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Breadcrumbs

by Anne Ursu (Goodreads Author), Erin Mcguire (Goodreads Author) (Illustrator)

3.76 of 5 stars 3.76 · rating details · 4,724 ratings · 986 reviews

Once upon a time, Hazel and Jack were best friends. They had been best friends since they were six, spending hot Minneapolis summers and cold Minneapolis winters together, dreaming of Hogwarts and Oz, superheroes and baseball. Now that they were eleven, it was weird for a boy and a girl to be best friends. But they couldn't help it - Hazel and Jack fit, in that way you on

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Hardcover, 312 pages

Published September 27th 2011 by Walden Pond Press

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Lists with This Book

Newbery 2012

6th out of 136 books — 554 voters

Bigger than a Bread Box by Laurel Snyder

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own M... by Catherynne M. Valente

Middle Grade Novels of 2011

3rd out of 124 books — 125 voters

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Community Reviews

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Mar 15, 2013 Wendy Darling rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: juvenile, mythic-and-fairy-tale-ish, read-2011, 2011-favorites, middle-grade, illustrated, poc, snowy, 2011-publication, asian, retellings

If you gently shook a snow globe, you might find that the snowflakes come down on an enchanting story much like this one. Hazel’s best friend Jack has disappeared, and the quiet, scrappy fifth grader must overcome her fears—not to mention a mysterious witch and numerous other challenges—in order to save him.

This lovely story, based on Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen, unfolds slowly and beautifully. As an adult who still reads or rereads a lot of children’s books and an avid lover of fai...more If you gently shook a snow globe, you might find that the snowflakes come down on an enchanting story much like this one. Hazel’s best friend Jack has disappeared, and the quiet, scrappy fifth grader must overcome her fears—not to mention a mysterious witch and numerous other challenges—in order to save him.

This lovely story, based on Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen, unfolds slowly and beautifully. As an adult who still reads or rereads a lot of children’s books and an avid lover of fairy tales, I was very much looking forward to reading this novel. Hazel turns out to be a brave, imaginative heroine whose love of books and quiet wonder at the world made me overjoyed to find such a kindred spirit. My heart also ached in sympathy for Hazel’s puzzlement and pain over the real life problems she faces, including her adoptive parents’ divorce, her sense of being an outsider as a child of Indian descent, and Jack’s sudden coldness to her before he goes away.

The strongest and most compelling part of this book for me was how the author so seamlessly modernized this classic story. It is extremely difficult to retain the fairy tale elements of timelessness and mystery and magic while working in unforced contemporary references, but the author managed to do so with a great deal of ease and charm. Above all, the rift between Jack and Hazel, which is explained away by a cold shard of magical glass that got into his eye, works exceptionally well as a metaphor for growing up, much as it worked for the children of Narnia. The writing is just gorgeous, with wonderful descriptiveness and moments of true beauty. You can practically feel the sting of ice and the flurry of snow on your face as you read this story, and you can definitely feel Hazel’s wistfulness and longing to simply…belong. And to matter, to someone, somehow.

I am a little puzzled by the audience for whom this book is intended, however. The jacket copy lists ages 8 – 12, but the narrative really sounds more like it’s a bedtime story for adults—or perhaps one that’s meant to be read aloud to children. It doesn’t really get into Hazel’s head so much as explain to you what she’s thinking or what it might mean, as there’s a little too much exposition for the reader to be unaware of the adult who is writing it.

And while I was so thrilled with the literary references in the first half of the book, with subtle nods to everything from C.S. Lewis to Philip Pullman to J.K. Rowling, I have to confess that this eventually became a little distracting to me because there were so many of them. I appreciate that Hazel is a voracious reader, and the reader in me rejoiced to be reminded of so many beloved classics, but even with the knowledge that books are her windows to understanding the world, it all became a little too much. The writing is so strong, the images so evocative, and Hazel so thoroughly winning that I didn’t feel as though it was necessary to spend so much time focusing on other books. Some of the fairy tale elements that Hazel encounters later in the forest did interest me quite a bit, especially considering their dreamlike quality, but again, I think this would have been a perfectly strong book on its own--with its own mythology and its own unique feel—without relying so heavily on other people’s stories.

