A Book A Day ... December 5th and Breadcrumbs
"It snowed right before Jack stopped talking to Hazel, fluffy white flakes big enough to show their crystal architecture, like perfect geometric poems."
Breadcrumbs by Anna Ursu was one of my favorite novels this year. The lyrical prose, creepy, ultra-creepy world Ursu creates inspired by Hans Christian Anderson's, The Ice Queen, brings us Hazel and Jack -- our modern-day Hansel and Gretel.
Hazel is a misfit learning to deal with a new school, her parents' divorce, her father's new family and economic problems. Jack, her next door neighbor, has been her best friend since she can remember. His family struggles as well since his mother is battling (and seemingly losing) clinical depression. Hazel and Jack are perfect together. Until the day Jack stops talking to Hazel.
Hazel, believing in magical worlds and other forces suspects something is wrong with Jack. When he goes missing, she doesn't believe he's been sent to live with an Aunt in Florida.
This is much more than an adventure of Hazel finding Jack -- brilliantly woven with threads and story lines from the dark side of the fairy tale world. It's a story about acceptance, love, loss, "the struggle to hold on, and the things we leave behind."
Warning: It's a sad story. Hazel is a phenomenal anti-hero that will most likely break your heart.
(Ages: 9+) I, however, shared much of the story with my four-year-old, skipping the creepy parts ... because the creepy parts are insanely creepy.
Breadcrumbs by Anna Ursu was one of my favorite novels this year. The lyrical prose, creepy, ultra-creepy world Ursu creates inspired by Hans Christian Anderson's, The Ice Queen, brings us Hazel and Jack -- our modern-day Hansel and Gretel.
Hazel is a misfit learning to deal with a new school, her parents' divorce, her father's new family and economic problems. Jack, her next door neighbor, has been her best friend since she can remember. His family struggles as well since his mother is battling (and seemingly losing) clinical depression. Hazel and Jack are perfect together. Until the day Jack stops talking to Hazel.
Hazel, believing in magical worlds and other forces suspects something is wrong with Jack. When he goes missing, she doesn't believe he's been sent to live with an Aunt in Florida.
This is much more than an adventure of Hazel finding Jack -- brilliantly woven with threads and story lines from the dark side of the fairy tale world. It's a story about acceptance, love, loss, "the struggle to hold on, and the things we leave behind."
Warning: It's a sad story. Hazel is a phenomenal anti-hero that will most likely break your heart.
(Ages: 9+) I, however, shared much of the story with my four-year-old, skipping the creepy parts ... because the creepy parts are insanely creepy.
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