I liked the sound of this children’s adventure and, conscious that I hadn’t read many children’s books this year, I was delighted when I was approved to read and review it.
Twelve-year-old Gracie Freeman is living a normal life, but she is haunted by the fact that she is actually a character from a story, an unpublished fairy tale she’s never read. When she was a baby, her parents learned that she was supposed to die in the story, and with the help of a magic book, took her out of the story, and into the outside world, where she could be safe. But Gracie longs to know what the story says about her.
Once again, I’ve abbreviated the rather chatty blurb, but you’ll get the gist that this is about a girl who feels she doesn’t belong. Don’t take the tone of this book from the Disney-looking cover – this book is a lot grittier than the cover design suggests. Gracie’s flashbacks of being in a fire become increasingly upsetting, so when random chance gives her an opportunity to track down the author of the unpublished book containing her story, she takes it.
I like this treatment of the classic portal fantasy trope – it works well. The bewilderment of the well-known author at Gracie’s odd questions and keenness to distance herself from the intense, peculiar girl works really well. Gracie isn’t all that likeable at time – she’s prickly, secretive and prone to lying which is something of a risk, given that children generally prefer a nicer protagonist. However, this is one of the main themes of the book – who is the villain in this story?
There is a lot going on in this thoughtful, well-crafted story. The archetypal wicked queen isn’t as much of a pantomime villain as Gracie first thought. And what about her parents’ behaviour? Her mother’s stubborn refusal to discuss any of the weirdness poor Gracie keeps encountering is at worst selfishly stupid and at best short-sighted; while Gracie’s father opts to stay out of her life. Again, not exactly stepping up to the plate, is he? The adventure deals with some hefty issues with Gracie making an unpleasant discovery about her own role as the royal princess in the story.
As a children’s adventure tale, it has been brought to a satisfactory, reasonably upbeat conclusion. I have found myself thinking a lot about this thought-provoking and intelligently written story that I think would be an ideal book to be read and examined as a class project.
While I obtained an arc of Unwritten from the publisher via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
9/10
This sounds like a wonderful book, Sarah, and I enjoyed your review. Adventure books were my favorite as a child.
Thank you, Jennifer:). Yes – and I think this is one that will appeal to the children who like an adventure – although initially it appears to be a classic fairytale, which is why I think it would be a really good study/discussion book for the classroom.
I love the sound of this book – it’s the kind of book I would have adored as a child. I’m going to add this to my list and will look out for a copy of it. Great review!
Thank you, Hayley. I really enjoyed it – the way it plays with the familiar tropes around fairy tales works really well.
This sounds like a pretty unique story and it sounds interesting how it addresses the question of who actually is the villain. Great review!
Thank you, Lola:) You’re right – this is certainly not what I was expecting – but much more interesting and well written.
Lovely review, Sarah. This would be perfect for my Kid’s Korner feature! And I adore the cover art.
Yes! I think it really would, Laura – it is certainly different and quirky enough:)
This sounds like a really good middle grades book. I missed out on this one as I think it would have been a winner for me as well. Nice review Sarah.
Thank you, Carla – I stumbled upon it by random chance and I’m really glad I did…
I saw this one floating around and thought it looked super cute, so I’m pleasantly surprised to hear it’s got some grit to it! Coincidentally I’ve just finished reading a portal fantasy book that deals with some heavy subjects, and now I find myself wanting more of the subgenre. 🙂 Lovely review as always!
Thank you, Kathy for your kind words. It was the portal fantasy that swung it for me – I’m a sucker for them and many are excellent reads. This, though, was a really pleasant surprise.
I have to say, this cover is stunning! I wish there were covers like this when I was a kid. On the other hand, their absence didn’t stop me from reading a lot anyway. 🙂
Even if I’m not the target of those books anymore, I’m always glad to read you found another gem.
And it is a really charming, enjoyable read, too:)