The Sisters Grimm: The Unusual Suspects - #2 [Hardcover]

Before I finished reading the first book in this series, I just HAD to order the second one from Amazon, so there would be no break in the reading. THE BOOKS ARE THAT GOOD!

The perfect blend of humor, mystery, and adventure ... with some very unusual characters. Fantastic!!!

As I said in the Book One review, I bought the book for my grandkids and started reading it myself. Now, Ashley is reading Book One while I finish this newer one. Then when we both finish, Book One goes on to Johnny, and Book Two goes to Ashley.

Families that read together, stay together. The same goes for praying, of course.

The Sisters Grimm: The Unusual Suspects is the continuing tale of Sabrina and Daphne Grimm. The sisters, who were in the foster care system for nearly a year and a half following the disappearance of their mother and father, now live with their grandmother in the town of Ferryport Landing. In Book #1, the girls learned what it means to be Grimm, to be the guardians of Ferryport Landing and the Everafters. Together with their Granny Relda, Mr. Canis, Puck and a two hundred pound dog named Elvis, the girls foiled the plans of Jack the Giant Killer to release the giants into Ferryport Landing that he might regain his fame by slaying them.
Now, some three weeks later, they will face a new and frightening challenge: starting at a new school. While Daphne becomes the star of the second grade (and Snow White's favorite student), Sabrina finds the sixth grade full of sleep walking children and a few very persistent bullies. When a teacher is found murdered on the sisters' first day of school, the Grimms once again find themselves on the case. At the same time Sabrina must confront her prejudice against the Everafters and her ever increasing anger.
Michael Buckley has surpassed himself. The Unusual Suspects exceeds The Fairytale Detectives in humor, excitement, danger and its confrontation of childhood, family, and social issues. All of the characters are blossoming, each newly exposed layer hinting at clues to the mystery. Ideas of who is good and who is bad in this phalanx of fairy tale characters are dashed, and the ending is unexpected, to say the least.

Again, I know authors don't review their own books but what's with all the rules, huh? I like to shake things up - I'm crazy like that.

Now, Book 2 is the book that hit the NY Times bestseller list. It sat there for a month during the Christmas season battling it out with Harry Potter, Lemony Snicket and Meg Cabot. It was bloody and I lost a tooth. Still, it was worth it because I think this book sets the stage for the rest of the series. Like I've said, the first one is a bit cute, but this one starts to get a little darker and builds on the previous story. We meet more fairy tale characters and have lots more hair-raising situations, but what is special about The Unusual Suspects is Puck. The character made famous in A Midsummer Night's Dream becomes a full-fledged member of the team and gives Sabrina nothing but headaches. I enjoy the dynamic of the two girls and this annoying flying boy and I found myself sticking Puck in as much as I could. Also important to note is that the Unsual Suspects dives into a new breed of character that few authors have ever explored - namely, the children of famous fairy tale characters. What would the child of the Frog Prince and his princess be like? How about Beauty and her Beast? Miss Muffet and her Spider? Plus, we're introduced to our first truly creepy villian - Rumplestiltskin which illustrator Peter Ferguson has done an incredible job of capturing. The book's themes focus on prejudice and bigotry and Sabrina continues to work on her trust issues - something that isn't going to change over night. Fans of folklore might also like the introduction of Snow White who teaches a self-defense class called "The Bad Apples" and, like many of the women I write about, turns out to be the damsel who can take care of herself.

But I'm most proud of Sabrina's development in this book. She is a complicated character working on issues that don't just fix themselves because the story has ended. I wanted to give her real problems and have her react to sistuations in ways that are genuine and logical, even if they do make her seem like a bratty little jerk at times. Some people are put-off by how headstrong Sabrina can be but I also think some people read too much Nancy Drew and don't expect girls to have opinions, be tough, and make mistakes that have repercussions. Not to knock Nancy Drew - it's a classic series, but I'm trying to write about a character that is both affecting and is affected by the world, not one that is sugary sweet and never-changing. The only downside to the book is that it's not three books. The story I wanted to tell was bigger than the pages we had and due to cost and time issues, this book ends on a cliffhanger, as does the third book in the series, The Problem Child. It was a risk to end it this way because who knew if anyone would care, but to wrap it all up in a neat little bow would have been phony. Luckily, it seems people do care because Book 3 is as popular as the second. I promise that not every book will be a cliffhanger but if the story requires it that's what it's going to be.

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