The ending also feels very rushed and rather underdeveloped, in both story and emotional satisfaction. Overall I found that the first two-thirds of the book, as readers get to know Hazel and her quirks and her insecurities, is much more compelling than the last act, when things finally get moving with the big rescue. For while the idea of a child being so immersed in stories is certainly a bewitching one, at some point that child must step out of that fairyland in some way in order for this to be a true story of personal growth.

Still, this is an exquisite book in many ways, and one well worth reading. (Certainly more so than the other recent YA nods to The Snow Queen story, Stork and Frost.) I wouldn’t be surprised to see this as an awards contender when all is said and done, and the book will no doubt deserve it on the strength of its writing and its premise alone. I do wish, however, that this fairy tale had trusted in its own merits—and those of its valiant little heroine—a little more. It could so easily have been something more than merely a charming and well-written homage.

This review also appears in The Midnight Garden. An advance copy was provided by the publisher.
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92 likes · like · see review

Dec 15, 2011 Emilie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Recommended to Emilie by: Eh?Eh!

Shelves: 11, mythic-fiction, ya

I feel conflicted about this book. I really liked the themes, and the atmosphere. I really liked the sense of walking through a fairy tale storybook following the breadcrumbs of past stories, holding onto them for guidance and reference.

I was very interested in the ways that Breadcrumbs is about identity; who we are, how we get lost, and how we get found. Jack is made of castles, fairy tales, books…but, in his pain, he has hidden himself away to avoid pain, and he has lost himself. he has troubl...more

24 likes · like · see review

Sep 12, 2011 karen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: why-yes-i-ya

growing up is so damn hard.

when this book comes out, i guarantee it will win all the awards and land itself on all the school reading lists. this book couches some pretty devastating life lessons in an alternate realm of dangerous magical fantasy, but it does so without ever once being cutesy.

hazel and jack have been neighbors and best friends forever. hazel was adopted from india as a baby by white american parents who have since separated, jack is the son of a woman who has retreated into this...more

63 likes · like · see review

Apr 01, 2013 Monica! rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: hark-a-questing-beast, ust-ftw, the-sparkles-mean-its-magic, read-in-2012, you-go-girl, this-must-be-what-pain-feels-like, puberty-is-overrated-anyway

So I read Breadcrumbs two weeks ago, and it has been sitting, for two weeks, on my kitchen table. Every time I walk past it, I think “Shit! I haven’t reviewed Breadcrumbs yet! I’ll do that right now.” Except I don’t, because I’m not sure how to put my opinion of the book into an actual, coherent, cohesive sort of a way. So I leave it on the table, and notice it again 8 hours later... and so on.

But now, darn it, I’m reviewing the book for real, so it can go on to the next person who wants to rea...more

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Jan 10, 2012 Terri rated it 2 of 5 stars

Am I the only one who didn't like this book? "Breadcrumbs" was on a mock awards list for the book club I am in. I had a really hard time getting through it. I always try to read a book through the lens of the intended reader. That generally, though not always, is someone the approximate age of the protagonist, in this case a fifth grader named Hazel. I am afraid that, though the story is at times exquisite in terms of writing, much of the language, the use of metaphor, and the proliferation of a...more Am I the only one who didn't like this book? "Breadcrumbs" was on a mock awards list for the book club I am in. I had a really hard time getting through it. I always try to read a book through the lens of the intended reader. That generally, though not always, is someone the approximate age of the protagonist, in this case a fifth grader named Hazel. I am afraid that, though the story is at times exquisite in terms of writing, much of the language, the use of metaphor, and the proliferation of allusions to both classic and contemporary literature would be lost on most nine and ten year olds. This left me with the question: who is this book really written for?

First impressions: I feel the cover is cheap looking - it doesn't say "quality writing found here." For that reason, I put off reading this book as long as I could. The first half of the book appears to be contemporary realistic fiction. Though I very much like Hazel, her angst gets to be annoying and creepy after awhile in this portion of the book. Hazel is dealing with the divorce of her parents, with the feeling of being different and invisible, and with her changing relationship with Jack. Jack is dealing with his mother's mental illness and his changing relationship with Hazel and the boys his age. For a nine year old, Hazel does some pretty complex pondering and seems unrealistically self-aware.

