The Witch's Boy
by Michael Gruber
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 111)
Read in December, 2006
I didn't like this one much. I didn't like any of the characters. In the end, I think Gruber just tried to work too many fairy tales in, which just didn't work, because they felt crammed in, not like they belonged. Also, the ending felt really rushed.
What it does have going to for it is the fact that it's a retelling of Rumpelstiltskin, and how often do you see that? And, it's more of a "boy book" than most fairy tales re-tellings are. If Gruber had stuck just to Rumpelstiltskin an...more
What it does have going to for it is the fact that it's a retelling of Rumpelstiltskin, and how often do you see that? And, it's more of a "boy book" than most fairy tales re-tellings are. If Gruber had stuck just to Rumpelstiltskin an...more
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Read in June, 2008
recommended to Heidi by:
leecat http://readingwithmyears.blogspot.com/
There's nothing I didn't like in this book, and everything to love. It's chock full of fairy lore and fairy tales. (I think of fairy lore as those tales of fairies under the hill, magic, and witches, and fairy tales as those we know from the Brothers G and HCA.) The fairy tales are turned inside out from our usual knowledge of them, for instance the parents were bad, the witch was good in Hansel and Gretel. Just what tale corresponds to the story of the witch's boy isn't immediately apparent...more
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Read in October, 2007
recommends it for:
nobody
Unpleasant from start to almost finish. The last 25 pages or so were actually nice. Gruber finally creates an interesting character right when the story ends.
I feel like I need to read Terry Prattchett's Maskerade just to remind myself what a witch and her human-morphing cat familiar should be like.
I do wonder about the author's own religous background from this book, though.
AR rated this book a 6.4 reading level. Very few 6th graders would understand the stiff, formal, and out-moded...more
I feel like I need to read Terry Prattchett's Maskerade just to remind myself what a witch and her human-morphing cat familiar should be like.
I do wonder about the author's own religous background from this book, though.
AR rated this book a 6.4 reading level. Very few 6th graders would understand the stiff, formal, and out-moded...more
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8 comments
With a medley of fairy tales - all retold with twists - interspersed throughout this book, it adds up to one giant, interesting tale. I liked the story itself, but up until the last two chapters, the main character, Lump, was such an insufferable brat that I came close to giving up on the book several times. He was selfish, arrogant, whiny, vengeful, cruel, and only thought of how he could become rich and powerful and get the vapid beauty he lusted after - basically, his personality was as ugly ...more
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Read in January, 2008
This book was very odd. It started slowly for me; I couldn't tell what direction it would take. As the story progressed, it became more interesting and readable. The characters were not very sympathetic until perhaps the last chapter. I did enjoy, however, the author's bizarre interpretations of well-known fairy tales scattered throughout the book. And the "moral of the story" is a positive, redeeming message in a prodigal-son sort of way. Justice is served throughout the book, a...more
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Gruber's book for teenagers--based on a number of fairy tales, all working their ways into the story in forms different from what you'd expect. At first I was put off by what seemed to me to be a kind of arch and condescending voice; but gradually I got over it and was fascinated to see how the story was going to work itself out. A very honest "modern" use of fairy tales and their atmosphere to illustrate the futility and emptiness of all the anger and irritation we felt when we're te
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Read in February, 2008
This book is a fantasy/fairy tale, rooted in traditional European fairy tale stories. I think I enjoyed it mostly because I was reading it on audiobook, so it had this really comforting escapist feature. There's also this like blatant heartstring-pulling that I find effective. In warning, the main character is far from loveable and many bad things happen involving human cruelty and callousness. A good tale for the children? Why not?
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Read in March, 2008
Great story about a witch and her adopted son. Author weaves in familiar fairytales but gives them a new and interesting twist. I loved the relationship between the witch and her talking cat/familiar Falance. Lump's (the son) transformation from a boy wallowing in self-loathing and self-pity, into a man who learns how to accept responsibility makes for an interesting story.
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Witch's Boy is one of the best I have ever read. This book takes place over a whole lifetime of a boy who was taken to witch. The witch fell in love with baby boy and raised him as her own even though he was born disfigured. He was right at home with talking animals and being taken to fairyland.He eventually marries and ends up being a successful architect.
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Read in August, 2006
Youth literature. Fast read. Quite enjoyable. Loved how the fairy tales were turned around from the "witch's perspective"
July 2007: "Read" it again for book club, but this time on audio CD. Husband listened to it too. Still really enjoyed it. It held up well to re-reading. I even bought a copy to keep and share.
July 2007: "Read" it again for book club, but this time on audio CD. Husband listened to it too. Still really enjoyed it. It held up well to re-reading. I even bought a copy to keep and share.
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Read in September, 2007
A fantastically well-written children's fantasy novel. It re-tells almost every well-known fairy tale from a different perspective but manages to do it without being predictable. Also, it features a strong, loving, albeit imperfect mother character. Really, really good.
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Read in July, 2008
Wonderful & rich fairy tale re-telling. Lump is a hideous baby who was found by a witch as raised as a spoiled brat. It's hard to like him for the majority of the story, despite his hardships. Special appearances by Hansel & Gretl. A definite must-read!
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3 comments
Read in January, 2006
Good young adult fiction. The story has characteristics of a fable, but it also has lots of interesting creatures, grand adventures, and a happy ending. I think parents will leave the book with a different perspective than a young person; my son and I did.
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Read in December, 2006
recommends it for:
young adults (11+) and adults
An OK read. The Witch's Boy is a combination/twist on several well-known fairy tales, including Rumpelstiltskin and Hansel and Gretel. The story itself is quite good, but sometimes the introduction and play on the fairy tales seems a bit forced.
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Read in April, 2008
didn't grip me. returned it to the library to get something more interesting. This probably would have been ok if I'd given it more of a chance but I only read a few pages at a time during a 5-10 min break from work each day!
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Read in February, 2007
Many fairy tales are woven throughout this book in a witty and cunning style. Important life issues are confronted that will leave you in laughter and tears. Magic is afoot, and mother nature is alive!! Loved this one!
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Read in January, 2007
This was a fun interesting twist on many of the Grimm's fairy tales. The moral story I enjoyed. I remember not liking it for a while, then as I got toward the end I really liked it.
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Read in September, 2007
recommends it for:
fairy tale fanatics
Spoiled children, re-written fairy tales, the depths of an adopted mother's love and new twists to the oldest story in the book: how to grow up.
A bildungsroman like none other.
A bildungsroman like none other.
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Read in April, 2007
Combines several different fairy tales into a single story about the relationship between an uncaring mother and her son.
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This is a very clever book that turned out to be much more than I was expecting. I enjoyed watching the story unfold.
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