The Fairy-Tale Detectives

The Sisters Grimm: The Fairy-Tale Detectives
by Michael Buckley
MG Fantasy. 284 pp.
Amulet Books (Abrams). 2005.

Carrying on in the Series of Unfortunate Events and Spiderwick Chronicles tradition, we now add The Sisters Grimm. Sabrina and Daphne Grimm have been shuttled from foster home to foster home ever since the disappearance of their parents. Now they are sent to live in Ferryport Landing with their Granny Relda, who they'd been led to believe was dead. When they get there, they learn that they're descendants of Wilhelm Grimm and that the characters of fairy tale and folklore--the Everafters--are real. Shortly after they arrive in Ferryport Landing, a destructive giant has been set loose on the town and kidnaps Granny Relda, and the girls must figure out who set him loose and who they can trust as they seek to save their grandma.

I picked up this book because it's been nominated as one of Border's Fresh Voices of the year. I like the idea behind it. I found the first four or five chapters to be quite slow, spending a little too much time setting Sabrina up as the skeptic. But once I got into the middle of the book, the pacing finally picked up and moved right along. The characters are intriguing, especially as you see Buckley begin to flesh them out. Prince Charming in particular is fun, as he's the mayor of Ferryport and is trying to buy up land to recreate his kingdom. He's also been married and divorced a number of times--Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty . . .

The second one is on my night stand, so we'll see how it continues . . .