Book: The Problem Child (Sisters Grimm #3) by Michael Buckley
What I remember (may include spoilers):
This book deals with Little Red Riding Hood, who is crazy. She has a "dog" that is actually a Jabberwocky and at the end it hurts Puck so badly that they set out to leave Ferry Port Landing so that he can be healed in NYC in book four.
I think they finally get Sabrina's parents back, but are unable to wake them from an enchanted sleep. This might be the book that we learn Mr. Canis's backstory and he deals with The Wolf and his part in Red's traumatic childhood. Oh! And their Uncle shows up in this one. He's the real problem child, not Red. If I recall... this one is pretty complicated.
What I got right and wrong (spoilers... spoilers... spoilers...):
I got some stuff right and some stuff wrong. Yes, this deals with Little Red Riding Hood, but it is not the book where we learn the real story and The Wolf's part in it. She is indeed crazy with a pet Jabberwocky, but she calls it her "kitty" not her "dog"... Mr. Canis is her doggy.
Puck is hurt, but not in the way I remembered. The way he is hurt is horrifying and made me cringe, but it raises the stakes for the story leading into the end instead of at the close of the book, as I had thought. Also, we haven't yet found out that they are going to NYC. All we know is that he can only be healed in Faerie. This is the one where Puck kisses Sabrina and it made me giggle.
Uncle Jake does show up and he is a problem child, but not nearly as bad as Sabrina. I think she really bugged me the first time I read this, but I liked her in this one. She is addicted to magic and I understood her more.
Final Thoughts: This is a great book in a great series. I love the mystery and the adventure and there are some seriously creepy moments for a children's book. At one point Sabrina finds a book of spells and realizes the pages are made of skin... gross! There is a ton of action and conflict and laughs, but at the end of the story it is an emotional transformation that allows Sabrina to save the day. The end of this book is satisfying, even while setting up book four.
Reading Challenges: This book counts toward the following challenges: 292 pages toward the 15,000 page challenge, support your local library, and Read Me Baby One More Time. Track all my progress on my 2012 Challenges page.
Posts
I don't think I've heard about this series. It looks interesting and I know we're not supposed to judge covers but I'm a little in love with it!
ReplyDeleteI still don't have the last book from the library! I may break down and buy it. I waaaaaaaaant it. :(
ReplyDeleteI used to pride myself on my bookish memory, but sometimes rereading a book makes me realize how poorly I remember some books!
ReplyDeleteI haven't read this series...or even heard of it, for that matter. Tsk tsk. A book has to really, and I mean really, blow me away for me to remember all the details.
ReplyDeleteMichael Buckley is going to be at the Gaithersburg Book Festival this Saturday. It's about 45 minutes north of DC. There's 110 authors who are going to be there, but he's one of the coolest ones :) My students love his N.E.R.D.S. series too!
ReplyDeleteHere's the website of the festival if you're interested:
http://gaithersburgbookfestival.org/
Great review Steph! I love that the books have all this mounting tension. It makes me excited to read them someday!
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