Author: Schizanthus Nerd

Little Mama – Halim Mahmouidi

This is a confronting and brutal depiction of child abuse and family violence. Brenda’s only a small child when she earns the nickname ‘Little Mama’; she takes on adult responsibilities, looking after her own mother. Brenda’s mother is abusive and while Brenda’s bruises don’t go unnoticed at school, no one intervenes.

Brenda’s life becomes even more volatile when her mother’s new boyfriend moves in. The only good thing in Brenda’s life is her new baby brother, Kevin, who she cares for and adores.

Told mostly in flashbacks while adult Brenda tells her therapist about her traumatic childhood, this is not a fun read. The long term effects of trauma are evident in this story – Brenda’s guilt and shame, the effects on her self esteem, the intrusive nature of the memories – but you also get to see her resilience, despite experiences that understandably made her want to give up at times.

Because this story is told throughout therapy sessions it can feel disjointed at times, but each memory adds to the overall picture. I felt uncomfortable the entire time I was reading, always dreading the next violent act. This made the story feel more authentic to me because that’s what ongoing violence feels like – unable to enjoy any respite because you’re always waiting for the next time.

I fumed at the inaction of everyone who knew (or suspected) what was occurring in this home and failed to protect these children. We can always do better where child protection is concerned; I can only hope this is a story of how things used to be.

The colour scheme felt in keeping with the atmosphere of the story, essentially black and white, offset by a muted green throughout. I may be overthinking this but I did wonder if the green used was intended to mimic a faded bruise, even though it was a softer and prettier green on the screen I viewed the graphic novel on than a bruise is.

Thank you to NetGalley, Lion Forge and Diamond Book Distributors for the opportunity to read this graphic novel.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Life isn’t easy for little Brenda, whose single teenage mum is immature, selfish, and prone to violent mood swings. Brenda takes care of her as best she can, missing out on many childhood joys to be her mother’s Little Mama. Sadly, her already challenging existence gets even worse when her mum’s abusive boyfriend moves in. Brenda loves having a new baby brother, but her home life soon turns into pure living hell. Finally, she reaches her breaking point, and must find the courage to save herself and embark on the difficult road towards recovery. A heartbreaking and inspiring tale of abuse and survival.

Hopping forward and backward through time through the framing device of therapy, the story unfolds as young Brenda recounts her tale, visibly maturing as the book (and sessions) continue. At first, we think it might be a child psychology session, but slowly we realize that it is in fact the adult Brenda merely feeling like the child she was at whatever age she is at during her storytelling.

A powerful story about child abuse, spousal abuse, and surviving the trauma toward hopeful blue skies.

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Not Hungry – Kate Karyus Quinn

Lie #1 – “I’m not hungry.”

June is hungry. All the time. When she’s not starving herself she’s bingeing and purging, but because she’s overweight no one realises she has an eating disorder. All they see is a fat girl on a diet.

“The purging place,”
I call it.

Where I bury my shame.

Lie #2 – “I’m fine.”

June isn’t fine. Neither is her sister, Mae, whose boyfriend treats her like garbage. Neither is Toby, who lives next door and has secrets of his own.

Everyone has secrets.

Lie #3 – “It’ll be okay.”

Like most lies, it’s the thing we most wish was true.

This is a short book written in verse that introduces a variety of issues that many teens deal with, including eating disorders and fat shaming. The story flows well and it was easy to follow along with who everyone was and their relationships to one another.

The ending felt a bit rushed and too neat for me, but I still managed to get all of the answers I wanted. I didn’t become emotionally involved with any of the characters, but I thought the author did well to include all of the details they did with a limited word count. Even though I didn’t get attached to any specific character I could have quite happily strangled Mae’s boyfriend for her and I was certainly not a fan of Toby.

Thank you to NetGalley and West 44 Books, an imprint of Enslow Publishing, for the opportunity to read this book. I love hi-lo books! Hi-Lo are high-interest, low-readability books and I love that I live in a world where these books exist. On their website, West 44 Books advises their young adult books are Reading Level: 3-4, Interest Level: 9-12.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

June is fat. June also has an eating disorder, but no one sees. When she doesn’t eat, her friends and family think they see a fat girl on a diet, not someone starving herself. When June’s secret is found out by Toby, the new boy next door, she is panicked. Then she learns he also has a secret. Everyone has their own little lies.

