A Tale Dark & Grimm

A Tale Dark & Grimm #1

by Adam Gidwitz, Hugh D'Andrade (Illustrator)

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.

"Unlike any children's book I've ever read. [It] holds up to multiple rereadings, like the classic I think it will turn out to be." - New York Times Book Review

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Fairy Tales, Young Adult, Fiction, Childrens, Adventure

288 pages, Paperback

First published October 28, 2010

About the author

To read my bio and learn more about me, and find a FAQ, visit:
http://www.adamgidwitz.com/about-the-...

Reviews

[Miranda Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once upon a time, fairy tales were AWESOME!

Adam Gidwitz remembers the old tales - the ones with violence and blood - and truly regrets the watering down the modern times.

And so he decides to tell the true tale of Hansel and Gretel.

Their story is not all gingerbread and breadcrumbs - there's vampires, werewolves and monsters galore.

There will be trials, tribulations and betrayal.

They each die at least once.

"You're being foolish," Gretel told herself. "Rain can't talk."

No, of course it can't. The moon can eat children, and fingers can open doors, and people's heads can be put back on.
But rain? Talk? Don't be ridiculous.

They have a kingdom that needs saving and they are ready to do something about it.

There is a wisdom in children, a kind of knowing, a kind of believing, that we, as adults, do not have. There is a time when a kingdom needs its children.

Will they be able to save the entire kingdom in time? Or will they lose everything they've ever known?

Overall, I liked this one!

It was fun and funny, though at times it seemed to try too hard to insert humor by breaking the fourth wall.

I did enjoy how Gidwitz took all the old tales and told them in a fresh and fabulous way.

Hansel and Gretel developed quite nicely from timid children into heroes.

It was quite interesting to follow along on their adventures.

The stories did have a slight old-timey feel (ie lots of magic just happens without explanation) but the author balanced it well enough with the plot that I wasn't bothered by it too much.

I never knew what direction this book was going but the journey was a great adventure.

Audiobook Comments
Read by Johnny Heller and it was great to listen to. Loved it!!

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[Mischenko · Rating 4 out of 5]

To see this review and others please visit www.readrantrockandroll.com

I have a thing for fairy tales, especially Hansel and Gretel. So when I saw A Tale Dark and Grimm at the library a few weeks ago, I couldn't hesitate. I needed to read this book.

Firstly, I thought the story was incredibly creative. It's like the classic Hansel and Gretel except in addition to the witch, they deal with many other scary beings and they move through different fairy tales. They decide they must choose their own fate and they're trying to locate caretakers that aren't dangerous and brutal toward them. In a nutshell, they're trying to stay alive. In between certain tales and sections we have a narrator that lightens the mood and warns before something violent is about to happen. I liked that, but at times it was also distracting.

Secondly, is this seriously Juvenile Fiction for 3rd grade+? It seems way to gruesome for 3rd graders to be reading, but in a way the story is fairly simple which makes me have a love hate relationship with it as far as the reading level. I would put this into the 5-6th grade level, but not 3rd grade and that's based solely on the content. The author is covering Grimm's fairy tales here with added twists and I don't necessarily feel that readers should be spared on the details, but maybe this should be listed for an older audience. It's fairly sadistic at times. I'd say for younger readers it's best to read with an adult.

Overall rating on this one is 4****

[Rick Riordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This debut YA novel is getting a lot of well-deserved attention. Gidwitz manages to balance the grisly violence of the original Grimms’ fairy tales with a wonderful sense of humor and narrative voice, somewhat reminiscent of Lemony Snicket’s take on the penny dreadful, but also completely fresh and unique. Gidwitz weaves the fairy tales together into a single narrative featuring Hansel and Gretel, and does it so well you’ll be wondering if this was the way the stories were meant to be told back in the old days. Check it out!

[emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lemony Snicket walked so this series could run.

Yeah. I said it.

My dear sister dearly loves this book, and so I read it because things that are dear to people who are dear to me should automatically be dear to me too.

Feel like that’s a rule.

This was fine, but a little boring. Which is shocking because I tend to find that middle grade adventure is way less boring than young adult anything. But here we are.

It was very, very dark, which I respect. Extremely dark and gory and violent and borderline-frightening-even-for-an-adult children’s books? Hardcore.

It just didn’t have much other than that? The narrative voice tried, but fell a little flat. The plot was choppy. The characters weren’t much of anything.

It was fine, but also in a disappointing way.

Bottom line: I’m just going to read A Series of Unfortunate Events and a book of fairytales at the same time and pretend it’s the same thing.

