Goodreads Mobile | see what your friends are reading

Feb 04, 2012

Karen rated it:

Wild! This is a fractured fairy tale -- it's actually several fairy tales fractured and pieced together. Sounds a bit like Frankenstein, doesn't it? The Eden sisters, Aurora, Storm and Any, live on a run-down estate at the edge of their village, which is in the middle of a rat infestation. The mysterious and scary Dr. DeWilde appears, surrounded by drooling and snapping wolves, and promisese to handle the rat problem -- but the town MUST pay wht he asks. What does he want? Children! He a More...

0 comments like

Oct 03, 2010

Andy rated it:

Gardner effectively creates a gothic, fairy tale like world full of familiar, yet re-imagined, characters. Dr. DeWilde is the Pied Piper, hired by the townsfolk to rid the village of rats. He seeks a magic pipe that will give him the power to do more evil in the world. Aurora, Storm, and Any are three sisters forced to run from their home. The three are chased into the forest by Dr. DeWilde and his wolves. Aurora, the eldest, likes to keep things in order. The middle sister, Storm, is a re More...

0 comments like

Apr 25, 2010

Laura rated it:

A little bit of Rapunzel, a pinch of Sleeping Beauty, hints of the Snow Queen, and a chapter or two of Hansel and Gretel are wrapped up in the Pied Piper of Hamlin to create this original tale of three sisters: Aurora, Storm, and Anything Eden. When their mother dies and their father abandons them, they must fend for themselves. This is no easy feat when the creepy exterminator, Dr. DeWilde, and his wolves are after them and the old tin pipe that their mother left them. The black and white il More...

0 comments like

Dec 13, 2011

Karen Kristie rated it:

I enjoy reading "juvenile" books and this is probably one of those books that I loved more because the plot stuck to being "for kids". Imagine a story created with twists from Grimm's fairy tales. I had fun guessing from which fairy tale this character or this scene came from. The main character even reminded me of Neil Gaiman's Nobody (from "The Graveyard Book") and Coraline. I can also picture myself reading it to children who have a penchant for scary stories wit More...

0 comments like

Aug 23, 2009

Lanie rated it:

An incredible twist on quite a few well-known fairy tales, this book is one of my personal favorites. After their mother dies and their father refuses to do much but weep in his room, the three sisters Aurora, Storm, and Anything must fend for themselves. Little do they know that soon they will have to defend themselves against wolves, an orphanage that's too sweet to be true, an ogress with a taste for games, and the so called exterminator Dr. DeWilde, who can't wait to get his hands on the thr More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 08, 2011

Genevieve rated it:

I was drawn to this book by the title...I saw it in the YA section of the library and wondered if it was the same as the broadway play which I've always thought of seeing. It has nothing to do with the play that I could see aside from the fact that they're both mixtures of several fairy tales. I thought this book and the sequel (Out of the Woods) wer very clever the way so many fairy tales were woven into a seamless story. It was also hard to put down, but that may be because it's been a whil More...

0 comments like

May 24, 2009

Mamasoo rated it:

As a kids book, it was funny. I thought as a writer, Lyn Gardner may do better as the theater critic she once was. It was a little choppy, and way too long. The characters could have been developed a little better. I'm sure my 10 year old daghter will enjoy it- we're going to read it together.

I thought it was the book the Broadway play was based on, but it wasn't. Lyn Gardner reviewed the play however. Did she steal the the title? When I read that, it bothered me a little. B More...

0 comments like

Nov 08, 2010

Book Angel Emma rated it:

dimensional plot. Really interesting twists making it suitable for slightly older readers. It was so much fun to put all the pieces together and guess the fairytale being depicted. Especially to guess which character is from which tale. To fully appreciate the nuances of the plot I think you need a good knowledge of traditional fairy-tales.

Vivid descriptions with the use of many adjectives in order to create a full picture (plus adding to the vocabulary). Rich and interesting charact More...

