The Sisters Grimm by Menna van Praag
Evening BookWyrms,
Let's talk about fairytales.
Look I love stories that have Princesses, Witches, Princes and a true love's kiss. I love pumpkin carriages, love at first sight, enchanted sleep and daring tower rescues, of course I do.
But……...
More than that, I love those old school tales. The ones that have twisted, sick, moral messages attached to them and very violent, bloody endings. I like the creepy way we use them to scare children into behaving. I love the magic of them. I love the way we tell them as if they are family stories handed down from generation to generation. Basically I love fairytales.
And this includes retellings, reimaginings and modernised versions of them. And let’s be honest the bookshelves of our libraries and our bookstores are full of them at the moment.
The Sisters Grimm firmly falls into the latter group of fairytale books - it is dark, let me preface all of the below with that statement. When I saw The Sisters Grimm on NetGalley I knew I had to try to get a copy! Clearly my bookish Fairy Godmother was listening because I got approved for an E-Arc.
The problem with the app I get my E-Arc’s on is that it never comes with the cover art, so I have to get on the old Google and Nancy Drew it!
On this occasion Google gave me both the UK and US cover art. The UK cover is stunning! It's classy and magical, dark and enticing, however, it was the US cover, featuring images of our four empowered women, that drew me in. The cover is awash with bolder, brighter colours which hint at the power within the story. I've included the link to the Goodreads page with both editions so have a look and tell me which one you prefer.
https://www.goodreads.com/work/editions/68989438-the-sisters-grimm
The blurb that I read is below. Although it made me want to read the book in hindsight I feel it doesn't do it enough justice:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is the story of four sisters Grimm – daughters born to different mothers on the same day, each born out of bright-white wishing and black-edged desire. They found each other at eight years-old, were separated at thirteen and now, at nearly eighteen, it is imperative that they find each other once again.
In thirty-three days they will meet their father in Everwhere. Only then will they discover who they truly are, and what they can truly do. Then they must fight to save their lives and the lives of the ones they love. Three will live, one will die. You’ll have to read on to find out who and why…
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Sisters Grimm isn't so much a retelling as a merging of fairytale fantasy and real world drama. This book is the product of fairytale heroines battling everyday life and battling to find their own strengths as women, as adults, as forces to be reckoned with. This is about fairytale descendants getting a feminist makeover and then going toe to toe with the magical patriarchy.
The story focuses on the power of women; the truth behind the sentiment that there is strength in numbers. The struggle for power between women and men and sisterhood. The multiple POV storytelling is right up my alley and each female voice is clearly and remarkably different - which can be tricky to master but was delivered really well.
The storytelling itself is lush, vibrant, vivid and Menna van Praag paints such a brilliantly clear picture of Everwhere that it becomes a character in and of itself; I could clearly see it in my mind as I read each page.
However, I did struggle to get into the book at first. For some reason the first 200 pages, which are crucial to setting up the whole story and really necessary to give you an insight into each of our four protagonists, were really slow reading for me. But once I’d pushed through those the pace of the book picked up and suddenly I couldn't put it down. I could feel the story hurtling towards an epic and somewhat painful conclusion and I wondered why I’d had a hard time getting into it. Even now I still don’t know why and I would caution anyone thinking of reading this book not to be put off by my struggle.
The last 100 pages were a proper roller coaster ride of emotion for me. With at least two major plot twists that I had not seen coming and a character arc that broke my heart. The end of this story was a real winner for me!
This is a fantasy book, without a doubt, but the issues the sisters face are real. Struggling with acceptance, struggling with self identity, struggling with illness, struggling with death, struggling with family. All things we face in the real world.
I do feel that this book should have trigger warnings, which I am going to list here, obviously if you don’t want any spoilers about the book before hand then ignore this part:
1. Self Harm
2. Mental Health Issues
3. Dementia/Alzheimer's disease
4. LGBTQ (as in the struggle to come out/identify openly)
5. Sexual Abuse (Implied/mentioned but not overtly described)
6. Arranged Marriage
A little more info on point 4 here. So one of the characters is LGBTQ and this is great because it is very casually part of the story. However, I did take issue with the way a certain family member dealt with the reveal - which in my opinion was very blase and dismissive without really discussing it or connecting with it. As a member of the LGBTQ community myself it is important for me to see our issues represented in many various ways within books, especially fantasy books. I think what I’m trying to say is that I wish more fantasy books just normalised LGBTQ characters and just made everyone chill about it - so that it becomes something that isnt ‘other’ or ‘different’ and isn't something used as a plot device or a motive/trauma for action.
Okay spoilery rant over.
My favourite character had to be Bea. Her voice is fierce and bold and unapologetic which I adored. She grows and changes throughout the story which I really appreciate. I also need to give an honorable mention to Scarlet and her Grandma’s obsession with cinnamon rolls - every time they were mentioned (which was a lot by the way) I could feel my mouth watering and wanted one! In fact even writing this makes me want one!
To wrap up I’d like to say that this is a good book. It is worth a read. I struggled getting into it, but just because I did doesn't mean you will, and once I did push through - this book ticks a lot of my boxes. It is a strong female lead fantasy about sisterhood above all else.
The book publishes on the 6th February 2020 (31st March 2020 in the US) and here is the link to pre-order:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sisters-Grimm-Menna-van-Praag/dp/1787631664
Thanks to NetGalley and Transworld (Bantam Press) for letting me read and review this.
