The Sisters Grimm: The Fairy-Tale Detectives...random thoughts

The Fairy-Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley (first in the The Sisters Grimm series).

I think I'm probably like a lot of people, in that I'd be hard pressed to pick a favorite "section" in the book store or library. I love the history section, and the science section, and the fantasy/sci-fi section, and the young adult section...you know how it is, right? But I have reached the conclusion that up there among my favorites has to be the section designated for readers 8-12. You know, I think I may even enjoy these books more than young adult books. Not sure what this says about me...I'd like to think that it means I'm young at heart, but I'm sure other theories may be equally valid.

I think the first book that totally captivated me from this section (as an adult) was Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett. Then there was Inkheart, by Cornelia Funke. Recently, I fell hard for Horns & Wrinkles by Joseph Helgerson. And now, there's The Fairy-Tale Detectives. Oh my, how this little book charmed me!

Sabrina, age 11, and Daphne, age 7, have spent the last year and a half bouncing back and forth from an orphanage to various foster homes. No one really knows what happened to their parents; they simply disappeared without a trace. The orphanage recently found their grandmother living in a small town by the name of Ferryport Landing, New York, and is delivering the girls to stay with her.

Relda Grimm is a sweet, eccentric old lady. Daphne is immediately smitten with her grandmother, while Sabrina is immediately suspicious. Daphne, after so much time in foster homes, is so anxious for love that she throws caution to the wind. And Sabrina, the big sister and protector, has learned that it isn't safe to trust anyone. And she has more than adequate reason for suspicion this time, as the girls had grown up believing their grandmother was dead.

As the story unfolds, we learn why their father had chosen to lie to them in this way. And why their grandmother wasn't able to come and get the girls before now. And many, many, many other secrets of the town of Ferryport Landing and its residents.

It probably hasn't escaped your notice that the family's surname is Grimm, has it? And yes, that is because they are descendants of the Brothers Grimm. Specifically, Sabrina and Daphne are Wilhelm Grimm's great-great-great-great-granddaughters. And you know that book of fairy tales? Well, they aren't really fairy tales at all! The stories they collected are true...it's real-life history!

But long ago, due to the changing face of the planet and the cruelties of man, these fairy tale creatures, who prefer to be called Everafters, were forced to move to a little area in New York. Baba Yaga then put a spell on the area to make sure that no Everafter could leave and thus jeopardize the survival of the others. The Grimms made the journey with the Everafters and have lived there ever since. Granny Relda continues to record history as it happens, and often finds herself playing detective when things go awry in Ferryport Landing.

Soon after the girls arrive, Granny and her faithful companion, Mr. Canis, are kidnapped by a giant, and it falls on Sabrina and Daphne to solve the mystery and save their grandmother.

There wasn't much about this book that I didn't find perfectly delightful! From the surprising ways Mr. Buckley interpreted some of the well-known fairy tale characters, like Prince Charming, and the Three Little Pigs, and my personal favorite, Mirror. To the way he made the girls so believable. For instance, when the girls were riding on the train with the sour woman from the orphanage...

"Do they have bagels in Ferryport Landing, Ms. Smirt?" Daphne now asked the woman sitting across from them. Ms. Minerva Smirt was the girls' caseworker. She was a pinch-lipped, humorless woman in her late fifties. She had had her hooked nose buried in a book for the entire train ride. Sabrina knew she was reading only so she wouldn't have to talk to them. Ms. Smirt looked up at Daphne with an annoyed scowl and sighed as if the question was more than she could bear.

"Of course they have bagels. They have bagels everywhere," Ms. Smirt snapped.

"Not on the moon," Daphne replied matter-of-factly as she returned her gaze to the window.

I can so easily picture Gray, also aged 7, replying in the exact same manner. Not trying to be a smart-mouth, just pointing out the obvious-to-him error in something one says.