------------

a list of things i love:
- children's books
- fairytales
- fairytales specifically of the dark and, well, grim variety
- snarky narrators
- badassery of all kinds

this book:
- HAS OR IS ALL OF THE ABOVE.

[MischaS_ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Do you know the feeling that you knew everything that was about to happen even before you read it? Well, nothing surprised me in this. Not a single thing.

It had great potential, but it did not work for me. There are some fantastic re-tellings, but this one is not it... at least not for me.

No, of course, it can't. The moon can eat children, and fingers can open door, and people's heads can be put back on.
But rain? Talk? Don't be ridiculous.
Good thinking, Gretel dear. Good thinking.

Because the best way to will a warlock is to cook him with poisonous snakes in a cauldron of boiling oil.
Obviously.

[Danielle The Book Huntress · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved, loved, loved this book! This is the kind of book that I wish I could find more of. I think it was a wonderful fix of humor, horror, suspense, angst, and a great coming of age story. I didn't think that I would appreciate a story with Hansel and Gretel thrown into other fairy tales, nor could their story sustain a full-length novel. I was wrong on both counts. Hansel and Gretel became very dear to my hearts. They started out as little children who were doing what little children did. Living their lives, having fun, basking in the love of their parents and caregivers. Until circumstances cause them to embark out into the cold, cruel, scary world.

Adam Gidwitz doesn't go easy on Hansel and Gretel, nor does he go easy on the reader. There are some very violent, disturbing aspects in this story. For that reason, I disagree with the 9 and older rating. I would say it should be 11 and older. I realize that he is true to the original Grimm's fairy tales, and I know I did read fairy tales at a younger age. So maybe some kids would be fine with it. As a grown up, I winced on some parts myself.

I loved the aspect of the narrator breaching the third wall and talking to the audience as he read. He would warn us to send the little kids to bed or to get the babysitter. He would warn the reader that some very bloody parts were coming, and good thing he did. He would encourage the reader through the very sad parts (and they were very sad). He would make hilarious asides that had me braying with laughter in my car as I listened. My sister told me I was silly when I laughed at some parts yesterday. But it was so funny! This is a truly fun book, guys! And Johnny Heller, the narrator, did such a great job of creating a lively atmosphere for this story. Kudos to him!

A Tale Dark and Grimm is a story of courage. It's a novel that shows that children have depths of endurance, ingenuity and strength that adults often dismiss. I'm not saying that every child could survive what Hansel and Gretel endure, but I think about what kids go through every day, and this message resonated with me. It's also a cautionary tale to parents. Parents need to consider carefully what it means to be a parent, and how much they cherish their children. Are children a means to an end, a possession, or are they worth their weight in gold? I'll leave that to people with kids to decide, although I have my own opinions on that.

My verdict on this book is as follows: Read it! If you like fairy tales, you definitely need to read it. If you see this on audio at your library, pick it up, just for fun. Although some parts are pretty tough, this was a very entertaining and often moving story. I borrowed this from my library, but I definitely want to get my own copy to add to my keeper shelf, preferably with my fairy tale collection.

Highly recommended!

[Betsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Didn’t want to read this. Nope. Not a jot. Three reasons for that. First off, the title. I’ve said it about twenty times since reading it and every time I can’t quite get it right (derivations have included "Something Dark and Grimm", “A Grimm Tale”, and “Something Grimm”). Second, the jacket of the hardcover edition of this book isn’t particularly new. Silhouettes against a blue background. Ho hum. Third, I couldn’t believe that I was dealing with yet ANOTHER middle grade novel adapting fairy tales in new ways. After a while the The Sisters Grimm / The Grimm Legacy titles out there begin to meld together. From The Goose Girl to Into the Wild to Sisters Red I sometimes feel as if I am a little tired of fairy tales. I guess it takes a book like A Tale Dark and Grimm to wake me out of this funk. To my surprise, Gidwitz’s debut is unlike anything I’ve ever encountered before. I’ve never seen a book meld the snarky narrator of something like a Lemony Snicket title so seamlessly with the original tone and telling of the original Grimm fairy tales. And not the sweet tales either. This is a book that isn’t afraid to get to the root of a good story. The fact that it unearths some of the more frightening ones along the way just happens to be a bonus.

We all know some of the better known Grimm fairy tales out there like “Rapunzel” or “Cinderella”. Heck, we probably even know some of their original story elements (chopping of heels and toes, getting blinded by thorns, etc.). The Grimm tales were just that. Grim. Now imagine finding yourself living them. Prince Hansel and Princess Gretel are born in one lesser known Grimm fairy tales, “Faithful Johannes” and when they discover that their mom and dad are potentially unhinged they set off to make their way in the world and find some decent parents. In doing so they wander through a series of little known tales like “The Devil With the Three Golden Hairs” and “The Seven Ravens”. Unfortunately, while doing so they have a tendency to lose digits, lose their humanity, lose their lives (almost), and find that sometimes the fastest way to end your travels to go back to where you started.

