Monday, August 20, 2012

REVIEW: A Tale Dark & Grimm by Adam Gidwitz


Title: A Tale Dark & Grimm (#1)
Author: Adam Gidwitz
Genre: Middle Grade Fairy Tale Retelling
Publisher: Dutton Children's Books
Release Date: August 18/2011
Acquired: Library borrow
Goodreads: ADD

In this mischievous and utterly original debut, Hansel and Gretel walk out of their own story and into eight other classic Grimm-inspired tales. As readers follow the siblings through a forest brimming with menacing foes, they learn the true story behind (and beyond) the bread crumbs, edible houses, and outwitted witches.

Fairy tales have never been more irreverent or subversive as Hansel and Gretel learn to take charge of their destinies and become the clever architects of their own happily ever after.


I have a tendency to place more on my reading plate than I can actually handle, so naturally, I placed this little tale on hold at the library and had to consume it once it was FINALLY available (all whilst reading a BAJILLION other books I have for review).

I took interest in this after reading a review for it by Karen on Goodreads (who is an AMAZING reviewer, and you must check her out. The amount of titles she's read is staggering). I have mixed feelings about this book, it started off a tad corny, and stayed that way for perhaps a good 25-30 pages. But I really started getting into it after that point. Side Note: I've never read any of Grimm's fairy tales, so that most likely played a huge role in how much I enjoyed this book vs. how much I could have loved it (or perhaps it would have only made me dislike it more, who knows).

This book is essentially the fairy tale of Hansel and Gretal, but then goes on to incorporate those two characters into other well-known Grimm tales, and I must say, the result was rather entertaining and humorous-aside from being completely disturbing at times (there are some pretty graphic scenes, which, being 26 years old, even I couldn't really handle). I loved the aspect of Hansel and Gretal getting a chance to expand and grow from the young and naive children they are in their own tale, into courageous and practical young warriors. By the end of the book, I was rooting with all of my might for their victory, and felt like I was reading a completely different book. So wondrous was their growth!

This book received 3 stars because I grew tired very quickly of the author interjecting the story with his own thoughts and back stories- it seemed clever and witty at first, but by the middle of the book, I just wanted to read the tales. I will definitely, however, be picking up the next book in this series. Hopefully we hear less from the author, and more from his characters.



Check out the trailer for the book!
 




CLICK HERE to learn more about Adam on his author site!

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2 comments:

  1. that sound like a book i like to read i do a lot of book and reviews

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great review! :)
    I'm not sure if I will give this book a try but it does sound nice.

    ReplyDelete

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