Book Review: Grim

Author: Various Authors

Publication Date: February 25, 2014

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Inspired by classic fairy tales, but with a dark and sinister twist, Grim contains short stories from some of the best voices in young adult literature today: 

Ellen Hopkins 

Amanda Hocking 

Julie Kagawa 

and many more...

This is a story about a boy in love.

So if you dare, settle in with a hot cup – protection against the approaching chill. Are you ready? Let’s begin.

Grief hangs heavy on the bones, at times nearly suffocating me.

It begins, as always, in darkness.

I believe this is the first anthology I have ever reviewed on my blog. It will be hard to write this review and rate this book, but I will do my best. There were stories in this anthology that I enjoyed more than others, but for the most part these stories were amazing and wonderfully written! I am always a fan of dark, twisted fairy tales, and what could be better than reading these fairy tales as written by some of the biggest names in YA?! Let me answer that for you: absolutely nothing! There were too many big names on this book for me to ignore. Overall, I was pleased with this book and would recommend it to all the fairy tales nuts out there like me.

Some of my favorite stories are listed below with an explanation of why and what I thought about it:

The Twelfth Girl by Malinda Lo had such a creepy, twisted ending that it left me staring at the pages pondering and debating reading it all over again. This story is set in modern day at an elite boarding school, which is of course one of my favorite settings to read about. The ending is a little open ended, but I loved that it was somewhat left to my imagination.

The Brothers Piggett by Julie Kagawa is a retelling of The Three Little Pigs; I know what you’re thinking, but, no, I am not joking. This was a dark retelling of this all-time favorite tale. There was a creepy twist at the end and Kagawa’s writing shines, like always!

Jackson Pearce is one of my absolutely favorite authors when it comes to fairy tale retellings, and in Sell Out, a modern retelling of Snow White, that is told from the Prince’s point of view I was blown away. Pearce has a way with fairy tales, and does not disappoint in this twisted tale. The Prince is sure to shock and surprise all readers!

Overall, I think this anthology is something that any fairy tale fan should own and love. There were a few stories that I was very tempted to stop reading altogether, but for the most part I was extremely pleased and will most definitely read my favorites over and over again!

***A copy of this book was provided to me by the publishers at Harlequin Teen in exchange for my honest review***