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The Truth About Keeping Secrets – Savannah Brown

When you live in a fishbowl, everything seems bigger, magnified, and no one was safe. People said that, in Pleasant Hills, everyone got their scandal. Fifteen minutes of infamy. I was to get more.

Sydney’s father, the only therapist in Pleasant Hills, has died. Sydney isn’t convinced her dad’s car accident was accidental. After all, he knew all of his clients’ secrets and maybe one of those secrets got him killed. And why was June Copeland, golden girl of Pleasant Hills, at his funeral?

The November of my junior year became permanently etched into my mind as the first month of June.

Told in a strangely beautiful way, this is a story about a grief that’s so pervasive it feels like it could eat you alive, fear so tangible it may choke you if you don’t find a way to escape or confront it, and obsession disguised as love.

Abstract is scarier than physical. Unknown is scarier than known – not because of what it is, but because of all the things it could be.

With the heightened drama of adolescence and undercurrents of potential danger and ongoing mystery, I found myself hooked from the first page and wished on more than one occasion that it was socially acceptable to highlight my library book.

June convinced me that we were all open books if only we found the right person to read us.

I was caught up in Sydney’s grief and loneliness from the beginning and liked her, even when she was being a crappy friend, because she was so relatable. I could easily imagine someone thinking and feeling the way she did, and I respected that her grief wasn’t pretty and contained. Her strengths and quirks felt authentic.

I adored Leo and wish I could have gotten to know him better. For a while it seemed like he would get the page time he deserved but gradually he began to feel like he was only there to provide Sydney with a specific skill set.

I enjoyed the mystery surrounding June and liked her complexity but one thing she did that annoyed the hell out of me was, like, how often she, like, said, “like”, like that. I found her character fascinating but, honestly, each time she said “like” I wanted to claw her eyes out. I did have some nostalgic “dude” moments with her though, offset by ‘wow, is “dude” back?’

I did pick up on a few clues early on that gave away some of the spoilery bits but that may be my life experience showing rather than an indication that this book was predictable.

I can’t believe a 22 year old wrote this! I didn’t even know who I was at 22 and here this woman is, writing a book that made me want to keep digging deeper into the lives of book friends I only met a few days ago. I’m definitely going to be looking out for this author’s next novel.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Sydney’s dad is the only psychiatrist for miles around their small Ohio town.

He is also unexpectedly dead.

Is Sydney crazy, or is it kind of weird that her dad-a guy whose entire job revolved around other peoples’ secrets-crashed alone, with no explanation?

And why is June Copeland, homecoming queen and the town’s golden child, at his funeral?

As the two girls grow closer in the wake of the accident, it’s clear that not everyone is happy about their new friendship.

But what is picture perfect June still hiding? And does Sydney even want to know? 

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Grey Land #2: The Invasion – Peadar Ó Guilín

The Invasion is a 2019 Hugo Awards finalist in the Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book category.

In The Call we were introduced to Nessa and Anto. Despite incredible odds they both survived their Calls, so this should be the story of their happily ever after, right? Yeah, maybe not. Your first clue is the book’s title, The Invasion. Any happiness is fleeting and we’re at war here, people! There may not even be an ever after!

Three minutes and four seconds. That’s how long the Called are missing. Then they come back, living or dead; twisted into hideous shapes or bewildered and whole. But return they always do. Or at least they used to.

This sequel introduces plenty of new characters but also continues the story of some we’ve already spent time with. I was looking forward to the continuation of Nessa and Anto’s story. I was surprised that Aoife’s role increased as she didn’t make a huge impression on me in the first book. I was eager to see what the consequences of Melanie’s actions in the first book would be.

We made the Sídhe into monsters, now they make monsters of us.