There are times in a children’s librarian’s life when it is very useful to own the third edition of The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm as translated by Jack Zipes (who, by the way, blurbed this book). You just never know when you might need such a book. In this particular case I decided to inspect the stories Gidwitz appropriated to see exactly how closely they adhered to the originals. I was not disappointed. “Faithful Johannes”? Dead on, including the whole kidnapping the mom bit. "The Devil With the Three Golden Hairs"? At points, nearly word for word. He's often faithful, but sometimes I wondered if Gidwitz was calling upon versions of tales even older than the Grimm’s. The fact that the witch in the story “Hansel and Gretel” isn’t a witch at all but a baker feels like an earlier version of the story. I began to wish that Gidwitz would mention what his sources were when writing this tale. Because even if the baker idea was his own, it feels incredibly authentic.

Gidwitz, I should note, may seem to be adapting the Grimm tales in all their full gore, but he does make a couple alterations here and there. There are the obvious changes that have to be there for one tale to meld into another. The seven ravens are changed to the seven swallows since there are already three ravens of vast importance in this book, and any more would get confusing. And then there are the original elements that still aren’t quite appropriate for a middle grade novel. For example, in A Tale Dark and Grimm Johannes is instructed to bite the queen’s lip. In the original story, it’s her right breast. Ew. A good change then.

I was most intrigued when Gidwitz was at his most original. The story “Brother and Sister” seemingly has little to do with the original tale except that a boy and a girl are living on their own in a forest and the brother is turned into a wild beast. The story “A Smile As Red As Blood” seems closest to “The Robber Bridegroom”, complete with the telltale finger. It might be mixed with another story as well, though. The detail about killing warlocks by boiling them in oil with poisonous snakes felt a little too authentic. After reading for a while, you begin to find you cannot separate Gidwitz's writing from that of the Grimms. At the beginning of the book they are distinct and separate. The Grimms are almost word for word and Gidwitz just throws in a little snarky commentary. Then as the book progresses, more and more of Gidwitz seeps in so that by the end it’s impossible to say what is and isn’t authentic Grimm. Gidwitz’s technique will probably encourage kids to locate their own original Grimm tales. I recommend they lay their hands on Grimm's Grimmest complete with beautifully bloody illustrations by Tracy Dockray (best known for re-illustrating the "Ramona" books).

As for the violence, you can’t say Gidwitz doesn’t warn you. Indeed, before every gross, disgusting, or horrific passage (all authentically Grimm) he is careful to tell the reader things like, “Warning: this next bit is kind of gross” and “No little children around, right?” These stories have been around since long before the Grimms collected them during the early 19th century. Kids loved 'em in the past and from what I hear, kids today just eat this newest book up as well. The gore doesn’t get to them. It’s the parents who can’t take it. For a certain kind of child, this book will be the answer to their painless, bloodless, suburban lives. They’ll get sucked into this book early on and keep reading and reading until before they know it they’ve just finished a story with great writing and a bold theme. And when you talk it up to them you need only say one thing: “This book makes Goosebumps and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark look like pat-a-cake nursery rhymes.”

One does wonder if the narrator in this book isn’t a bit on the nose too often, though. The idea is to show not tell, but Gidwitz indulges in a fair amount of telling. His narrator is prone to saying things like, “Parents are supposed to help their children to grow wise and healthy and strong,” and “… Once Upon a Time, no grown-up was perfect. You, my dear reader, have certainly learned that by now.” He’s more than intrusive. He’s telling you the point of some of these tales, and adding observations of his own along the way. Some folks will be driven batty by this technique. Yet for me, the technique was so obvious from the start that I accepted it. I didn’t mind being told what one thing might mean or another. When you’re dealing with tales as upfront and brassy as the Grimm tales, a little contemporary commentary is more than welcome. This is a book for kids, after all.

