Author: Emi Pinto
Genre: magical realism
Similar books: Ravenous Things by Derrick Chow
Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu
Rating:
.JPG)
Summary (provided by publisher): Bee wanted to spend the summer reading Betsy Chillers books and exploring the new spooky theme park with her best friend. Instead, she’s spending the summer trapped at Storm Lake with her too loud, too thrifty, and too Indian family.
Luckily, Bee finds a place to escape her embarrassment—a magical house across the lake that transforms her into the cool girl she always wanted to be. Maybe cottage life isn’t so bad after all! But strange dreams are haunting Bee, and there’s a chill in her bones she just can’t shake.
Bee follows her hunch—and the scent of gingerbread—to Lucas, the dorky boy next door. He thinks there are ghosts in the forest, but new friend Alina tells her what Bee has feared all along: There’s a witch at Storm Lake. And she’s coming for Bee.
My opinion: This books takes Hansel and Gretel as it's central premise but does a lot to make it unique. There are many elements here unique to this story. Yes, there is a witch who takes children. But there's also social pressure, magical loons, an abandoned house on an island, ghosts, and lots of magic. It's far more complex magic than we see in the original story. And it does a lot more to explore interpersonal relationships and motivations. It's perhaps a bit odd, a bit reliant on some peculiar details, but remains worth reading.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
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