I found I either loved or hated the women in this book. I loved Karim and Taaft, who commanded respect with their strength, leadership, determination and bravery. Although they were badasses in battle, they weren’t one dimensional; they cared about the people they fought alongside and had stories that extended beyond their job descriptions.

The professor intrigued me and I wished for more time to get to know them. They did not get anywhere near the page time that I had hoped they would. I wanted more time with Melanie as well (although the resolution of her story satisfied me) and I wanted to find out what happened after we saw Angela last. I had high hopes for Liz Sweeney but her contribution to the story fell flat for me.

When characters refer to themselves in the third person I find it infuriating so Annie quickly became the character I most wanted the Sídhe to play with – “But Annie has seen it all, so she has.”, “Annie feels”, “Annie doesn’t like”. Ugh! She’s right here, Sídhe! Come and get her!

Most of the people who died in this book were simply names to me. I didn’t know much, if anything, about them so their deaths didn’t even make me pause. The one death that I thought should have had an emotional impact didn’t.

Although I didn’t come away with any substantial emotional connections I loved being able to revisit the Grey Land and enjoyed the introduction of some of its landscape and creatures I wasn’t previously aware of. Like piranha bats! And sniffers!

I had no idea what was going to happen next during The Call, other than the certainty that most of the characters I met would not survive, of course. Unfortunately I found The Invasion quite predictable. This may be because I already knew some of the rules at play in the Many-Coloured and Grey Lands but I found myself highlighting key sentences, knowing they were important before the characters did and more often than not I knew what those sentences foretold. I even figured out who the Big Bad was as soon as I met them and found them underwhelming.

Despite this I was satisfied by the ending, with key characters behaving how I hoped they would when faced with horrors. I’m caught between wishing The Call had been a standalone and glad I read the sequel.

Although this book does provide enough answers for the story to be “Called” complete, other potential worlds were mentioned briefly but not explored. I love the Sídhe so much and would joyfully read on if their world ever collided with another.

Once Upon a Nitpick or Two: The first time something was likened to a cartoon or a cartoon character I enjoyed the visual. I was over it by the fourth time it happened. There were also more typos remaining in the Kindle version I purchased than I would have liked.

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Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

After so much danger, Nessa and Anto can finally dream of a happy life. But the terrible attack on their school has created a witch-hunt for traitors – boys and girls who survived the Call only by making deals with the enemy. To the authorities, Nessa’s guilt is obvious. Her punishment is to be sent back to the nightmare of the Grey Land for the rest of her life. The Sídhe are waiting, and they have a very special fate planned for her.

Meanwhile, with the help of a real traitor, the enemy come pouring into Ireland at the head of a terrifying army. Every human they capture becomes a weapon. Anto and the last students of his old school must find a way to strike a blow at the invaders before they lose their lives, or even worse, their minds. But with every moment Anto is confronted with more evidence of Nessa’s guilt.

For Nessa, the thought of seeing Anto again is the only thing keeping her alive. But if she escapes, and if she can find him, surely he is duty-bound to kill her …

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Speak: The Graphic Novel – Laurie Halse Anderson

Illustrations – Emily Carroll

If ever a story seemed destined to become a graphic novel, it’s Speak, which I finally read for the first time less than two months ago, and it was everything! I feared I’d Humpty Dumpty while reading Speak, which is why it took so long for me to gather the courage to finally begin reading it. I wish I’d had a Speak to tell me I wasn’t alone when I was Melinda’s age.

I asked my library to buy this graphic novel for me and they did! I love my library! I was under the delusion that I’d read this once and then move on. Hah! As if I wasn’t going to then buy a copy for myself immediately so I could reread it to my heart’s content!

Much like my experience with the novel I kept the graphic novel near me, planning to read it all month, but once again I was afraid of Humpty Dumptying. It’s due tomorrow and someone else has reserved it so I could avoid it no longer. But like Speak before it, it was AMAZING!!!

I’m left with a cacophony of exclamations fighting to be the loudest in my head:

”Where has this graphic novel been my whole life?!”

“Everyone need to read this!”

“How different could my life have been if this had been published when I was Melinda’s age?!”

