A Tale Dark & Grimm (A Tale Dark & Grimm #1) by Adam Gidwitz
Release: August 18, 2011
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Puffin Books
Source: Edelweiss+
Tale Dark and Grimm Synopsis:
Hansel and Gretel walk out of their own story and into eight other classic Grimm (and Grimm-inspired) fairy tales. An irreverent, witty narrator leads us through encounters with witches, warlocks, dragons, and the devil himself. As the siblings roam a forest brimming with menacing foes, they learn the true story behind the famous tales, as well as how to take charge of their destinies and create their own happily ever after. Because once upon a time, fairy tales were awesome.
Book Trailer:
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q08Ad7D98h8[/embedyt]
Review:
A BIG Thank You to Edelweiss+, Puffin Books and Penguin Publishing Group for providing me a copy of “A Tale Dark & Grimm (A Tale Dark & Grimm #1)” by Adam Gidwitz in exchange for my review. Edelweiss+ only had a snippet preview of this book, but I was hooked on the first page itself and decided to purchase it online immediately. I loved every bit of this story!
I’m not sure how true this story is to the original Grimm version, but it kept me glued. It is fast paced and has a lot of unexpected twists and turns. Initially, I expected the main plot to only cover the story we are used to. Instead, in this retelling, the Hansel and Gretel fairy tale that we know of gets over in the beginning itself. What follows are more gruesome unfortunate adventures of the siblings. The book wonderfully portrays how they grow and mature and adapt to the harsh realities of life.
Even though the story and the world building are purely fantasy, the characters are very realistic and down to Earth. I loved the three ravens who part their wisdom with their cranky humor. Hansel and Gretel are strong, smart, courageous and very inspiring. The story perfectly blends humor, suspense, adventure and mystery in it. The scenes where Hansel hides in the Devil’s home to outsmart him was hilarious and suspenseful at the same time. Another interesting factor is how the author disperses elements from the original story across this novel. For example, there are no breadcrumbs throws in the woods when the children are going to the witch’s house. Instead, Gretel throws lentils and seeds on her way to see the mysterious man that she has a crush on.
Adam Gidwitz has a wonderful talent for writing children’s books and especially fairy tales. I enjoyed how he put his own commentary and warnings, and it felt like he is narrating the story to the reader. Moreover, some of the passages are written in a pure fairy tale like poetic manner that is so delightful to read. The author uses a lot of hidden themes, metaphors and morals in each story that we can reflect with in our lives. Probably the only thing that was a little uncomfortable to read was the gory descriptions. This book gets really graphic for a children’s novel and I don’t think it is suitable for younger readers. Even though the author gives warnings for small children to not read the scary details following it, it would make them want to read it anyway.
Overall, I loved this first book in the ‘Tale Dark and Grimm’ series and I will definitely read the others as soon as I get my hands on them.
[Read my Review on Book 2: In A Glass Grimmly (A Tale Dark & Grimm #2)]
