Monday, November 21, 2011

Sweetly by Jackson Pearce

Twelve years ago, Ansel and Gretchen lost their sister in the woods. Recently kicked out by their stepmother, the two head across the country bound for the beach. Their car breaks down in Live Oak, South Carolina. Ansel becomes a handyman for local candy maker Sophia Kelly who is also an outcast. Gretchen befriends Samuel, another local outcast but for different reasons. Gretchen discovers that the "witch" that took her sister wasn't a witch but a werewolf. With Samuel's help, Gretchen overcomes her fear and solves the mystery of the missing girls in Live Oak.

What I thought: Okay, so now I understand the term "companion novel." While Sweetly is a retelling of "Hansel and Gretel," it also adds in the Fenris mythology from Sisters Red. I think I like Sweetly better than Sisters Red. Samuel and Gretchen's relationship is nice. The development from unlikely allies to friends to something more was excellent. Fathomless, a retelling of "The Little Mermaid," is scheduled to be published in 2012.

(Little, Brown, and Company, 2011)

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