Like a lot of middle grade novels out this year (Cosmic, One Crazy Summer, etc.), A Tale Dark and Grimm is about parents and parenting. Says the narrator at one point, “It will happen to you, Dear Reader, at some point in your life. You will face a moment very much like the one Hansel and Gretel are facing right now. In this moment, you will look at your parents and realize that – no matter what it sounds like they are saying – they are actually asking you for forgiveness.” What is forgiveness, for that matter? How do you forgive people when they’ve done terrible things to you? Is there a point where you can let go, and is there harm in holding on to your anger? And how on earth do you take seven or more incredibly violent Grimm fairy tales and turn them into a meaningful story about finding home, finding yourself, and finding what it means to be forgiving? That Gidwitz attempted it in the first place is bizarre. That he succeeds is baffling. The good kind of baffling. With enough blood and guts to satisfy even the most craven of readers, this is the rare horror tale for kids that also happens to have a lot of literary merit as well. The combination crops up in young adult literature all the time, but not so much on the kid side of things. Such books are rarities. This book, a gem. A new idea for some very old literature.

For ages 9-12.

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gidwitz spins a twisted tale that sends Hansel and Gretel into the deep, dark, and sometimes, bloody forest. Not surprisingly, no one there is quite what they seem. The author/narrator frequently warns the reader that bad things are going to happen . . . and, boy - do they ever! Hansel has a Hell of a time, as heads roll, and dragons roar. Gretel's no slouch either, when it comes to taking names, and kicking butt.

Anyone who enjoys their fairy tales on the grisly side should enjoy this story of two tough siblings and their grim adventures.

[☘Misericordia☘ ⚡ϟ⚡⛈⚡☁ ❇️❤❣ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kids, kiddies, more kids & way too much chopping of heads. I say: way too grimm and who's gonna be paying for that shrink for years to come?
Q:
You see, to find the brightest wisdom one must pass through the darkest zones. And through the darkest zones there can be no guide.
No guide, that is, but courage (c)
Q:
The first raven beat his wings beside her. “I’m sorry for my companion’s rudeness,” he said. “We understand the gravity of your situation.” He looked down. “No pun intended, of course.” (c)
Q:
“Kill!” the third raven shrieked, and in one of the more comical acts of heroism Gretel had ever seen, the raven dove at the dragon’s head. The dragon snapped at it, and the raven turned and headed back for the tree. “Retreat!” he cawed. “Temporary retreat!” (c)
Q:
“Avenge the nest!” cried the third raven.
“A bird’s nest is his castle!” cried the second, finally getting into it.
“Habeas corpus!” cried the first, somewhat tangentiallly. (c)

[Michael Finocchiaro · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an awesome re-imagining of Hansel and Gretel. I can’t wait to try the other two Dark Tales!

[Tina➹ lives in Fandoms · Rating 1 out of 5]

1 Star
or maybe 0.5?
idk, I'm just glad it's over

I thought I was going to read an amazing cool retelling about Hansel & Gretel & Grimm stories. (Something like SGE) But Alas.... this book was full of short stories (related but still... they all began with once upon a time...), It was ridiculous & bad written. Mostly telling something (like literally said: 'the villagers were good people') not showing it by the scenes or the characters' behavior & talking & acting in the scene, so reader could decide "well yeah, they are good people."
All the characters stupid & annoying.
Very primitive & rubbish.
Johann was an old ancient fossil!
disgusting & too much blood scenes in revolting ways... which wasn't suitable for kids might think it's good to read
It was like the stories I read when I was a kid, with two differences: This one was gross & boring, I didn't like it at all.
Idk if I'm too old for this stuff (like I feel the same if I read those elementary school stories again- However I have a very active inner child & I like Good Middle Grades) or it was just boring, rubbish & nonsense all by itself.
Too much unrealistic, unbelievable elements.

This cool cover deceived me. I just feel I wasted my money -_-

[Sanaa · Rating 4 out of 5]

[4 Stars] I actually finished this last week but am just now getting to this review. I listened to the audiobook and highly recommend it! It's quirky, different, self-aware, gruesome, but also silly! There was one portion of Hansel's story that I found to be a bit out of place, and sometimes the narrator would be a bit annoying with his repetition of "that's the end of the story etc. etc." Regardless, this was still really enjoyable. I recommend it to those who was something simultaneously grim and silly and to those of you who really like the grimm brothers fairy tales.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

I studied fairy tales a bit in college -- one of my favorite subjects, in fact -- so the premise of this book intrigued me. Imagine if all those children in Grimm stories, the ones who pop up when a poor couple bemoans that they have no children, or who get entrapped by a creepy devil man, or who get killed by their parents, are actually the same two children. They're Hansel and Gretel. And each story, generally culled from the Grimms' work, takes them on a journey of self-discovery and independence. Cool idea, yes? And it is! Unfortunately, the framework that holds the entire story together is a narrator who frequently makes interjections to warn the reader of impending doom. Perhaps in an effort to avoid sounding too Lemony Snickety, the tone of this narrator is excessively casual, jocular to the point of it being grating. I would've appreciated a more...genteel narrator ("Begging your pardon, gentle readers, but I simply must insist that..."). I frequently wished I could read faster just to skip over those bits and get back to the story of Hansel and Gretel, which I loved. Ultimately, I think my interest in this book was mostly due to the subject matter and less the execution/writing style. I'm not sure I'd seek out Gidwitz's next book, but I would be interested to know what he plans to tackle next, and if the subject appealed, I'd go for it.

