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Anne Ursu,

Erin Mcguire (Illustrator)

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What Members Thought

Sep 06, 2011 karen rated it really liked it

Shelves: why-yes-i-ya, thanks-for-prezzies

growing up is so damn hard.

when this book comes out, i guarantee it will win all the awards and land itself on all the school reading lists. this book couches some pretty devastating life lessons in an alternate realm of dangerous magical fantasy, but it does so without ever once being cutesy.

hazel and jack have been neighbors and best friends forever. hazel was adopted from india as a baby by white american parents who have since separated, jack is the son of a woman who has retreated into this ...more

79 likes · Like · see review

Aug 28, 2011 Eh?Eh! rated it it was amazing

Shelves: dear-diary-what-book, babble-added, tandy, ah-ree-ell, weep

Hey, Mike Reynolds, do you know Anne Ursu??? She teaches at Hamline!

A delight of a book. I can do no better than these reviews:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Thank you, Tommy, for the recommendation!!

The more I read with a view to attempting to understand why I read and how I respond, the more I'm seeing that the books I can stick myself into are the ones that hit me with the most oomph. I was Hazel (but les Hey, Mike Reynolds, do you know Anne Ursu??? She teaches at Hamline!

A delight of a book. I can do no better than these reviews:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Thank you, Tommy, for the recommendation!!

The more I read with a view to attempting to understand why I read and how I respond, the more I'm seeing that the books I can stick myself into are the ones that hit me with the most oomph. I was Hazel (but less brave, less lively). Maybe that's part of why I can't "get" serious Lit-rah-chur, not only do I need a much bigger brain but I need to be able to expand my imagination or disengage myself from it?

Once upon a time there was a 4yo girl whose best friend was her big brother. They played and fought as siblings do. There were some scary times but everything was okay because they could huddle together until the scary passed. Then one day, the big brother made friends with a group of boys who taught him without saying so that boys don't play with girls. The first time the little girl tried to join in, she was thoroughly rebuffed with the weak excuse that she was too young (the boys were 5-7). Realizing it was just an excuse, she tried to play anyway. The boys stopped playing and stared at her and said mean things until she moved away. Hurt and confused, it took a while for her to realize she'd lost her best friend.

Once upon a time there was a little girl whose mother was part of a religion that met an ungodly 3x/wk. For 2 hours on Sunday, 1 hour on Tuesday, and 2 hours on Thursday, the little girl had to sit still and remain quiet...or else. "Or else" = being taken to the restroom and spanked with chopsticks (it hurt like h*ll). As soon as the last "amen" was spoken she could burst forth from her chair and lift her dress above her head for airflow, laydown on the shaggy red carpeting and pretend to be a steamroller, tiptoe behind the stage to look at the audio equipment, go outside to essentially run laps around the building, and twirl and dance and laugh and laugh and laugh. She had friend in these after-too-much-sitting frolics, a little boy. They played 3x/wk and it was good. Then one day, the little girl decided she wanted to be part of the group of all the other girls. The first step was to shake the little boy, who didn't understand why she wouldn't come outside anymore. He pleaded, "Let's go out!" Some of the other girls heard and giggled meanly. The little girl, shamed somehow, said no and turned her back. They never ran laps together again. She regretted that ever since.

Once upon a time there was a little girl who found solace in books. In the stories, the problems were always solved with the right words or courage or by just being good. Since she found it hard to think of the right words and uncertain on how to be brave, she decided to be good. So good. Like the stories. She was good to the point of isolation. It didn't heal any of the problems that needed healing the most. The little girl was slow and took many years longer than Hazel to realize that stories were not truth and should not be taken as guidelines to live by.

Once upon a time this girl found that stories helped her look at the past. ...more

17 likes · Like · see review

Aug 30, 2011 Mir rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, younger, fairy-tale

Kelley McMorris ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Apr 25, 2013 Hannah added it

Shelves: myth-fairytale-folklore, middle-grade-and-chapter-books

So this book was good. Not amazing. Perfectly good middle grade fairy tale retelling, and I like that it did Andersen instead of the usual Grimm/Perrault mashup. What really makes this book amazing is the tiniest details that would have made me feel so happy when I was a kid. Because Hazel is BROWN! And yet she is still American, and yet this is still an American book that takes place in America and that takes its inspiration from western fairy tales. See, editors and publishers who claim brown ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Oct 30, 2012 Misha rated it liked it

Shelves: female-protagonist, doorway-people, children-s, coming_of_age, fantasy, friendship, doorway-plot, read-2012

Many of my favorite children's librarians absolutely love this book which is why I am sad that I didn't like it as much as they do. It does have a great main character--girl adopted from India whose parents have divorced, who doesn't fit in--and the boy next door who is her best friend--despite the fact that 5th grade is when only same-sex friendships become the accepted norm.

The story is full of allusions to fairytales like the Snow Queen, but at one point it references Rachel Stead's "When Yo ...more

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Aug 03, 2013 Megan rated it really liked it

Shelves: juvenile-fiction, bookbattlecontender

I wish there was a 4.5 star. This was so darn good.

1 like · Like · see review

Jan 08, 2012 Susan rated it liked it

Shelves: chapter-books, chapter-books-fantasy

The writing was lovely and lyrical, but overall I didn't love the story. After the "fantasy" part of the book began, I found reading it sort of like trying to see the outside world through gauzy curtains. I felt like my understanding of the story's events was constantly just out of my reach. ...more

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Mar 19, 2011 Liz rated it really liked it

Shelves: 4-star, middle-grade-fiction

Ursu's writing is absolutely lovely, and although this one is a retelling of The Snow Queen, I was really impressed by how many other fairy tale references she snuck in.

There were a few logistical problems with this one, and one line that annoys the heck out of me every time I see it. But overall, a great, thoughtful retelling. ...more

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