Wow this series keeps getting darker. Almost to the point where I question whether kids should be reading them. However, I'm enjoying the darkness. Red Riding Hood and the Jabberwocky were great. I'm starting to wonder, though, if they're going to run out of fairy tale characters to incorporate in the stories. It already seems like they're stretching a little bit (the Blue Fairy from Pinocchio? Really?) Regardless, I'm enjoying the series and eager to read the rest and find out the whole story behind the Scarlet Hand. ( )

Series Note: one part Lemony Snicket, two parts "The Spiderwick Chronicles" and a healthy dose of just about every other children's fantasy written in the last decade...

At this point, the series is still fun because one wonders what fairy tale icon will be skewered (metaphorically and/or literally) next, but I can see the edge of my patience with this. It is very much like Lemony Snicket, which could get a bit tiresome and repetitive in the middle numbers of the series, but not quite as witty and engaging. Hmm. Not in a rush for #4.

http://bookchronicle.wordpress.com/20... ( )

http://hollybooknotes.blogspot.com/20... ( )

Still wounded from her encounter with monsters at the end of the last tale, Sabrina Grimm enters the hideout of The Scarlet Hand – the notorious band of Everafters who kidnapped her parents. With Puck’s help Sabrina manages to escape the Jabberwocky and his demented fairy tale master, but she cannot help her parents.

Soon, though, her Uncle Jake appears and begins to teach her magic despite her grandmother’s disapproval. With magical objects at her disposal, Sabrina soon feels ready to take on the job of killing the Jabberwocky and rescuing her parents. But all magic comes with a price, and Sabrina must decide how much she will risk to see her parents returned.

Sabrina continues in her vying for the most unsympathetic children’s book heroine ever. Even without the spells magnifying her anger and prejudice, she remains completely blinded by her own selfishness and wants. Even her 7 year old sister understands magic and the fairy tale realm better than Sabrina does, and unlike most heros, I neither understand nor sympathize with Sabrina. After two books, I expected her to have learned something – to stop behaving like a snot (as her sister so aptly puts it), but it doesn’t happen despite the terrible consequences she’s already caused and her grandmother’s patience. So far the only heroine who annoys me more is Lyra from His Dark Materials – and that’s saying something.

In short, I will continue reading these because I adore the fractured fairy tale parts which are very clever, but the lack of appreciable non-snot-behavior of the main character has ensured that this series has no place on my keeper shelf. ( )