I will also admit that I'm an old softie so when I read the author's note in the back about how he's a second grade teacher, I melted and he endeared himself to me a bit more. You guys, I cry at things like shuttle launches and stories of old ladies who attend soldiers' funerals, so I can't be trusted.

[Melanie (TBR and Beyond) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would probably rate this one 3.5 but I would have lived for this book as a child. I loved that the author somehow managed to turn something that would normally be a book of different fairy tales, into that weaves them all together by following two young children through-out them all. It was very cleaver and really worked. The violence and gore is quite graphic for a middle-grade novel and I loved it and would've loved it as a kid. If your child is easily frightened then this might not be the book for them though. Fun stuff and I plan on continuing the series.

RTC

[👻🎀Emma 🎀👻 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow,wow,Wow!
This book was AMAZING!
5 massive ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always liked an analogy for reading I once heard from an English teacher: sometimes your relationship with a book can be just like relationships with people. There are people you'll be instantly drawn to because they have a particular charisma or chemistry for you, yet with time you might realize they lack the depth and quality to be a good relationship. And there are people who don't immediately impress you or draw you in, but the more time you spend getting to know them the more they grow on you until one day you realize how awesome they are and how much you value your relationship with them. She usually shared this with students who were ready to dismiss a good book too quickly, to encourage them to keep reading, but I've found it's good advice in the reverse instance, too.

I absolutely loved the introduction to this book, for instance, and instantly assumed it would be great. Then I had to get through a period of disappointment in the middle of the book as I kept reading and realized the device was only good for so much and could get tiresome rather quickly. Luckily, I kept reading even longer until I got to the end and my final assessment is somewhere in the middle.

The device is a snarky, intrusive narrator--somewhere in the mix between Lemony Snicket and the grampa in The Princess Bride (film)--who keeps telling us just how awful and gruesome (and clever) his tales are:

Once upon a time, fairy tales were awesome.

I know, I know. You don't believe me. I don't blame you. A little while ago, I wouldn't have believed it myself. Little girls in red caps skipping around the forest? Awesome? I don't think so.

But then I started to read them. The real, Grimm ones. Very few little girls in red caps in those.

Well, there's one. But she gets eaten. . . .

Before I go on, a word of warning: Grimm's stories--the ones that weren't changed for little kids--are violent and bloody. And what you're going to hear now, the one true tale in The Tales of Grimm, is as violent and bloody as you can imagine.

Really.

So if such things bother you, we should probably stop right now.

You see, the land of Grimm can be a harrowing place. But it is worth exploring. For, in life, it is in the darkest zones one finds the brightest beauty and the most luminous wisdom.

And, of course, the most blood.

That's the start and end of the introduction. What I left out describes the bulk of the book--which is not the narrator but the tales themselves. They are a number of the traditional Grimm tales reworked a bit so they all feature Hansel and Gretel as protagonists to make one larger, ongoing story. The original tone, structure, and style is largely preserved, so the storytelling doesn't focus so much on voice or realism or character as most books do; but it's effective for the source material and if you give things enough of a chance you find those things are there, just in subtle, slow developing ways. This was a fun, worthwhile read in the end, just not quite in the way I expected after reading just the introduction.

[Rachel L · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

“You see, to find the brightest wisdom one must pass through the darkest zones. And through the darkest zones there can be no guide.
No guide, that is, but courage”

This is probably one of the most disturbing books I've ever read, and it's a children's book. That being said, I think this is perfect for the right child, but it definitely not for the faint of heart. A retelling of stories from the Grimm brothers, this book focuses mostly on the dark tales of Hansel and Gretel. There is more to their stories than what we thought, and Gidwitz is telling them all.

“You see, Hansel and Gretel don’t just show up at the end of this story.

They show up.

And then they get their heads cut off.

Just thought you’d like to know.”

I thought the narrative voice in this novel was amazingly done and hysterical. The stories themselves were interesting and compelling. What makes it a 3.5 for me, is this book was way too violent and disturbed for my liking. I enjoyed the book for the most part, but apparently I'm a massive wimp and it was a tad too much for me.

“There is a wisdom in children, a kind of knowing, a kind of believing, that we, as adults, do not have. There is a time when a kingdom needs its children.”