0 comments like

Apr 11, 2008

Bonnie Gayle rated it:

This was a pretty good book. I just don't understand why it has huge font, with tons of space. Those 2 things made it over 400 pages. If they're trying to force it into being a junior book, then the book length alone would be a huge deterrent for a young reader. I think they should have just had normal sized font and regular spacing, and had it be a YA book. The reading level is young adult and not junior anyway.

Sisters Storm and Aurora could not be more different. Aurora loves reorg More...

0 comments like

Sep 21, 2007

Susan rated it:

This book is so much fun! I loved figuring out the references to well-known fairy tales: Rapunzel, the Snow Queen, Hansel and Gretel, the Wild Swans--it is a good test of anyone's fairytale knowledge. It's the story of the Pied Piper that is featured most prominently. Storm Eden and her family: beautiful, industrious, elder sister Aurora, her charming but extremely laid-back (lazy) mother Zella, and her distracted father, Reggie, live in a big old house as eccentric as they are. Aurora is t More...

3 comments like

Dec 02, 2011

Susanna rated it:

I read this book last year in the library and recently got it as a present from a friend. It is a good read. Filled with magic and things of fairytale. You can see the characters of this story evolve as the book goes on, the losses they experience and the adventure they take on. It's a wonderful book that I recommend to anyone. I would've given it 5 stars but because I felt the beginning dragged on a little I gave it 4 stars. Otherwise, a great read! I definitely recommend this book to read.

0 comments like

Mar 11, 2008

Jane rated it:

Into the Woods combines so many fun literary elements into one pie. Lively language, a fabulous protagonist, and an imaginative setting. Storm, our heroine, is an adventurous middle daughter who saves her part of the world from the pied piper's tune of leading children off to work in the mines. She's easy to like, being quite round and human, like most of the other characters... I especially love the gusto of the author, who was willing to portray Storm's sister as a girly-girl who finds pleasur More...

0 comments like

Feb 26, 2010

Jessica rated it:

First, this is not the book based on the musical. I picked it up off the shelf at the library, because it had an interesting back cover. You never know what you'll get with random library picks, but I actually really liked this book. It did end up blending several fairy tales into one complicated story. It was smart, funny, and clever. Not exactly a quick read, at over 400 pages, but very entertaining. I recommend it the next time you need a lighthearted book.

0 comments like

Sep 28, 2011

Catherine rated it:

I read this atleast four years ago, and I remember being intruiged by the idea of the boy with the one blue eye and the other green. Also the Piped Piper and the evil witch from the Gingerbread house must have been in there somewhere. I remember it was a semi-gothic take on many a common fairy tale. And I also rember I rather liked it. But I was pretty sure the cover was red...

0 comments like

Jul 23, 2009

Angie rated it:

This book was OK. I finished it mostly out of curiosity. I thought it had a strong start but then it just seemed slightly manic after that. I found the characters to stay too firmly in their roles, and not deviate from "who they were". I liked the fairytale references, but it just didn't work well for me. It was too long and too undeveloped. I thought this was a book for children but much of the content was too severe for a child. NOT my favorite.

1 comment like

Feb 08, 2011

Donquierafaber rated it:

This has nothing to do with the musical by Stephen Sondheim, which I mistook it for when I took it all the shelves, but it is an enjoyable story with a scrappy heroine that weaves elements of fairy tales into, but is for the most part much more realistic than most traditional fairy tales and does not rely heavily on them at all.

0 comments like

Jun 04, 2010

Kiirsi rated it:

This book is a lot of fun. It's the story of Storm and her sisters Aurora and Anything and their strange journey through danger and fairy tales to rescue their sister Any and the townspeople from the mysterious and evil Piper. There's danger, excitement, and unexpected twists and turns...a fun read.