The sudden appearance of the fantasy element in the second half of the book is very jarring and unexpected. There are no hints that it is coming, no smooth transition into fantasy. As a result, it is really difficult to suspend disbelief. In addition, the ending is sudden and doesn't really resolve anything. Hazel follows Jack into the fantasy world that exists once they cross the tree line into the woods. She misses her friend and is going to rescue him from the white witch. She rescues him from the white witch who appears to want nothing from either Hazel or Jack and puts up no resistance. No big climactic moment. They just walk away and find themselves back home where nothing has really been changed or resolved.

I am often shocked at choices made during award season. Though adults might find books like "Breadcrumbs" award-winning, would the intended audience find them award-winning? It is always interesting to compare "best" lists that teens come up with for a particular year with those that actually win the awards. The books teens pick are often poo-pooed as "popular" literature by adults. Ironic. What then is "success" as a writer if the intended audience has little or no interest in reading a book you have written, quality literature or not?

This book was not for me, nor do I think it will be for most nine and ten year olds. I'm just saying...(less)

23 likes · like · see review

Jan 10, 2012 Kay rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: growing-pains, journey-not-destination, myths-and-tales, kiddy-lit, here-and-now

The Snow Queen is one of my favorite fairy tales. It's haunting and nostalgic, bleak yet hopeful. The villain isn't some wolf lurking in the forest, or an evil witch who casts curses on newborns; it's not even the Snow Queen herself. Rather, the villainy lies in our own heart, capable of being manipulated and mutated by how we perceive the world.

Using this tale, Anne Ursu crafts a lovely retelling from the perspective of a girl, right on the cusp of adolescence. Hazel is a fifth grader struggli...more The Snow Queen is one of my favorite fairy tales. It's haunting and nostalgic, bleak yet hopeful. The villain isn't some wolf lurking in the forest, or an evil witch who casts curses on newborns; it's not even the Snow Queen herself. Rather, the villainy lies in our own heart, capable of being manipulated and mutated by how we perceive the world.

Using this tale, Anne Ursu crafts a lovely retelling from the perspective of a girl, right on the cusp of adolescence. Hazel is a fifth grader struggling with her new life in a public school, unable to fit in. Following a divorce, her mother struggles to maintain her family and finances, which leaves Hazel on her own for some time. Hazel's only confidante is Jack, the only one who (Hazel believes) relates to her troubles and her active imagination.

Circumstances happen which drive a wedge between Hazel and Jack. Suddenly, Jack stops playing with Hazel and instead opts to play with the other boys during recess. Hazel, though she tries to resist, is dragged along by her mother to play with a girl her own age. Hazel suspects that something is deeply wrong with Jack, but she is unable to do anything about it.

That is, until Jack is taken by the Snow Queen.

The second half of the book narrates Hazel's journey through a forest to find Jack. Along the way, she meets a cast of fascinating and, I won't lie, very creepy characters. Reading about some of these characters, particularly (view spoiler) really unsettled me. But, like in all good fairy tales, the journey leads to growth, and the change in Hazel from the beginning to the end of the story was beautifully written.

I really enjoyed this book, particularly the second half. I am thinking of bringing this book to a fifth grader I read with weekly at a local elementary school. Breadcrumbs is a story about growing up and the changes that come with it. Anne Ursu did a fantastic job staying close to not only the narrative of the original fairy tale but also the emotion behind it, even with the modern twist. In essence, both are about navigating the dark forest of our own uncertainty and fear, and learning to face change with courage.

4.5 stars and highly recommended!(less)

10 likes · like · see review

Aug 30, 2011 Ceridwen rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: karen, Meredith, Abigail, Elizabeth, Lisa, Chandra

Recommended to Ceridwen by: Thomas Tomato

Shelves: america-and-environs, books-about-books, daddy-drinks-because-you-cry, faeries, fantasy, grandparental-overshare, grrrrl-power, l-etoile-du-nord, reviewed, young-adult, middle-grade

I don't read a lot of juvenile fiction - that is, stuff aimed at the 8-12 demographic - because, well, it's been a long time since I've had the concerns of the prepubescent. Juvenile fiction is often too linear, straightforward, sexless and light for me to find much interest there, though I am not saying that juvenile fiction should change to suit me. I've got grown-up books to keep me happy. But a certain elegant Tomato of my acquaintance has been feeding me the really good stuff lurking on the...more