“This graphic novel is going to introduce Laurie’s story to a whole new audience!”

“The illustrations portray the aftermath of sexual assault perfectly!”

Everything I said in my Speak review stands but Emily Carroll’s illustrations have brought Melinda’s story to life in a way that, while maintaining Laurie’s sensitive portrayal, provides a whole new dimension to it, showing what life after sexual assault can look like.

You get to watch Melinda’s expressions as she attempts to navigate high school, the same high school where It walks the halls. You can’t help but see how the trauma is affecting her throughout the story. You witness her growing from a scared rabbit to someone who not only has a voice but uses it! I got to see her turkey-bone sculpture outside of my imagination and it was perfect! (Apologies for the dodgy image. I took a photo of this page in my library book.)

I got to see what Melinda’s final tree looks like and I loved it. The only thing that could have made that image even better for me would be if a splash of colour had been added. Greyscale works perfectly for this book but a hint of colour (probably green for symbolism) would have delighted me.

I’ve never done this before but I’m going to add a couple of Post-it’s before I return this book to the library. While I’d never actually deface a library book I want to add the phone number of my state’s Rape Crisis Centre to the list of resources and a little something to let future borrowers know that they’re not alone.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

The modern classic Speak is now a graphic novel.

“Speak up for yourself – we want to know what you have to say.” 

From the first moment of her freshman year at Merryweather High, Melinda knows this is a big fat lie, part of the nonsense of high school. She is friendless – an outcast – because she busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops, so now nobody will talk to her, let alone listen to her. Through her work on an art project, she is finally able to face what really happened that night: She was raped by an upperclassman, a guy who still attends Merryweather and is still a threat to her.

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Grey Land #1: The Call – Peadar Ó Guilín

What was I thinking?! I discovered this book in 2016 and gave my initial read ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. What?? This is clearly a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ book! I’d borrow more stars right now if that was possible!

Put to the ultimate test for your survival, you will find out exactly what you’re made of when you’re Called; literally if you’re not quick enough, wily enough or lucky enough. At some point during your adolescence you will be Called to the Grey Land. Your body will return, dead, alive or somewhere in between, exactly three minutes and four seconds after you disappear, but in the Grey Land you must survive an entire day of horror beyond measure.

Cowards have the opportunity to become heroes. Those who are certain they will survive aren’t so sure once they breathe in the acrid air and encounter the first of the Sídhe (fairy, in English) who want to play with them, agonisingly twisting and reshaping their body beyond recognition.

‘The Nation must survive! The future is ours!’

With only one out of ten people surviving the Call it’s wise to not get too emotionally attached to anyone. However it’s impossible not to have a few of the teens penetrate your protective emotional armour. My favourite character doesn’t survive their Call but their time in the Grey Land proved to me exactly why I loved them from the moment I met them.

While at first glance it seems clear who the monsters of this story are, the longer I read the more I questioned my initial judgement. It appears there are monsters on both sides of this war and I felt some surprising empathy for the Sídhe as I learned more of their history.

This is the spirit of the Call itself. Deadly and inevitable and imminent.

This is one seriously messed up fairy (Sídhe) tale and I love it! It’s a brutal and at times quite gory story, with characters I cheered on to survive (or otherwise), and locations that came to life in my mind. This is definitely not a world I would ever want to visit because there’s no way I’d survive the Call, but I was fully immersed the entire time in this imaginative, well thought out world.

I have the Hugo Awards to thank for finally getting my act together to reread it. The Invasion is a finalist in the 2019 Hugo Awards category, Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book, so I had the perfect excuse to revisit the awesome horror of the Grey Land in The Call.

Books within the book: I wish I could get my hands on the hundred page History of the Sídhe book mentioned in The Call, as well as all the volumes of the Testimonies.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Imagine a world where you might disappear any minute, only to find yourself alone in a grey sickly land, with more horrors in it than you would ever wish to know about. And then you hear a horn and you know that whoever lives in this hell has got your scent and the hunt has already begun.

Could you survive the Call?