As always, keep on reading,
Lottie
Let's talk about fairytales.
Look I love stories that have Princesses, Witches, Princes and a true love's kiss. I love pumpkin carriages, love at first sight, enchanted sleep and daring tower rescues, of course I do.
But……...
More than that, I love those old school tales. The ones that have twisted, sick, moral messages attached to them and very violent, bloody endings. I like the creepy way we use them to scare children into behaving. I love the magic of them. I love the way we tell them as if they are family stories handed down from generation to generation. Basically I love fairytales.
And this includes retellings, reimaginings and modernised versions of them. And let’s be honest the bookshelves of our libraries and our bookstores are full of them at the moment.
The Sisters Grimm firmly falls into the latter group of fairytale books - it is dark, let me preface all of the below with that statement. When I saw The Sisters Grimm on NetGalley I knew I had to try to get a copy! Clearly my bookish Fairy Godmother was listening because I got approved for an E-Arc.
The problem with the app I get my E-Arc’s on is that it never comes with the cover art, so I have to get on the old Google and Nancy Drew it!
On this occasion Google gave me both the UK and US cover art. The UK cover is stunning! It's classy and magical, dark and enticing, however, it was the US cover, featuring images of our four empowered women, that drew me in. The cover is awash with bolder, brighter colours which hint at the power within the story. I've included the link to the Goodreads page with both editions so have a look and tell me which one you prefer.
https://www.goodreads.com/work/editions/68989438-the-sisters-grimm
The blurb that I read is below. Although it made me want to read the book in hindsight I feel it doesn't do it enough justice:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is the story of four sisters Grimm – daughters born to different mothers on the same day, each born out of bright-white wishing and black-edged desire. They found each other at eight years-old, were separated at thirteen and now, at nearly eighteen, it is imperative that they find each other once again.
In thirty-three days they will meet their father in Everwhere. Only then will they discover who they truly are, and what they can truly do. Then they must fight to save their lives and the lives of the ones they love. Three will live, one will die. You’ll have to read on to find out who and why…
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Sisters Grimm isn't so much a retelling as a merging of fairytale fantasy and real world drama. This book is the product of fairytale heroines battling everyday life and battling to find their own strengths as women, as adults, as forces to be reckoned with. This is about fairytale descendants getting a feminist makeover and then going toe to toe with the magical patriarchy.
The story focuses on the power of women; the truth behind the sentiment that there is strength in numbers. The struggle for power between women and men and sisterhood. The multiple POV storytelling is right up my alley and each female voice is clearly and remarkably different - which can be tricky to master but was delivered really well.
The storytelling itself is lush, vibrant, vivid and Menna van Praag paints such a brilliantly clear picture of Everwhere that it becomes a character in and of itself; I could clearly see it in my mind as I read each page.
However, I did struggle to get into the book at first. For some reason the first 200 pages, which are crucial to setting up the whole story and really necessary to give you an insight into each of our four protagonists, were really slow reading for me. But once I’d pushed through those the pace of the book picked up and suddenly I couldn't put it down. I could feel the story hurtling towards an epic and somewhat painful conclusion and I wondered why I’d had a hard time getting into it. Even now I still don’t know why and I would caution anyone thinking of reading this book not to be put off by my struggle.
The last 100 pages were a proper roller coaster ride of emotion for me. With at least two major plot twists that I had not seen coming and a character arc that broke my heart. The end of this story was a real winner for me!
This is a fantasy book, without a doubt, but the issues the sisters face are real. Struggling with acceptance, struggling with self identity, struggling with illness, struggling with death, struggling with family. All things we face in the real world.
I do feel that this book should have trigger warnings, which I am going to list here, obviously if you don’t want any spoilers about the book before hand then ignore this part:
1. Self Harm
2. Mental Health Issues
3. Dementia/Alzheimer's disease
4. LGBTQ (as in the struggle to come out/identify openly)
5. Sexual Abuse (Implied/mentioned but not overtly described)
6. Arranged Marriage
A little more info on point 4 here. So one of the characters is LGBTQ and this is great because it is very casually part of the story. However, I did take issue with the way a certain family member dealt with the reveal - which in my opinion was very blase and dismissive without really discussing it or connecting with it. As a member of the LGBTQ community myself it is important for me to see our issues represented in many various ways within books, especially fantasy books. I think what I’m trying to say is that I wish more fantasy books just normalised LGBTQ characters and just made everyone chill about it - so that it becomes something that isnt ‘other’ or ‘different’ and isn't something used as a plot device or a motive/trauma for action.
Okay spoilery rant over.
My favourite character had to be Bea. Her voice is fierce and bold and unapologetic which I adored. She grows and changes throughout the story which I really appreciate. I also need to give an honorable mention to Scarlet and her Grandma’s obsession with cinnamon rolls - every time they were mentioned (which was a lot by the way) I could feel my mouth watering and wanted one! In fact even writing this makes me want one!
To wrap up I’d like to say that this is a good book. It is worth a read. I struggled getting into it, but just because I did doesn't mean you will, and once I did push through - this book ticks a lot of my boxes. It is a strong female lead fantasy about sisterhood above all else.
The book publishes on the 6th February 2020 (31st March 2020 in the US) and here is the link to pre-order:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sisters-Grimm-Menna-van-Praag/dp/1787631664
Thanks to NetGalley and Transworld (Bantam Press) for letting me read and review this.
As always, keep on reading,
Lottie
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