47 likes · like · see review

Jun 02, 2012 Sophie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mc-with-a-death-wish

Actual Rating: 3.5 Stars

I really enjoyed the fairytale atmosphere that Ursu gave this book, but in the end, I couldn't help but notice that everything happened too quickly, and that none of the magic seemed real enough (which is an oxymoron, I know). There just wasn't enough to make the world truly come alive, though it did have the light, strange quality that I associate with fairytales. Also, there were points when Ursu would switch to the present tense, and those bothered me because they were...more

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Dec 19, 2011 Joe rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-book-club, middle-school-ya, own

Breadcrumbs begins with a promise: "It was the sort of snowfall that, if there were any magic to be had in the world, would make it come out. And magic did come out."

And unlike many books, it delivers on that promise.

Hazel and Jack are best friends, the kind who, despite their youth, have weathered bitter hardships. Jack's mother tumbles into the darkness of depression; Hazel's father abandons his family for a new life. But the two friends have used the strength of their mutual affection to buoy...more Breadcrumbs begins with a promise: "It was the sort of snowfall that, if there were any magic to be had in the world, would make it come out. And magic did come out."

And unlike many books, it delivers on that promise.

Hazel and Jack are best friends, the kind who, despite their youth, have weathered bitter hardships. Jack's mother tumbles into the darkness of depression; Hazel's father abandons his family for a new life. But the two friends have used the strength of their mutual affection to buoy their personal troubles. Nothing can chip away at their bond and no trial can shake their foundation.

But one day - unexpectedly - Jack changes, and he sheds himself of Hazel.

We have all been in this tender situation. The day, the hour, the second that a friendship or a relationship inexplicably slips away from us. The circumstances can bewilder. Distance, disagreement, an effluvial change of the wind, that acidic enemy capital-T Time. Sometimes it's everything. Sometimes it's nothing. It just happens. We are lost and lonely and we search for answers.

Hazel's searching leads her into the woods, every author's favorite Glaring Symbol for the Unknown. In lesser hands, this would have been a trite exploration of those powerful feelings that accompany loss. But Ursu is nothing if not talented, and in Hazel she has crafted and extraordinarily likeable and resolute heroine. Hazel relies on her own agency of character rather than the promises of others, and she does not trick herself into believing the words of those she encounters. Experience is sometimes the only way we learn, and Hazel's dream-like quest in the woods leads her to uncover life's scary little truth: we can never know anybody fully - even the people we love the most. Especially the people we love most. There will always be a secret buried somewhere, a mystery we will never know.

Ursu's extended metaphor is beyond clever, as is her exploration of the power and trickery of memory. Hazel often reminisces about her halcyon days with Jack. Memory reminds her of their childish delight in superheroes, in baby pools filled with ice, of secrets and dreams and hopes. Memory is cruel in this way, often misleading us into believing that we can capture that magic again. Hazel is an astute observer, and her epiphanies are heartbreaking and familiar.

The climax is a little lackluster, but Ursu offers no easy answers - because there aren't any - and the ending of the book is satisfactorily vague. I will not be surprised to see a silver medal on this one come January 2012. (The gold medal better be plastered on A Monster Calls.)(less)

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May 20, 2011 Amanda Coppedge rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: best-mg, mg, read-in-2011, compassion

This is a book for people who are in love with Story. I love that it's not about the mundane girl whose life is changed by a freewheeling, magical friend (though I do love those stories too!). It's about two magical, freewheeling friends and what happens when one of them loses his way. Hazel is such a lovable main character, so well captured. This book is fun and thoughtful and above all TRUE. It made me laugh and it brought me to tears and left me full of deep thoughts. I wish I had a time mach...more

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Nov 17, 2011 Wendy rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Melody

Shelves: 2011-award-possibilities

A spooky, shivery, seasonal novel that could well take a winter-reads spot next to The Dark is Rising for some readers. I shivered multiple times and once gasped out loud while reading this. I almost put it down once because this is a blustery November day and the portrait of depression in winter felt disturbingly real. And how I loved dear, odd Hazel, a sort of sister to Meg Murry, without the alienating genius.