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Abandoned Palaces – Michael Kerrigan

I love abandoned places photography! I adore the atmosphere, the haunting quality of the images and imagining the history of the buildings and those who have lived in or visited them.

Most of the collections of abandoned places I’ve seen have focused on the buildings’ interiors. This book includes some interior photos as well as some bird’s-eye view shots that show an interesting blend of interior and exterior. However, a greater proportion show the overall exterior of the building, with sections of facades crumbling on some and nature overrunning others, and I really enjoyed those photos. I particularly liked those that highlight the contrast between neglected architecture and flourishing greenery surrounding it (and oftentimes growing over it).

The descriptions that accompany each image are succinct; you learn enough to provide context but not so much that the information overwhelms the picture. Each section includes a short introduction to the overall location: The Americas and Caribbean, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East, and Asia and the Pacific.

Each time I look through this book (three times so far) different photos catch my eye and details I’ve previously missed stand out. I do have a few favourites that I expect will remain, no matter how many times I return. The one that stands out the most and that I most desperately need to visit is Pidhirsti Palace in Lviv, Ukraine.

The original photo by LALS STOCK can be found on Shutterstock here. Editing of the image in this book (or it may be because I’m reading an ARC) has given it a creepier feel than the original, but that has added to my love for this particular photo.

Although the colour feels off (again, this could be due to my viewing an ARC on an iPad) my favourite photo that showed some interior was of Ladendorf Castle in Mistelbach, Austria.

I loved that this open door felt like an invitation and, although it’s actually a courtyard you’re getting a glimpse of, I immediately imagined that a path out of view behind this building would lead intrepid explorers to another world. (That is one of the reasons why I love photography so much; it awakens my imagination.) This photo of Ladendorf Castle is by Viennaslide and can be found on Alamy here.

I was quite disappointed to learn that the photos were all sourced from stock image sites: 123RF, Alamy, Dreamstime, FLPA, Getty Images, Globallookpress.com, iStock and Shutterstock. In the past I’ve enjoyed collections of abandoned places photos by a single artist; I find this provides more of a cohesive feel to the project and gives me a sense of their ‘eye’ by the end of the book. I also enjoy the anecdotes a photographer can provide based on their experiences shooting at specific locations.

These details are missing here; this isn’t necessarily a bad thing but is certainly something I would have liked to have known before I started reading/looking. Also missing are the interior photos that show details of abandoned items that I love to pore over; they provide a small but important connection for me to the history of the buildings and the people who spent time there.

To be taken with a grain of salt as this relates to the ARC: There were some photos that appeared underexposed and others that appeared to have been edited so the colour was unnaturally saturated in places. These may be artistic choices by the individual photographers or the book’s editor or could be due to the fact that I viewed an advanced copy on an iPad. These comments may be entirely irrelevant once this book has been published.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amber Books for the opportunity to view this book.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

From imperial residences and aristocratic estates to hotels and urban mansions, Abandoned Palaces tells the stories behind dilapidated structures all around the world.

Built to impress, built with style and grandeur, built, above all, to last: it’s all the more remarkable when buildings such as these fall into disrepair and become ruins. From ancient Roman villas to the French colonial hill station in Cambodia that was one of the final refuges of the Khmer Rouge, Abandoned Palaces charts the decline of what were once the homes and holiday resorts of the super wealthy.

Ranging from crumbling hotels in the Catskills or in Mozambique, to grand mansions in Taiwan, to an unfinished Elizabethan summerhouse, to a modern megalomaniac’s partially completed estate, they were deserted for reasons including politics, bankruptcy, personal tragedies, natural and man-made disasters, and changing tastes and fashions. Filled with stunning, nostalgic images, this volume is a brilliant and moving examination of worlds left behind.

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Three Rancheros #1: Raymie Nightingale – Kate DiCamillo

“Have you ever in your life come to realize that everything, absolutely everything, depends on you?”

Raymie is learning how to twirl a baton. If she can master that, then surely she’ll be crowned Little Miss Central Florida Tire 1975. Then her father will see her photograph in the newspaper and come back home. See, he ran off with Lee Ann, the dental hygienist, two days ago.