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[Jamey · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was great!! I loved how there was always a twist and how they added allot of characters from fairy tales. I think that it was also a pretty easy read, because I was very intrigued. I think that Gretel was the star of the book between her and Hansel. I would really recommend this book if they like adventure.

[Simona · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4/5



Când zilele de toamnă sunt reci în apropierea Halloween-ului, mulți dintre noi vrem să citim cărți de alt tip: fie ele misterioase, fie ele magice, fie ele înfricoșătoare, acestea ne pot apropia mai mult de atmosfera de toamnă.

O poveste Grimminală  a fost alegerea perfectă pentru mine, întrucât a combinat foarte fain ideea de repovestire a unui basm, elemente înfricoșătoare, și stropi de amuzament. Sunt familiară cu povestea celor doi frați Grimm, Hänsel şi Gretel, însă nu am avut ocazia să citesc originala.

Repovestirea basmului realizată în cazul de față de Adam Gidwitz, a fost mult mai bună decât mă așteptam. Încă din primul capitol de tip poveste, autorul a reușit să mă cucerească prin stilul său (de apreciat și traducerea faină realizată de Florin Bican). Am făcut cunoștință cu cei doi frați Grimm, dar mai mult de atât: chiar am reușit să aflu povestea părinților săi, ale căror acțiuni necugetate îi vor face pe copii să își părăsească căminul.



Din acel moment au pornit toate peripețiile și aventurile lui Hänsel şi Gretel, iar atmosfera a devenit mai înfricoșătoare, și chiar macabră în câteva momente. Combinația dintre clipele fericite și cele cumplite a fost pe placul meu, și m-am mirat că această carte a conținut destul de multe scene îngrozitoare, care îți dau fiori pe șira spinării.

Chiar dacă este o carte cu un final fericit (cum se întâmplă de obicei în basme), am asistat la evoluția protagoniștilor, aceștia devenind din niște copii care mănâncă din case de turtă dulce, și nu au griji, niște persoane serioase, cu dorința de a soluționa probleme.



Cu toate că basmele și poveștile sunt de obicei destinate copiilor, nu aș recomanda această carte copiilor sub 10-11 ani, deoarece conține scene care nu sunt potrivite pentru oricine (sânge, decapitări,  etc.). Pentru restul copiilor (mai mari), cartea este numai bună pentru a vă înfiora un pic, în timp ce apreciați detaliile din backstage pe care Gidwitz ni le oferă despre viața celor doi frați.

Mi s-au părut interesante remărcile pe care autorul le face din când în când, acesta avertizându-ne de mai multe ori înaintea scenelor sângeroase, fiind sarcastic și comic într-un mod aparte, toate acestea dând lecturii un farmec aparte.

Dacă vă plac basmele reinterpretate, și căutați o carte care să vă înfioare în perioada rece a anului, O poveste Grimminală este numai bună pentru voi! Plină de aventură, peripeții, decizii greșite menite să le dea lecții importante personajelor, momente grotești îmbinate cu idei fantastice, cartea lui Adam Gidwitz va reuși să vă captureze în mrejele sale, și să vă atragă așa cum o casă de turtă dulce poate atrage copiii pierduți și înfometați.



Citate:

"Regele năvăli în cameră. Acolo se trezi în fața celui mai frumos portret al celei mai frumoase femei pe care o văzuse în viața lui. Părul ei părea tors dintr-un caier de aur pur. Ochii ei scăpărau asemenea mării într-o zi cu soare. Dar, cu toate acestea, pe buzele ei stăruia o umbră de tristețe și de singurătate.
Tânărul regele o privi doar o dată și se prăbuși fără simțire la podea." (p.16)

"Începu să plângă, iar lacrimile ei se prelinseră în lacul scânteietor. Când atinseră suprafața apei, tulburară unda în care se oglindeau stelele, trezindu-le din somnul lor sclipitor.
- Cine ne-a trezit cu lacrimile sale? întrebară stelele.
La început, Hänsel și Gretel se speriară. Oare și stelele mâncau copii? Dar stelele strălucitoare păreau mult mai binevoitoare decât soarele arzător și luna fantomatică. Gretel le mărturisi atunci toate necazurile." (p.46)

"O puse jos și-i zâmbi. Gretel de-abia mai sufla. O mângâie pe creștet ca pe-un cățel și apoi se întoarse în cârciumă, urmat de toți ceilalți.
Gretel fusese fermecată de flăcău încă de la început. Dar în clipa în care o ridicase în aer și o privise cu ochii lui verzi scânteietori, iar buzele lui roșii se arcuiseră și el râdea - râdea cu ea, numai și numai cu ea -, în clipa aceea, Gretel trecuse dincolo de hotarul farmecului. Gretel se îndrăgostise." (p.68)

