The first book in a series, Sisters Grimm: Fairy Tale Detectives is a paint-by-numbers Harry Potter clone. Orphaned child(s) of an important bloodline introduced to their heritage and a magical world they were unaware, where they attempt to solve a mystery with a MacGuffin badguy, and a foe with ties to a larger menace.
The story goes over well-worked ground, dealing with folk tale characters and fables who have moved to the New World and made their home in the New York area, much like the comic series, Fables, only with less originality and shallower characters. It also throws a liberal amount of Oz and Alice in Wonderland into the mix with just a dash of Shakespeare. The book has just a touch of Fracture Fairytales, but is mostly played straight.

As a children's book it is adequate. The characters are simple yet relatable and the writing is passable. It will likely be a quickly-forgotten after a single reading. ( )

Cute idea, done fairly well. Not a classic, but not a bad read for a children's book either.

Two orphans are adopted by their strange grandmother, whose neighbors are even stranger. They learn that fairly tales were nonfiction, and in fact written by their ancestors, who lived among the immortal beings who populate these stories. Now that they have moved in with their grandmother, the girls must learn how to deal with an angry giant, the horribly self-centered Prince Charming, the mischievous fairy Puck, and other assorted characters. ( )

Two orphaned girls are adopted by a kooky old lady claiming to be their long-lost grandmother, and find themselves entrenched in a small town full of Everafters--the characters from what they thought were only fairy tales and myths. Michael Buckley introduces young readers to a new and exciting world where a child's expectations of the golden fantastic is drossy and shadowed by corruption, political repression, and revenge. Mixing a pessimistic realism with an equally pessimistic fantasy realm, Buckley takes on a host of complex concepts and attempts to weave them into a cohesive story. Well, consistent it isn't, and convenient it might be, but compelling it sure is. Buckley's greatest strength is in developing a fully round protagonist in Sabrina Grimm, a rough-and-tumble, smart-as-a-whip, jaded-from-repeated-trauma almost-12-year-old. None of the supporting characters are nearly as developed, and the story suffers for it. But most of the novel takes place with Sabrina's perspective in the fore, so readers will follow her emotions and calculations as quickly as Buckley plunges one into them. Most accessible to readers at 5th grade and above level. ( )

I enjoyed this book. It was more enjoyable than watching the Shrek movie which was loaded a little too much with present day inside jokes that will quickly become dated.

Daphne and Sabrina are two very interesting sisters. I got a kick out of little Daphne who is far more than she appears at first. She handles her bossy sister quite well. Entertaining version of the fairy tales we grew up with. ( )

Unbelievable book. Magic, kids my age, fairy tale creatures, and surprises at every turn. From Puck's mischief to Sabrina's temper to Daphne's sweetness, the characters are realistic and relatable. Officially my favorite series. ( )