0 comments like

Dec 21, 2009

Blythe rated it:

This is a great 8-12 year old girl read. It's the story of three sisters, the daughters of Rapunzel and Reggie, and their adventures after the death of their mother and the disappearance of their father. Several different fairy tales are woven into the story, most notably the Pied Piper, Hansel and Gretel and Sleeping Beauty (one of the sisters is named Aurora). Even though it is over 400 pages, it is not a difficult read at all and moves quite quickly. Illustrations thrown in here and there kee More...

0 comments like

Feb 12, 2011

Kc7nan rated it:

A Fun fractured fairy tale where not everything is perfect but the sisters Love and protect each other no matter how much the people around them fail their expectations.
A story of 3 sisters Aurora, Storm and Any daughters of Rapunzel. Their adventures with the evil Dr. DeWilde (the pied piper).

0 comments like

Nov 27, 2009

MagicalNinjaLibrarian rated it:

If you have a soft spot for fairy tales, you will love this book. Aurora, Storm, and Any are three clever sisters on an adventure that takes them through a few very familiar fairy tale landscapes.

FYI, Into the Woods would make a great read aloud:)

0 comments like

Jan 28, 2012

Becca rated it:

This was a cute story of 3 sisters. It reminded me of A Series of Unfortunate Events meets Fairy Tales. There was moments of predictable events, and "I saw that coming". But it was overall a good book. There were some parts that dragged on.
If you want a sweet, cute book to fill time, this would do the trick.

0 comments like

Jan 28, 2011

Halley rated it:

This book was one of my "just randomly picked it off the shelf" books, so I didn't have very high expectations, but as you very well know,you can't judge a book by its cover.... or its summary. I definitely learned that much from this book.

The book started off sort of... rough, as I couldn't really get a good feel for the book's style. As it progressed, however, the book proved to be very exciting and clever. The relationship between the three sisters: Storm, Aurora, and Any More...

0 comments like

Feb 18, 2008

Princess rated it:

I finished this book yesterday afternoon. I actually had a lot of fun reading it and even though it was rather long at 428 pages, it read really quickly. I first picked it up because I thought it was the story that the play is based on, but I discovered that it was not. It is a conglomeration of fairy tales though. It's basically the continuation of the Pied Piper story. After the Pied Piper leads all the children of the village away, he says that he will return. Well, in this book it appears th More...

0 comments like

Sep 21, 2007

Ashley rated it:

Great fun and a quick read. I try to limit my use of the word "rollicking" to stories that really deserve it, but this is one of them. It's one of the best fractured fairy tales I've read in a long time. There are just enough references and allusions to the stories that kids love (you know, the grisly ones), but the plot stands on its own. The lovable sibling protangonists remind me a little of the Baudelaire orphans (though exclusively female here), and the pacing and action is non-st More...

0 comments like

Feb 11, 2011

Storylover8 rated it:

I loved this book! It was basically a modern twist to fairytales. I feel this book is mostly for relaxation. Great if you feel like laughing.

0 comments like

Jun 05, 2008

Carissa rated it:

this book builds a story out of the world of fairytales, but tells a completely new tale. basically, the main characters are the daughters of rapunzel and prince charming. the oldest daughter is (sort of) sleeping beauty, the middle daughter... i'm not sure, and the youngest is a precocious baby who gets the unfortunate and accidental name of "anything." they have an adventure that involves (among others) the pied piper, the gingerbread house, the boy from the snow queen and many ot More...

0 comments like

Aug 16, 2011

Katelyn rated it:

it is more then amazing it has all of the fairy tales basicly I also like Aruora ,Storm, and Anything the baby

0 comments like

Aug 09, 2010

Kelly rated it:

Overlong, rambling, and kitchen-sinkish, with an uneven tone -- occasionally clever, veering into jokey.

0 comments like

Aug 16, 2010

Magda rated it:

I was worried that this book would be too silly, and it was, but it made me like it anyhow.

0 comments like

Apr 15, 2010

Ami rated it:

This is a funny and well written story, with a classic villain and a great storyline. Read it! :p

0 comments like

reviews