From the Bookshelf of Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

The True Story of Hansel and Gretel
by
Start date
April 12, 2015
Finish date
April 16, 2015

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What Members Thought

Rae
Oct 29, 2011 rated it liked it
"Hansel" and "Gretel" are Jewish children who are abandoned (in order to save them from the Nazis) by their father and stepmother in a Polish forest. They are taken in by an old woman who is known by reputation as the village witch. This historical fiction closely parallels the fairy tale.

I enjoyed very much the whole concept of this book--that of adapting a well-known fairy tale to the World War II experience. However, the story is more graphic in its cruelty, violence and language than I expec
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Martha
Jul 14, 2010 rated it it was amazing
I read this a couple years ago when I was searching for interesting, compelling, contemporary reworkings of fairy tales. It was nothing like I expected and far better than I had anticipated. It is a harrowing account of how the Nazi occupation of a village in Poland impacts individual lives. I highly recommend this.
Bekah
Sep 02, 2009 rated it liked it
Very quick read, but well-written and intriguing. I liked how she worked elements of the story of Hansel and Gretel into a completely different story altogether. Definitely not a fairy tale at all. I only gave it 3 stars not because it was bad, but just because it was good - not amazing.
Corinne
Jun 11, 2007 rated it it was amazing
Shelves: favorites, poland
Katie
Jun 29, 2007 rated it really liked it
Kate
Jul 28, 2007 rated it really liked it
Rudy
Sep 01, 2007 marked it as to-read
Shelves: wishlist
Natalie
Jul 17, 2009 marked it as to-read
Lisa
Jul 18, 2009 rated it liked it
Laurie
Aug 20, 2009 marked it as to-read
Kit
Oct 18, 2009 rated it liked it
Shelves: fiction, history
Etchison
Apr 12, 2010 rated it it was amazing
Arianna
Sep 18, 2012 rated it liked it
Lorena
Jan 02, 2014 rated it really liked it
Shelves: hgjwc
Claire Jefferies
Sep 11, 2014 marked it as to-read
Shelves: check-it-out
Jillian
Mar 19, 2016 marked it as to-read
gremlinkitten
Mar 17, 2017 marked it as to-read
anne
Jul 29, 2018 rated it really liked it
Cas
Aug 22, 2017 marked it as to-read
Laura
Nov 03, 2018 rated it it was amazing
superawesomekt
May 08, 2019 marked it as bibliocurious
Shelves: wccls
Janel
Jan 21, 2021 marked it as to-read
Sandy
Dec 24, 2023 rated it really liked it