The Fairy Tale Detectives (The Sisters Grimm, Book 1) by Michael Buckley
Sabrina and Daphne Grimm are orphaned after their parents mysteriously disappear. They jump from foster home to the orphanage, to a new foster home and back to the orphanage again. Finally, their Granny Relda claims them and has them brought home to Ferryport Landing.
Through the first part of the book, Sabrina is convinced that the old lady is crazy and not even their grandmother. After all, their father had told them their grandmother was dead and Relda herself goes on about giants and sprites and has a room that no one is allowed in to. Relda claims that the Grimms have been writing about real events for years, events that others refer to as fairy tales.
Eventually, though, Sabrina has to admit that all the stories are real. Ferryport Landing truly is populated with all the fairy tale creatures you can think of: the three little pigs, giants, Prince Charming, Glinda the Good Witch, Puck from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, even King Arthur shows up. Of course, trouble comes. Granny Relda and her friend Mr. Canis, are captured by a giant and it’s up to the Sisters Grimm to save them and the rest of the town, a town that, for the most part, hates them.
Amber and I picked this up a Half-Price Books and read it together. It’s a fun story. There’s adventure, jokes, people and creatures that are easily recognizable and some that Amber didn’t know. I think that Amber really identified with Sabrina, the oldest of the sisters. At one point, when the Sheriff was threatening Sabrina, Amber accidentally blurted out, “Don’t arrest me!” which made me laugh. It just shows how much she got into the story.
The twist at the end was a good one, although both Amber and I had an inkling that all was not as it appeared. The book kept me reading though, wanting to know what was going to happen next. I never got bored, never felt like Amber was getting something out of the book that I was just missing. It was a great book for us to read together, and I’m looking forward to more of the Grimms’ adventures.
Sounds like a great start to a series. Thanks so much for the review.