3 likes · like · see review

Oct 25, 2011 Bayla rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fairy-tales-retellings-and-the-like, favorites, oh-for-the-love-of-language

Hazel and Jack live in a world of stories and make-believe, full of wonder and vastly different from the drab reality others experience. But without Jack, Hazel has only the pain of isolation in reality. So when something happens to Jack, Hazel has to do something...
Wow! I loved it! Beautifully written, continual references to other books and fairy-tales, based on the Snow Queen with a sly nod to its original author (Hazel is Hazel Anderson, and there is a reference to other Andersons) -- what's...more

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Jul 29, 2011 Kellee rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Kellee by: Donalyn

Shelves: juvenile-and-kid-lit, middle-grade, fairy-folk-retellings-or-modern, fantasy, amazon-review-done, teach-mentor-texts, schu-and-scope-2011-top-20, 2011-nerdies, my-best-of-2011

Complete review at: http://www.teachmentortexts.com/2011/...

I was enchanted with this book from the opening pages when the descriptive language grabbed me! I could close my eyes and picture exactly what Anne Ursu was describing. Ursu also alludes to so many great novels and fairy tales throughout Breadcrumbs such as When you Reach Me, A Wrinkle in Time, Harry Potter, and The Little Match Girl on top of the main inpsiration for the story: The Snow Queen. Though I am not familiar with The Snow Que...more

3 likes · like · see review

Oct 07, 2011 Misty rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: retelling, folklore-myth-fable-fairy-tall-tale, juvenile-ya, cover-appeal, excited-for, own, arc-or-galley, review-copy-solicited, read-in-2011

I don't even know how to go about this review without gushing like an incoherent loon.
[Nope, as it turned out, all I had to do was sound really melodramatic and um...intense...Oh, boy.]
I mean, really, I don't know that I have a single bad thing to say about this book. I loved reading it for the beauty of the storytelling and for the way it made me feel, and I respected it for the same reasons as well as one very important one: Anne Ursu respects her audience.

It is very, very rare to find an au...more

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Dec 22, 2011 Sam rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: children

This book is more than a little otherworldly. It's as hypnotic as a blizzard, as ominous as a dream, as fragmented as reality.

The plot is an extended reinterpretation of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen," set partly in modern-day Minnesota, and partly in The Woods, one of the most unfriendly landscapes in children's fantasy. Fifth-grader Hazel Anderson's best friend Jack is missing, and she takes it upon herself to find and rescue him, even in the face of mounting evidence that he may n...more This book is more than a little otherworldly. It's as hypnotic as a blizzard, as ominous as a dream, as fragmented as reality.

The plot is an extended reinterpretation of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen," set partly in modern-day Minnesota, and partly in The Woods, one of the most unfriendly landscapes in children's fantasy. Fifth-grader Hazel Anderson's best friend Jack is missing, and she takes it upon herself to find and rescue him, even in the face of mounting evidence that he may not want to be rescued after all.

The prose is masterfully poetic, evocatively descriptive, and desperately sad. Indeed, though I've read children's books in which sadder things happened, I'm not sure I've ever read one in which the tone was so consistently haunting, melancholic, and existentially troubled. Even the book's ending, with its conclusion of the heroic quest, refuses to bask in happiness or allow Hazel a moment of pure joy.

The book's received mixed reviews, which I think is related to the fact that it resists so many conventions of popular literature in general and children's fantasy in particular. Even the most frightening of the characters hardly qualifies as a villain, and there's no Aslan or Gandalf to help guide Hazel on her quest either. Secondary characters flit through the book half-visibly, especially in the second part; we see the portions of their stories that intersect with Hazel's, but no more. Even though various people, including Hazel at times, want the plot to be organized as a classic good vs. evil conflict, it steadfastly refuses to go that way.

We don't expect that from our fantasy novels, especially for children. But isn't it more like the way life actually operates? Existence is painted in shades of gray. There are few true villains, and fewer heroes. People come and go from our lives, often with little explanation and with seemingly important questions unresolved. Even narrative itself is an illusion, a cloak we weave from broken threads to try and keep the cold of chaos away. What, under those circumstances, is more real: an epic battle of Good and Evil, or the attempts of a flawed but determined girl to save a fracturing friendship, with results that, even at the end of the story, aren't fully visible? As the Jens Lekman song goes, "What's broken can always be fixed; what's fixed will always be broken."

