories you’ve heard [are]… mind-numbingly boring” due to sanitization. It’s an odd premise for a piece whose audience is surely aware of many fractured fairy tales that are dark and/or awesome. The narrator contributes unnecessary platitudes, but on the plus side, savvily warns when little kids should leave the room, effectively cautioning big kids that upcoming content is sad or gory—and it really is. Heads are lopped off, blood flows, men reach down girls’ throats and pull out their souls. Old Grimm tales and Gidwitz’s original additions weave together into one arc, with fiercely loyal siblings Hansel and Gretel at the heart. The narrator’s presence lessens; action and emotion deepen; funny gross-outs pop up amid serious violence; and everything builds to one painful and triumphant catharsis. (Fractured fairy tale. 10-13)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-525-42334-8
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: Sept. 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A thought-provoking title for sophisticated readers.
A missing boy returns from another world. Will anyone believe his story?
When 12-year-old Aidan goes missing, his family and community members search everywhere in their small town. Things progress from worrying to terrifying when Aidan doesn’t turn up. No note. No trace. Not even a body. Six days later, Aidan’s younger brother, Lucas, finds Aidan alive in the attic they’d searched many times before. Aidan claims he was in a magical world called Aveinieu and that he got there through a dresser. While everyone around the brothers searches for answers, Lucas gets Aidan to open up about Aveinieu. Lucas, who narrates the story, grapples with the impossibility of the situation as he pieces it all together. Is any part of Aidan’s story true? YA veteran Levithan’s first foray into middle grade is a poignant tale of brotherly love and family trauma. The introspective writing, funneled through a precocious narrator, is as much about what truth means as about what happened. Though an engaging read for the way it makes readers consider and reconsider the mystery, the slow burn may deter those craving tidy resolutions. Bookish readers, however, will delight in the homages to well-known books, including When You Reach Me and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The cast defaults to White; the matter-of-fact inclusion of LGBTQ+ characters is noteworthy.
A thought-provoking title for sophisticated readers. (Mystery/fantasy. 10-13)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-984848-59-8
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Dec. 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2021
Cleareyed, empowering, and hopeful while still frankly tackling sexual harassment.
A group of middle school girls take on harassment despite facing challenges.
Twelve-year-old Hazel Hill has spent seventh grade focusing on how to win the speech contest and how best to ignore Tyler Harris’ incessant talking, until the day Tyler tells her that Ella Quinn, her speech contest nemesis, has a crush on her. No one knows Hazel likes girls, and she doesn’t know what to do with this information about Ella. As it turns out, there’s more Hazel doesn’t know: Tyler has been harassing Ella online. Based on everything Tyler tells Hazel, the two girls, along with Riley Beckett, Ella’s best friend, realize that he’s probably harassed many other girls. When the three try to report Tyler, they find that the adults they approach don’t listen or don’t care. Left with no other options, the girls decide to take matters into their own hands. The serious subject matter this novel covers is mediated well through Hazel’s wry narration: She is funny, smart, and well adjusted even if she hasn’t managed to make friends in middle school. The portrayal of the girls’ concerns is also remarkably realistic, from their own reactions and considerations about when to speak up or remain silent to the varied and sometimes-disappointing responses of their parents and teachers. All main characters are assumed to be White.
Cleareyed, empowering, and hopeful while still frankly tackling sexual harassment. (notes) (Fiction. 10-13)Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-358-66470-3
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
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