The Sisters Grimm: Book #8: The Inside Story [Hardcover]

I can't even begin to describe how phenomenal this book was. Puck and Sabrina are freaking adorable AND still hilarious. The book's 'romance' side was a lot stronger than in the previous ones (where it was building up tortuously slowly) though not overdone, and still very child-appropriate. Sabrina and Puck are definitely on my all-time favorite book couples list.

Anyway.
On to my very long-winded gushing of the book's awesomeness.

The book starts with the girls having been transported to the Book of Everafter, and basically they run around from story to story, chasing Pinocchio. I wouldn't say they were chasing Mirror, because they don't really catch up to him for a long time. Pinocchio, on the other hand, is around a lot.
Trixie Grimm, another Grimm ancestor, is mentioned for the first time. I would say more, but I don't want to spoil the story line.

In Michael Buckley's typical style, he blends a lot of humor into it (I appreciated Daphne coming up with a new name for the baby every time you turn around--I was a fan of 'Oohg' and 'Carmine' especially). As I said, Puck and Sabrina are hilarious (He's started teasing her endlessly about the wedding plans, and her reactions are pretty epic at moments) and of course the rest of the family is as Grimm-tastic as usual. (See how I incorporated some Daphne-ish into my review? Mad skills!)
The adventure was naturally fairy-tale infused, and while the excitement was lower than some other books (arguing with the Editor and avoiding revisers does not achieve the same level of sinister-ish-ness as battling the Scarlet Hand. Sorry, but it just doesn't) it was still pretty good. I read the book yesterday, and if it weren't for my immense homework load I would have already read it at least twice more.

Also, I really like that Sabrina was less of a, well, b**** in this book than in the others. It's really the only word I can use to describe it. She's careful to ask people's opinions more, and she doesn't always insist on making the decisions herself, which meant the book did not have the same depressing lows of the others (in which Sabrina always screwed someone over and regretted it, but turned around and did the same thing in the next book again...) Also, it was nice that she FINALLY learned from her mistakes. Her character had to grow up a little eventually. I mean, come on.
And I was very glad that, despite being more considerate, she did not lose her sarcasm and general obnoxiousness. She was a better person, but still highly entertaining.

I hope this review was somewhat informative, even if I dwelled mostly on the subjects that appealed most to my book-loving, 14-year-old mind. I totally say buy this book (though the rest of the series should be read first, obv.) and while the reading level isn't very high, I think even adults could enjoy these. It's not the level that makes them fantastic, but the awesome storyline and the very real characters that makes The Sisters Grimm stand out as one of my favorite book series of all time. Who says 8th graders can't read children's books?
Pshhh.
:D

BUYITBUYITBUYITBUYITBUYITBUYITBUYITBUYITBUYIT!!!!!!

-annika

I couldn't put it down the first time I was reading it! "The Inside Story" is a perfect fantasy novel for me: it has an intriguing plot with battles and mysteries and magic. Nevertheless it doesn't seem too scary: the humorous episodes make it bright and colorful.
I am very glad Sabrina finally impoves her character and learns how to deal with other people and respect them. In this book, the Sisters Grimm can be called a really good and friendly team.
"The Inside Story" is one of the most thrilling books ever!
(This is written by my 13-year-old daughter)

This is an excellent fantasy/adventure series for the young and the young at heart. Book eight has started to answer some of the questions that surfaces over the course to the story line. We are all waiting for the conclusion which should be in the next book. Two thumbs up!

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 25 reviews  4.7 out of 5 stars