Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Publication date: July 2010
ISBN: 9780399250965
Source: Library
When Elizabeth gets a new job at a library full of objects, not books, she does not expect to be drawn into a mystery. But, when she learns about the Grimm collection - a special collection of items straight out of the Grimm brother's fairy tales - she feels the powerful draw of those items. She and her fellow workers must find out who is stealing and replacing with fakes the Grimm collection, before they end up disappearing or worse.
Things I Liked:
This book had a fun, lighthearted, and totally awesome premise! I love the fairy tale connections and the fun that could be had from all those enchanted objects. I also really loved the idea of having a repository (or library of sorts) for literary-related items. I think that would be so cool. The plot was also intriguing enough that I kept reading to find out what happened to the characters, not just for the Grimm descriptions. Here is a favorite fun part:
"There weren't any cars back when the Brothers Grimm were collecting stuff. Maybe they thought about shoes a whole lot because they had to walk everywhere and their feet hurt."Things I Didn't Like:
"That's an interesting theory. You think maybe other stuff was just as important, but the Grimm guys only noticed the shoe aspect? Like, they missed whole stories about hats and scarves because their feet hurt?" p 148-149
I have to admit that the characters felt a bit flat. I wasn't as interested in them so much as the story and the awesome repository of magical objects. Also, the ending felt rushed and a bit too easy. It kind of left me feeling like things weren't completely explained. Still, for its clever ideas and the fun plot, I enjoyed it overall.
Read-alikes:
A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz
Sisters Grimm books by Michael Buckley
Complete Fairy Tales by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: none
mrg-factor: X
just some serious kissing :)
v-factor: none
Overall rating: ****
What kinds of literary objects would you like to "check out"?
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Posts
I don't know why but pretty much any retelling of an old favorite I want to try so this one would be one I'd want to read too! :)
ReplyDeleteAmused, I'm pretty much the same way, though this isn't strictly what I'd call a retelling.
ReplyDeleteI read this during my first semester of library science grad school, I grew up reading fairy tales, AND my name is Elizabeth.
ReplyDeleteIf I hadn't loved this book... I can't even imagine. But I loved it.
I think I was either too busy looking at the library to notice the flat characters... or I rationalized, because fairy tale heroes are pretty flat.
I'd probably like it more if my name was Elizabeth too! :) I really loved the library - it almost made up for the characters.
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