Louisiana also plans to win the contest. Beverly plans to sabotage it. These three unlikely friends meet during one of Ida Nee’s baton-twirling lessons and quickly become the Three Rancheros.

Raymie is sad, Louisiana is scared and Beverly is angry. Together they face fears and painful truths, supporting one another along the way. They also search for Archie, the King of the Cats, and meet a one eyed dog named Buddy, not Bunny.

I really liked the supporting characters in this book, especially Mrs Sylvester, who has the best work phone banter ever (“How may we protect you?”), and Mrs Borkowski, who asks great questions and whose catchphrase seems to be “Phhhhtttt.”

“And I wonder what will become of us. Don’t you wonder what will become of us?”

I was left needing more information about Louisiana and Beverly, so thankfully they have their own books. I would have been so disappointed if the Three Rancheros’ story ended here, when I have so many unanswered questions. Now I need to revisit Louisiana’s story (yes, I read the second book first!) before I find out more about Beverly, who I suspect may wind up being my favourite Ranchero.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Raymie Clarke has come to realize that everything, absolutely everything, depends on her. And she has a plan. If Raymie can win the Little Miss Central Florida Tire competition, then her father, who left town two days ago with a dental hygienist, will see Raymie’s picture in the paper and (maybe) come home.

To win, not only does Raymie have to do good deeds and learn how to twirl a baton; she also has to contend with the wispy, frequently fainting Louisiana Elefante, who has a show-business background, and the fiery, stubborn Beverly Tapinski, who’s determined to sabotage the contest.

But as the competition approaches, loneliness, loss, and unanswerable questions draw the three girls into an unlikely friendship – and challenge each of them to come to the rescue in unexpected ways.

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More Walls Broken – Tim Powers

“Divergent reality, quantum mechanics! Ghost raising!”

Vitrielli was working on transmigration of souls before he died. Ainsworth and Blaine need information from him. Cobb just wants tenure and got roped into this late night expedition to the cemetery. They had planned to summon Vitrielli’s ghost and take him back to the lab in a thermos to question him but naturally things didn’t turn out as expected.

“His memory is what we want. What he took away with him.”

I’m all for parallel universes and ghosts, and I loved that chocolate was one of the items required to attract ghosts in this novella (who isn’t attracted by chocolate?!), but ultimately the hype I created in my own mind let me down.

I wished for this novella on NetGalley (which was always going to be a long shot) and then patiently waited for its release, hoping I’d be able to buy the ebook. In the meantime I read an excerpt which hyped me up even more. I kept trying to find ways to buy the ebook but because I live outside of America that wasn’t an option. (Oh, the joys of loving books and not living in the bookish promised land!) I finally asked my library to buy it for me and they did! I love my library! But after months of anticipation I think my expectations became unrealistically high.

I enjoyed this story. Really, I did. It flowed well. It was written well. It left me half satisfied by the ending and half wanting more, which I quite enjoy in a story. I’d just hoped for something more groundbreaking and less predictable. I was waiting for all hell to break loose and, while the ramifications of this trio’s experiment with the afterlife were interesting, the story was a lot more contained than I had hoped.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

As this ingenious new novella, More Walls Broken, begins, a trio of academics have just entered a deserted California cemetery late at night, bringing with them a number of arcane devices aimed at achieving an equally arcane purpose. What follows is the sort of dizzying, mind-expanding entertainment that only the always reliable, always astonishing Tim Powers could have written.

These three men, professors in the “Consciousness Research” department at Cal Tech University, have come together to perform a seemingly impossible task. Their goal: to open a door between the world of the living and the world of the dead, and to capture the ghost of the recently deceased scientist Armand Vitrielli. For their own desperate reasons, they hope to avail themselves of the secrets Vitrielli left behind at the time of his death. Their experiment, naturally, fails to come off exactly as planned.

A door between the worlds does, in fact, open, letting in something – someone – completely unexpected, and setting in motion a chain of events that will reverberate throughout the narrative.

