Seven Wild Sisters (Newford, #19) in Into the Forest

Oct 07, 2014 Leah rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Maybe I'm a bit like Sarah Jane Dillard in that I too "like to know the long history of a thing, not just where and what it might be now...(44-45)" because, having first read The Cats of Tanglewood Forest, I felt more connected to the tale of Seven Wild Sisters than its prequel/companion novel.

What I loved most, about both books, was the relationship between women, especially a young female with her elderly counterpart. That tradition of the two living close together, and the old telling stories ...more

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Oct 10, 2014 Melanti rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: library, urban-fantasy, group-reads, middle-grade, 2014

I originally read this a couple of years ago in the original Subterranean Press release. When it came up as a group read this month, I noticed that the new middle grade version is around 100 pages longer and decided to compare the two editions to see where the differences lay.

First, I've got to say that Vess's artwork - both the old art that now is colorized and the brand new art - is as gorgeous as usual.

In terms of the text, I was expecting to see at least a little new content but to my surpr I originally read this a couple of years ago in the original Subterranean Press release. When it came up as a group read this month, I noticed that the new middle grade version is around 100 pages longer and decided to compare the two editions to see where the differences lay.

First, I've got to say that Vess's artwork - both the old art that now is colorized and the brand new art - is as gorgeous as usual.

In terms of the text, I was expecting to see at least a little new content but to my surprise, there's actually very little new content - there's a extra transitory paragraph here and there and a couple of sentences that cleared up minor continuity errors. Instead, there's quite a bit of content that was taken out.

I won't go into the full details here, though I've talked quite a bit about it in the spoiler filled group read thread but in general, enough content was taken out to lower it from a Young Adult level book to a Middle Grade level book.

Among some of the things that were removed were the girls' exact ages, any reference to current or future boyfriends, any hint of sexuality or puberty (including Aunt Lillian's sexuality), dropping out of school, and other random sentences the editors felt wasn't appropriate to a middle grade audience.

They've also simplified the language a little bit in places and I noticed the characters did more emoting - stomping of feet, bursting into tears, etc - so they ended up seeming a little younger than they were originally.

I think that it reads about the same, more or less, as a middle grade book as it did in the original version and any excuse to look at some more of Vess's artwork is a good one, but there are a few passages I really wish hadn't been removed. (Per de Lint's wife - they were removed at the editor's insistence, not at de Lint's wishes.)

My favorite of these is a passage about Aunt Lillian's relationship with the Apple Tree Man:

If they'd ever been a couple, I guess he'd been the one to end it. I already knew that Aunt Lillian wasn't too happy about it, but now I got the sense that maybe he wasn't either. I thought about some of the things he'd been saying, then looked at the pair of them.

Old as she was with her own wrinkles and all, Aunt Lillian was probably more like an apple tree fairy now than she'd probably ever been in all the time he'd known her. Maybe the reason he'd been seeing less of her now than he used to wasn't so much because of what fairies can wake in a human, but because year by year she grew more attractive to him and he didn't trust himself around her. Figured they'd be happy for a time, but then she'd be gone, seeing's how our lives are so fleeting, while theirs go on forever. Maybe he just knew he couldn't bear the heartbreak.

And maybe I was just being a hopeless romantic and there wasn't any such thing going on between the pair of them.

All that was left of this lovely passage was the first two sentences. ...more

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Sep 23, 2014 Margaret rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-fantasy, fairytale-myth-inspired, middle-grade

Very fun, very quick read about sisters and their visit to fairy land. I loved the voice, the characters, and really just about everything.

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Jul 06, 2008 Julia rated it it was amazing

Shelves: based-on-folksong-myth, fairies-fae-faeries, fantasy, ya, illustrated, middle-grade, uf-challenge-18, best-book-i-read-in-2014

September 20, 2008 review: I've read this as a short story in a collection, but this is an illustrated novel.

July 26,2014 review of book republished in 2014 I wish I had a group of young middle schoolers or old elementary students with whom to share this beautiful novel. It would make a lovely, look-forward to reading aloud, read- aloud. It’s beautiful to look at, with gorgeous illustrations by Charles Vess and told with loving care by Charles de Lint.

It’s about Sarah Jane, her six sisters and ...more

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Sep 24, 2014 Katy rated it it was amazing

5-stars for the intended audience, but still delightful for an adult. I do wish I had a younger child to read this with. The illustrations are wonderful and the story would make a lovely read-a-loud.

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