A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz

Gidwitz, Adam A Tale Dark and Grimm, 256 pages, Dutton Children's books, 2010, Swears- G (0 swears, 0 F) Sexual content- G Violence- PG.  

Faerie tales have been passed down for a long time. Long enough that nobody even knows anything about them anymore really. The original tales are filled with violence and gore, and this book leaves out none of that. "A Tale Dark and Grimm" follows the adventures of Hansel and Gretel as they not only face child eating bakers, but also murderers, monsters, a dragon, a child eating moon, and even the devil himself. It weaves the Grimm brothers' tales into a long and well-written story, complete with witty commentary. But remember, this book is not for the kiddies. They can go on believing that the world of Grimm is happy and nice and cheerful. This book is not for the weak of heart.  The author of this book definitely has a wide knowledge of the Grimm Brothers' tales, and did a fantastic job of combining them together into an amazing story that kept me completely entranced with horror and excitement the entire way. I was glad that it featured the less well-known of Grimm's stories like the Seven Ravens (Sparrows in this story) and A Smile Red as Blood. Those are the most thrilling of fairy tales, filled with a lot of Awesomeness, as the author puts it. If I were to rate this out of ten with ten being the best, this book definitely gets a twelve and a half.   MS, HS - ADVISABLE, Student Reviewer: BT