Intricate, intelligent, and always thoroughly absorbing, More Walls Broken mixes fantasy and quantum physics in utterly unique fashion. The result is a brilliantly imagined account of multiple realities and unintended consequences that is pure dazzle, pure storytelling, pure – and unmistakable – Tim Powers. In book after book, story after story, Powers has set the standard for literate imaginative fiction. With this essential, beautifully realised novella, he has done it once again.

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Darkwood – Gabby Hutchinson Crouch

This book was so much fun! I can’t wait for the sequel!

Do not go into the Darkwood, children. It’s a cursed place, and so big and so dangerous that once you go in you’ll never come out again. You’ll become just another lost creature, aimlessly wandering amongst those black and twisted trees forever. Even the dead aren’t safe in the Darkwood. Nobody is safe.

Gretel lives in Nearby Village with her twin, Hansel, and their stepparents. Unfortunately for Gretel, she’s female so she must be very careful how she behaves, lest she be branded as a witch. Worse still, she’s smart, using maths, physics and engineering to design marvellous defences that protect Nearby from the scary monsters who live across the river in the Darkwood. Yep, she’s got to be a witch if she knows maths!

Accused of the abomination of witchcraft by Huntsmen, Gretel winds up in the Darkwood, where she’s faced with the terrifying creatures she’s been warned about her entire life. Witches like Buttercup, who can turn inanimate objects into baked goods with her touch; sometimes even on purpose! People like Jack, who can make plants grow at will. There’s also a magical talking spider called Trevor, who is a master of disguise. They’re not exactly the villains she thought they were. Then there’s the White Knight who, well, can be kind of abrasive, actually.

It’s up to Gretel and this diverse bunch of magical outcasts to find a way to protect both the Darkwood and Nearby Village from the ruling Huntsmen, who may well be the true villains in this story.

With action, humour and some magical mayhem, Gabby Hutchinson Crouch reimagines some well known fairy tale characters and places them in situations where they need to use their combined talents, inventiveness and wit to challenge the roles they’ve been cast in by those in power.

The characters were well rounded, a wonderful blend of scared and courageous, damaged and determined, flawed and resilient. This wasn’t a tale with just one shining star; everyone was interesting in their own way, although I admit I was quite partial to Trevor, the talking spider. I mean, come on, he wears sunglasses as one of his disguises! How adorable is that?!

On the surface this is a highly entertaining tale that makes you want to cheer on the underdogs. Scratch the surface though and you’ll learn (or be reminded of) some valuable lessons in what it means to be human. Despite tackling themes of how we dehumanise those we categorise as ‘other’ and the corruption that can grow unchecked when those in power are not held accountable, I never felt I was being preached at.

There’s so much of the Darkwood and its surrounding towns and villages still to explore. I can’t wait to get to know the Swamp Mermaids more, finally meet the bear and wolf witches of the north, and visit the eastern woods.

‘What’s in the eastern woods?’ ‘You don’t want to know.’

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Farrago, an imprint of Prelude Books, for the opportunity to read this book. Oh, and a final word of warning: if you follow these characters into the Darkwood, make sure you adhere to the usual Bin Night precautions!

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

You mustn’t go into the Darkwood, children. Not even to get your ball. Leave it. That ball belongs to the Witches and the Beasties, now. Those wicked Witches. Stealing your ball. Magic is forbidden in Myrsina, along with various other abominations, such as girls doing maths.

This is bad news for Gretel Mudd, who doesn’t perform magic, but does know a lot of maths. When her clever inventions prompt the sinister masked Huntsmen who run the country to accuse her of Witchcraft, she is forced to flee into the neighbouring Darkwood, where all the Witches and Monsters dwell.

There, she happens upon Buttercup, a Witch who can’t help turning things into gingerbread, Jack Trott, who can make plants grow at will, the White Knight with her band of Dwarves and a talking spider called Trevor. These aren’t the terrifying villains she’s been warned about all her life. They’re actually quite nice. Well … most of them.

With the Huntsmen on the warpath, Gretel must act fast to help the Witches save both the Darkwood and her home village, while unravelling the rhetoric and lies that have demonised magical beings for far too long.

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