I think many people would like this book more if it were less true. But I love it for its truthfulness, its gorgeous weariness, and its (successful) attempts to find beauty and truth in things that are not only broken, but both being fixed and breaking more all the time.(less)

6 likes · like · see review

Dec 05, 2011 Meagan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: children-s_lit, fiction

I kept going back and forth on whether to give this book four or five stars. I want to give it five stars, but for some reason I keep feeling like I should give it four. But you know what? I want to give it five stars. So it gets five stars.

This book kept reminding me of all the thoughtful and beautifully written children's books I've read, like When You Reach Me or The Chronicles of Narnia. (In fact, Ursu has clever references to great children's books scattered throughout. Some are obvious, an...more

3 likes · like · see review

Aug 10, 2011 Tatiana rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Tatiana by: Thomas Tomato

Shelves: children-s-middle-school, fairy-tales, 2011

I am not a regular reader of children's books and certainly not their connoisseur. Literature aimed at elementary school students is not something I actively seek or even enjoy at my age. But sometimes there are children's books that touch me in a special way.

Breadcrumbs managed to bring out the memories of my childhood like no other book before. This modern day retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen is an homage to all the wonderful stories of my childhood and some that captured...more I am not a regular reader of children's books and certainly not their connoisseur. Literature aimed at elementary school students is not something I actively seek or even enjoy at my age. But sometimes there are children's books that touch me in a special way.

Breadcrumbs managed to bring out the memories of my childhood like no other book before. This modern day retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen is an homage to all the wonderful stories of my childhood and some that captured my imagination in adult years - The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, When You Reach Me, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and many, many more. Incidentally, The Snow Queen was a big part of my childhood too. I still remember very clearly Gerda's quest to save her best friend Kai after he was whisked away by the Snow Queen to the Queen's cold, cold ice castle.

While Anne Ursu stays very close to Hans Christian Andersen's original story, preserving the tale's sense of loneliness and coldness, she adapts it perfectly to modern times. The children have modern troubles - Jack's mother is going through a deep depression, Hazel has to deal with her adoptive parents' divorce and to bring herself to fit in a new, difficult and different school. Ursu's best addition to the old fairly tale, IMO, is her interpretation of the enchanted forest (with the Snow's Queen's castle at the end of it) as a place of retreat for the souls who want to escape their troubled real lives. Such place can be very attractive from the outside, but it is gruesome when you are in it.

Although Breadcrumbs is a lovely, atmospheric story, I don't think it surpasses its inspiration in quality. I think it could have been smoother. The second part of the novel, where Hazel embarks on her quest through the magic forest and encounters many curious people, animals and magic objects is a little muddy in its messages (or I might be too dense or too adult to understand them).

However, the novel's best achievement is that it captures the internal world of a reading child perfectly. It is both a little lonely and full of wonder... I suspect those unfamiliar with children's books and who never were avid readers in their kid years will not enjoy Breadcrumbs quite as much as I did.(less)

27 likes · like · see review

Feb 14, 2013 Bill Tillman rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: audio-book, children, fiction, folklore, superhero, monsters, fantasy, adult, ghosts, magic, otherworlds, paranormal, speculative, witch, ya, young-adult

Little over half way through this audio book. Fairly dark in nature, Hazel is an adopted 'Indian' girl of 11 who is 5th grade. Remembering my own 5th grade experience, Hazel is a dedicated day-dreamer. Wow, I cannot wait until this book draws to a conclusion a real cliff hanger.

Ok, I've finished this awesome audio book. This is a tale that is hard not to relate too. Being almost 70 I remembered back to the time I was 11 and in 5th grade. The struggles you go through, the daydreams you have. The...more

1 like · like · see review

May 21, 2012 Kwoomac rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, adventure, childrens, contemporary-lit, fairy-tales, reviewed, selfless-heroine, unlikely-hero, young-adult

Wonderful fairy tale where a young girl goes off in search of her missing best friend. She must travel through the woods of fairy tale fame and safely maneuver through it's paths full of trickery. Hazel's best friend Jack has been taken by the Winter Witch to a place far deep in the woods. He has given himself freely to the witch. In return, she has frozen his heart, taking away all the pain he feels in life. Hazel, upon finding him, must try to convince him to return home with her.