What more can I say? I just so loved this little tale, and I'm really looking forward to reading the rest of the series. I certainly can't guarantee that this book will enchant others the way it enchanted me, but if you're looking for some light, fun, fanciful reading, this book might be just what the doctor ordered.

*****

If you've also reviewed this book, feel free to leave a link in the comments, and I'll add it here. Thanks.

Becky at Becky's Book Reviews

*****

Read for:



The Once Upon a Time II Challenge.

The 1st in a Series Challenge.

The Goose Girl...random thoughts

Fairy tales. As I said not so long ago in a post, I wasn't one of those who grew up on fairy tales. But last summer, when I was trying to put together some kind of plan for Annie's school year, I decided that we should explore the world of folktales and fairy tales. Right here, I need to say a big thank you to Nymeth. She has graciously answered questions and given advice to this poor novice here. But even more than that, her deep true love of these stories has been utterly contagious.

Anyway, what I had assumed would be a very fun "unit" of study for Annie, has really become an immense pleasure to me. I've been so captivated by the fairy tales we've been reading...I can't imagine I will ever stop searching them out.

And now we come to the idea of fairy tale retellings. A year ago, I'm not sure I even knew such books existed. Last month, I read my first, I Was A Rat by Philip Pullman, which by the way, I adored. But that story was more of an epilogue focusing on a particular character from a fairy tale (if that makes any sense at all). The Goose Girl, by Shannon Hale, on the other hand, takes the Grimms Brothers "The Goose Girl" and really turns it into a full novel. I have to admit, "The Goose Girl" is one of my favorite fairy tales, one of the few I've known and loved for years. I was a bit leery that anyone could really retell this story and do it justice.

Well, my fears were entirely unfounded! What can I say? I love, love, love this book! In a way I haven't loved a book in while. Not more or less, necessarily, but differently. Not in a soul-searching, thought-provoking way. But plain and simply, in a sweet and joyful way. I was utterly astounded at the way Shannon Hale stayed so true to the fairy tale, while bringing the story and the characters so wonderfully to life. This book is nothing if not magical!

I'll be the first to admit, I've never been much of a princess kind of girl. But you know what, Shannon Hale just might change that! There's a quote on the back of the book from The New York Times Book Review that I think sums up the book perfectly for me:

"In layer upon layer of detail a beautiful coming-of-age story emerges, a tale about learning to rescue yourself rather than falling accidentally into happily-ever-after."

Now I know it's not exactly unheard of for me to cry while reading a book, but this is the first book I can remember in a very long time that left tears of joy in my eyes as I finished the last page.






(Now that's a lot of bang for your reading challenge buck, huh?)
















Other blog reviews:
*Kim at Bold. Blue. Adventure.
*Annie at Words by Annie
*Nymeth at Things Mean A Lot
*Eva at A Striped Armchair
*Melody at Melody's Reading Corner
*Deslily at Here There and Everywhere

The Field Guide...random thoughts

Well, I had thought that I would whip out one last review today (of Life Artist) and then finally be caught up. That's because I didn't anticipate the way Gray would get sucked into The Field Guide (the first of The Spiderwick Chronicles by Holly Black). Usually 20 to 30 minutes is the limit for the boys' attention spans when it comes to being read to. (Though Gray will, on occasion, read to himself for longer stretches, he's just not of the book-devouring breed that his older sister is.) Anyway, it speaks volumes about this little book's appeal that he had me reading it straight through to the end. And he wanted me to start the next one, but my voice was protesting...it's not used to talking non-stop for more than an hour like that.

After their father leaves them, Jared Grace, along with his mom, his twin brother Simon, and his older sister Mallory, move from the city to an old, dilapidated house belonging to the children's great-aunt Lucinda. (Aunt Lucinda is currently residing in "the nuthouse".) No one is happy about this move. But Mallory has her fencing obsession. And Simon has his myriad of pets. And Jared has his propensity for trouble-making...or so his mother seems to believe. It was in part an incident at his old school that prompted his mother to move the family.

