Book Review: A Tale Dark & Grimm by Adam Gidwitz

A Tale Dark and Grimm very much lives up to it's title, in that it is dark, gritty, and stays very close to the original Grimm tales. My expectations for this book were not high, mostly due to the fact that it is a children's novel(silly me, always being a book snob. Luckily, this book proved me wrong). I was so worried that Gidwitz would downplay the fairy tales and make them more "child appropriate" (*cough* like Disney *cough*), however he didn't do this at all, this book was bloody and gory, and had all of the gruesome elements that the original tales had. The writing, however, is not for everyone, at times the narration can be intrusive, which doesn't bother me at all, but it might get on some people's nerves. To me, Adam Gidwitz's writing felt very similar to Lemony Snicket's, sometimes sassy, sometimes morbid, but still separate from the story at hand, which makes it feel more like the story is being told to you (which I love). Honestly, this book was almost perfect for me, and would have received 5 stars, but the ending wasn't quite what I wanted, but I suppose it can't be perfect all around. I think this book would be perfect for any fairy tale lover who would like to see some of the more obscure Grimm tales adapted to a new setting.

Book Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder really exceeded all of my expectations I had going into it. Cinder was an awesome heroine, she was flawed in all of the best ways and so very human. I loved her relationship with her step-sister Peony, as well as Iko, her android, I felt that making the character of Cinderella less isolated really empowered her more. I was so worried that the whole futuristic-cyborg element would take so much away from the original fairytale, but I think it truly enhanced it and made it its own story in so many ways, while still keeping that same fairytale tone and feel that I love so much. And I loved that everything Cinder did, she did herself. The plot was intriguing and I found the novel to be such a page-turner. However, I must say that the book was very predictable, and I knew within the first few chapters what the big reveal would be at the end of the novel. I still have to say though that this is now one of my favorite retellings and I can't wait to read Scarlet (as well as Cress, in February).