The story is...more

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Oct 23, 2011 Small Review rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: pages-300s, published-2011, retelling

Originally posted on Small Review

2.5 stars Explanation of rating system: Star Rating Key

I'm back in my secret bunker

Why? Because I didn't really like Breadcrumbs. To say my expectations were high is an understatement. I love fairy tale retellings, the cover is beautiful, and a friend even mailed me her copy to read (after she loved it). People are even talking Newbery!

I have a lot to hide from.

I am the wrong reader for this book

Yes, Breadcrumbs is a fairy tale retelling, but it is also a conte...more

15 likes · like · see review

Jun 30, 2011 Cathy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: possible-mock-newbery, mock-newbery-list2, 2012-mock-newbery-short-list

Middle grade readers will be mesmerized by Anne Ursu's modern day version of The Snow Queen. Hazel is unhappy over her parents' divorce, and she feels like a misfit at school. The only one who really understands Hazel is her best friend, Jack. Hazel and Jack spend their free time together sledding and playing in the snow. The children share a strong bond until something happens to Jack causing him to turn cynical and mean. When Jack disappears into the woods behind his house, Hazel must find the...more

1 like · like · see review

Sep 18, 2012 Kim Van Sickler rated it 5 of 5 stars

Lyrical and touching in it's simple story line, yet fascinating in the fairy tale journey to fulfill a heartfelt quest. And you never know if the journey to save Jack really happened or was the product of Hazel's overactive imagination. You're just glad she got her friend back.

It's a hefty 312 pages, substantial for middle grade, but I flew through the mythic Part II. I loved the morph from reality into fantasy and the clues we received along the way that reappeared in Part II. Anne Ursu's writi...more

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Nov 07, 2012 Erica - Bonner Springs Library rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, j-ya-reading-challenge, middle-grades, fantasy

Hazel and Jack have been best friends since they were six. Now they are eleven and Jack's changing. He no longer wants to be Hazel's best friend. Hazel's parents are getting divorced and she's having to start a new school where she doesn't fit in and the kids treat her differently. She was adopted as a baby but at her other school she never felt she was different until the girls at her new school looked at her differently since she doesn't look like her mom. Jack was the one person who made her...more

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Jun 01, 2013 Meredith rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: chick-lit, fantasy, female-protagonist, j-fic

I had some issues with this one.

My biggest problem was that this book sells itself on the fact that it's a retelling of Hans Christian Anderson's "The Snow Queen," but that part of the story doesn't really start until page 160--halfway through the book! It's a rare child who will wait through 160 pages of unnecessary stark realistic fiction back-story to get to the fun fantasy stuff. Oh, and the kids who like stark realistic fiction? Yeah, they're just going to think that the book got really wei...more

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May 06, 2013 Melissa K. rated it 5 of 5 stars

In the book, Breadcrumbs features a girl named Hazel, a girl that nobody at school wants to be friends with, except a guy named Jack. You may think it is weird that they are still friends even though they are in sixth grade. At her old school, every body wanted to be friends with her, she was smart and funny but things changed. In my opinion, I think Hazel would be a great friend to have especially since she is really good at telling stories, she has never been out of stories. Jack, a boy who is...more

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Apr 09, 2013 Kim Heimbuch rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: owned-hardcopy

"What if I told you that there was a place where there are extraordinary things, things with great power, things that would give you your heart's desire, things much bigger than this small, small world?"

What an exceptionally endearing and heartfelt story that teaches people of all ages that the choices we make are ours alone and the value of friendship and doing what we know is and feels right. It takes us on an abiding journey of losing oneself and having people who truly care and love you, fl...more

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Feb 26, 2013 Steve Molin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, storytelling, reality

This book is in two parts, with quite a distinct shift between them. The first part introduces the characters, of course; but it also compellingly describes an interesting dynamic between the heroine, who like to read and make believe fantasy; some cardboard "jocks" who like sports; and a boy who has one foot in each world. One of the most interesting developments, and sadly neglected, is when one of the jocks has to swallow his pride and talk to our heroine about the border of the fantasy world...more

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Feb 20, 2013 Shaunda Wenger rated it 4 of 5 stars

Many times Anne Ursu's stories lead me to pause and think, What a fabulous writer! Anne Ursu definitely has the ability to melt emotions and detail into the page. However, the endings of the two books I have read (Shadow Thieves and Breadcrumbs) have both felt rushed, this latest included, leaving me feeling let down after investing the time needed into getting there.