And when trouble immediately finds the Grace family in their new abode, Mrs. Grace is quick to blame Jared again. But is he really the cause of the malicious mischief that is occurring? Or does the book, Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You, which Jared finds in the attic, hold the real answers?

This book does tell a fun little tale. From dumb waiters to cockroach art to tadpoles frozen in ice cubes. Oh, and the artwork by Tony DiTerlizzi...wow, completely charming. The book honestly wouldn't be the same without it. Gray is looking forward to continuing the journey, and I'm so glad I'm along for the ride.

The Stainless Steel Rat...random thoughts

Any of you who know Carl would easily guess that he was the impetus behind me trying out this series by Harry Harrison. I also need to give Chris my thanks, for it was his review that actually made me pop over to Amazon and pick it up a few months back.

Science fiction is pretty foreign land to me, and I won't pretend to know anything about it. I'm sure there's probably a proper term for the type of science fiction that The Stainless Steel Rat represents, but I couldn't tell you what it is. To me, this book is pure action-adventure. It contains all those things that my uneducated mind associates with science fiction...things like travel around the universe that is as easy as hopping a plane is to us today and robots of all levels of sophistication.

But if I had to pick one single word to describe this book, it would have to fun! Had it been possible, I would have undoubtedly read this in one sitting...I was annoyed every time I had to set it down. It's told in the first person, by our hero/anti-hero, Jim diGriz. He's a crook, though an utterly likeable one, in a universe where crime is nearly non-existent. Nearly. For he is finally caught by the Special Corps, an elite crime-fighting organization, whose head is a brilliant ex-criminal himself. Instead of being imprisoned, however, diGriz is recruited to be an agent for the Special Corps. And why wouldn't they want diGriz...he's intelligent, he's industrious, and he's quite moral in areas where it really counts. And from here, the story only gets better...

What can I say? I just loved this book! As I said, it was just plain fun. Adventure, humor, ingenious schemes...yep, this book has all that and more.

challenge happy...

Here it is Thursday...and I don't have a single book review to post. What a busy, busy week's it's been. Can't believe I haven't finished a single book. So instead of reviews, today I'll post about a new challenge I'm joining. And yes...I do see the irony in this...I don't have nearly enough time to read, so I'll join yet another challenge...makes perfect sense, huh?

Joy is hosting another fun challenge. I've been trying to resist joining, really I have. But I found I had so many books already sitting on my little table that fit this challenge perfectly, that I decided I just had to give it a shot. (The pile of books on my nightstand got too unwieldy that I had to put a little table beside the nightstand to hold the overflow.) More points in this challenge's favor...(a) it doesn't start until January and (b) it lasts for a whole year.

This challenge is entitled 1st in a Series 2008 Challenge. Hop on over to Joy's for the exact details, but put simply the challenge is to read 12 books in 2008, each book being the first in a series. Yes, I know...just what I need...12 new series to get hooked on...I'm trying my best to ignore the absurdity of this for me.

O.K.--so here's my tentative list:

The Field Guide by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black (The Spiderwick Chronicles)

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman (His Dark Materials)

Shadow Man by Cody McFadyen (Smoky Barrett series)

The Gunslinger by Stephen King (The Dark Tower) *This will be a reread, as I read the first few of these all those many, many years ago when they first came out.

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale (Goose Girl series?...not sure what to call it)

The Black Echo by Michael Connelly (Harry Bosch series)

Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins (The Underland Chronicles)

MayBird and the The Ever After by Jodi Lynn Anderson (MayBird series)

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson & The Olympians)

The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau (Book of Ember)

The Fairy Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley (The Sisters Grimm)

The Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison (Stainless Steel Rat series)

A few of these may change, but I think that's a pretty good start. Annie, of course, will be joining in, too. She's making her list up now. The difference will be that she'll manage to not only complete it, but probably read many of the series from start to finish. Oh, how I envy that girl!