"- Îți înțeleg acum propria nechibzuință. La fel și eu. Este important să fii credincios. De asemenea, să sus-ții pe cineva până la capăt. Dar nimic nu este mai prețios decât copiii. Nimic!" (p.117)

"Vedeți voi, pentru a ajunge la cea mai pură și luminoasă înțelepciune, trebuie să traversăm zonele cele mai întunecate. Iar în zonele cele mai întunecate nu există călăuze.
Nu există altă călăuză în afară de curaj, vreau să spun." (p.180)

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.7 Stars

I don't know about you, but Hansel and Gretel was always one of my least favorite fairy tales. They were always so naive, and it felt like they made it out the other side based on chance, and not any particular skill or growth they'd experienced. Here, not so. Here, Adam Gidwitz has imagined a tale that's much longer than the one we know, much more involved, and is actually several shorter tales woven together to tell the whole tale - dark and grimm.

You see, Hansel and Gretel don't just show up at the end of this story.

They show up.

And then they get their heads cut off.

Just thought you'd like to know.

This was, simply, one of the most fun, interesting, and AWESOME retellings I've ever read. I was immediately hooked from the small sample that I read, engaged by Gidwitz's asides to the reader throughout. He's irreverent, snarky, slightly callous, and more than somewhat tactless - and I LOVE it. Beyond his commentary, there's a wonderful ease to the writing of the fairy tales. The voice is simple enough to read aloud to children - though the author warns there are parts that may not be appropriate for them - and fun enough that the whole family will enjoy it.

Before I go on, a word of warning: Grimm's stories--the ones that weren't changed for little kids--are violent and bloody. And what you're going to hear now, the one true tale in The Tales of Grimm, is as violent and bloody as you can imagine.

Really.

So if such things both you, we should probably stop right now.

You see, the land of Grimm can be a harrowing place. But it is worth exploring. For, in life, it is in the darkest zones one finds the brightest beauty and the most luminous wisdom.

And, of course, the most blood.

One of the best things about this expanded tale of Hansel and Gretel is that the characters actually go through quite a lot of growth. We start the (overall) story before they're even born, and go through many adventures with them. Their growth and changes are so subtle that I barely noticed it was happening. Each small experience served to make them stronger, smarter, and more compassionate. Though they are still typical fairy tale characters, there is a lot more personality there than I was expecting.

There is a certain kind of pain that can change you. Even the strongest sword, when placed in a raging fire, will soften and bend and change its form.

This book was a real treat. Fun, silly, bloody, and true to the fairy tale form. I'm definitely looking forward to more from Adam Gidwitz and I'm glad I've got the next two books in the series already on my Kindle.

Once upon a time, fairy tales were awesome.

I know, I know. You don't believe me. I don't blame you. A little while ago, I wouldn't have believed it myself....

You know how it is with stories. Someone tells a story. Then someone repeats it and it changes. Someone else repeats it, and it changes again. Then someone's telling it to their kid and taking out all the scar, bloody scenes--in other words, the awesome parts--and the next thing you know the story's about an adorable little girl in a red cap, skipping through the forest to take cookies to her granny. And you're so bored you've passed out on the floor.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took us a long time to read this book. Since we hadn't finished by the time it was due back at the library, we had to return it before we finished as there were holds on it. So we put it on hold again ourselves and promised to finish it as soon as we could.

It was a great book, filled with fantastic and action-filled stories that were gruesome, but exciting. I have read some about children's ability to detach the written story from reality and be relatively unaffected by gore (more so than with movies and other visual media.) And I believe it.

Our youngest got a bit alarmed in some parts, but mainly I think she got bored by the sheer length of the book. But our oldest was enraptured by this book and we read the last 112 pages all at once, with her urging me to read more at the end of every story. And neither has complained of nightmares, so that's good!

I love that Adam Gidwitz remained true to the tales, reworking them only to fit the context of the overall tale and not deeming it necessary to censor the blook and violence. I love that the stories are old, yet feel timeless.

And best of all, I love the comic asides that breathe a little bit of levity into the tale, especially as things start to get grim (ha ha.) Overall, it was a terrific book and we really enjoyed reading the stories together.