More over, the title alone hinted at some sort of mysterious journey involving clues both on the going and returning of a trip (t...more

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Jan 17, 2013 Oksana *Bookaholic* rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: best-cover, cute, fairy-tale, white-cover-challenge

When I left elementary school, I was like, "Whoo hoo, no more middle grade for me!" Thank gosh I didn't stick to THAT wacko promise. I first chose this because of its cover. Take a good look. Are ya starting to fall in love too? Not surprised.

It is very hard to write a normal book (how we live nowadays) and slip magic or fairy tales through the pages. Bravo to the author for succeeding. Unlike Greener Grass, the author somehow got it all to fit perfectly. I loved the special attention she payed...more

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Jan 05, 2013 Tripp added it

Shelves: middle-grade, omniscient, past-tense

Ursu's omniscient narrator early on signals the magic to come and then gradually moves the story of Hazel's attempt to rescue, and remain friends with, Jack, more and more into the terrain of fairy tale, though skewed and reshaped for the suburbs and modern times in general. The point of view primarily stays with Hazel, but branches out when Ursu needs to bring in a different voice, perspective, or source of information.

The novel is divided in two parts, with the first chronicling how Jack sudde...more Ursu's omniscient narrator early on signals the magic to come and then gradually moves the story of Hazel's attempt to rescue, and remain friends with, Jack, more and more into the terrain of fairy tale, though skewed and reshaped for the suburbs and modern times in general. The point of view primarily stays with Hazel, but branches out when Ursu needs to bring in a different voice, perspective, or source of information.

The novel is divided in two parts, with the first chronicling how Jack suddenly stopped being friends with Hazel (after catching a shard of demonic glass in his eye), with attention to how unusual it is at age 12 for a boy and a girl to be best friends, how difficult for a child to handle divorce (Hazel) and depression (Jack's mom), and how awkward to feel one is different and doesn't belong (adopted and highly imaginative Hazel, though Jack as well), and the second part Hazel's entrance into a small suburban copse, which doubles, like the Narnian wardrobe, as a passageway into the realm of fairy tales.

Hazel thinks, and is led to believe by everyone she encounters in the woods--archetypal woodsmen and villagers, though each with a twist--that the queenly white witch has abducted Jack. One of the great changes Ursu makes is that Jack goes with the white witch freely and that she is the only one in the enchanted forest who wants nothing. Hazel, after narrowly avoiding the real and sinister dangers of those woodsmen and villagers--the very ones who in a classic fairy tale would be her allies--must convince Jack to return home with her using nothing more than the match girl's matches, bartered for out of kindness, and an autographed baseball Jack had given her.

The use of language is crisp and musical, and the references to both fairy tales--see Andersen's Snow Queen--and other classics of children's literature--at one point the white witch asks Jack if he'd like some Turkish delight and, when Jack doesn't get the allusion, comments with a smile that it's "Just a little joke"--add depth and weight to Hazel's quest.(less)

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About Anne Ursu

Anne Ursu's most recent book is BREADCRUMBS (HarperCollins/Walden Pond Press), a modern–day fairy tale for middle grade readers. Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen," BREADCRUMBS is a story of a Minneapolis girl who follows her best friend into a strange fairy-tale woods, and discovers there that fantasy is no escape.

Anne is also the author of the Cronus Chronicles (Atheneum), a...more

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Books by Anne Ursu

The Shadow Thieves (Cronus Chronicles, #1)

The Immortal Fire (Cronus Chronicles, #3)

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Quotes from Breadcrumbs

“Kids can handle a lot more than you think they can. It's when they get to be grown up that you have to start worrying.” — 32 people liked it

“I believe that the world isn't always what we can see...I believe there are secrets in the woods. And I believe that goodness wins out...So, if someone's changed overnight - by witch curse or poison apple or were-turtle - you have to show them what's good. You show them love. That works a surprising amount of the time.” — 15 people liked it

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