Book #6: The Fairy-Tale Detectives

Since I'm still working the reference desk at the public library one day a week, and since I do want to be as informed as possible about reading suggestions for young people when I go on the job market in a month or two, I decided I would indulge my desires to read juvenile fiction. I found a mention of a series for older elementary school readers called The Sisters Grimm. It's a relatively new series, but it has already achieved the distinction of being on the NYT Bestsellers List. I figured this variety of recommendations could earn the book a spot on my to-read list.

I knew right off the bat that I'd enjoy the whole premise of the first book in the series, The Fairy-Tale Detectives. After the disappearance of their parents and a stint in an orphanage, the two Grimm sisters suddenly find themselves living with a grandmother whom they thought dead. Granny Grimm, though alive, does seem a bit on the odd side. She talks to her house, cooks brightly technicolored foods... Oh, yeah, and she lives in a town inhabited almost exclusively by fairy tale characters. When things go awry, it's up to Granny Grimm to solve any problems and mysteries. And when Granny Grimm is carried away by a giant? Well, then it falls to the sisters Grimm to do their best to save the day.

I found one of the main characters, Sabrina Grimm, to be a bit whiny in her thoughts to herself--I wouldn't have chosen her as the focus of third person limited point of view as author Michael Buckley did. The pace of the story moved pretty quickly, however, and those slightly tedious passages where Sabrina is a bit too much in her own head go by quickly.

The characterization of famous fairy tale characters is really superb. Beauty and the Beast gossiping with the Three Blind Mice while waiting to enter Prince Charming's ball? Yes, please! I'd suggest this book to children who enjoy both mystery and fantasy stories, and to adults who enjoy clever fractured fairy tales and are looking for a bit of escape in their reading.