February 2012 update: Our oldest really, really likes this book. She often mentions it as her favorite story. I love that this book has had such an impact on her, since we read this book almost a year ago, and her long-term memory for many of the books we've read together is not all that good. She even chose this book as her selection to read aloud to the class when she was "Super Kid" in her third-grade class the week of 30 Jan - 3 Feb 2012. I discussed the book with her teacher, who was a bit concerned at first, but was okay with the short bit that she read aloud.

interesting quote:
"...there is a wisdom in children, a kind of knowing, a kind of believing, that we, as adults, do not have. There is a time when a kingdom needs its children. These children." (p. 245)

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an odd book...short with a "young" cover painting the book is played for somewhat adult humor played against the back drop of the "original" morality tales (bloody morality tales) told in the Grim Grimm's Fairy Tales. You know the ones where the step sisters try cutting off their toes and then their heels to make them fit in the glass slipper?

Here we're told a story of Hansel and Gretel...but not the one you're familiar with. No with repeated warnings to be sure there are no children in the room we're told a series of adventures from the viewpoint of our young heroes...

Not a bad book, as a matter of fact a pretty good book. I think I'll plan on getting the next in the series...

What? Yes of course it's a series, isn't everything "now-a-days"?

[Sarah K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, I hate traditional literature books, but this was a fabulous book! I loved it! I liked how the author took a simple story of two characters that everyone knows and turned into an amazing detailed, action book! It was a book you want to keep reading to see what happened next. I recommend this book to anyone!! The one thing I didn't like was in some chapters I felt like they should have add more information, because at times I felt it ended so fast with no information. Overall this book is great!

[Josie J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whenever I look back at this book I always remember how much fun it was to read. This book takes the classic from fairy tales from grimm and weaves them perfectly together creating a bigger story. Keeping the messed up parts and not surger coating what happens in the story. With interjection of humor from the author. He talks directly to the reader and I really like that about this book it gives it a unique and charming element. I loved rereading this and I'm so excited to continue my reread of the series.

[Kendra · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book – honestly, I did! The premise is intriguing, and I love fairy tales. Plus it garnered so many glowing reviews that I kept cutting it a bit more slack than I otherwise would have done.

But I found the book to be both dull and irritating. What truly turned me off to this book was the thinness of the plot and the intrusiveness of the narrator. As others have noted, Lemony Snicket this is not -- not even Book 13 Lemony Snicket!

I loved the original tales, so the violence wasn't troubling to me. Sure, I wouldn’t have read it to my kids when they were very small, but there's plenty of bad stuff in Disney stories, and they learnt at a young age to avoid any book or movie with a dog as the main character's best friend after one of their 3rd grade teachers read them Old Yeller and Sounder. (Was that ever traumatic for ME!) In a nutshell, I think it’s important for you to know your kids and what they can handle.

So go try the original Grimm stories!

[Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really shows the adventure and mystical side of stories. This is a third person narration story. It shows the adventures Hansel and Gretel take after running from home for a mysterious reason. The author goes all out in this story and shows a lot of horrific and gross stuff but also has the great descriptions too. I honestly wouldn’t recommend this to people who get sick from the thought of blood because there is a few parts of that in it. I would definitely recommend this to people who’s favourite genres is survival and adventures or people from grade 7 and up.

[Dana-Adriana B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un basm clasic modificat, dar cu note amuzante, mi-a placut. Povestea Hansel si Gretel plina de crime, sange, magie, diavoli, dezamagiri, iertare si impacare. Fetitei mele nu i-a placut aceasta varianta "horror" asa ca am citit-o doar pt mine.

[Shannara · Rating 5 out of 5]

So that was a little dark and Grimm... but in the best way possible! This was such an entertaining book! It grabbed my attention from the start and just wouldn’t let go. This wove together some fairy tales in a way to make them something new and seriously fun. There is quite a bit of gore, but what would a Grimm tale be without some blood here and there. Hansel and Gretel are such great protagonists and I love reading about their troubles and growth. I definitely recommend this to those who like Grimm style tales, a little twisted, kinda sick, but totally entertaining.

[ATheReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5
Not me rereading an actual child’s book for 4 days... I blame school 💀✋🏻
______________
I don’t really have much to say about this book. It is entertaining, it is fun and it is surprisingly gruesome for a children's book. Tell me why this was one of my favorite books a few years ago.. The narrator of the story is engaging, but sometimes slightly annoying. This is definitely a plot-driven book and isn’t very memorable. A good Grimm Brother’s retelling for children.

[George Jankovic · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars for this novel. The author takes a bunch of Grimm brothers' tales--not what you think they are, but the original, bloody ones--and weaves them into one story in which Hansel and Gretel are the protagonists. Then he inserts himself--the narrator--into the story from time to time with wonderful humor.

For example, he will ask whether any "little kids" are still in the room if some gory scenes are coming. Or will just make a funny interjection.

The hapless kids in this story go through a lot of grief and suffering, which changes them profoundly.

5 stars.