Twisted Fairy Tales
Gr 8 Up—Whether it's "Beauty and the Beast," "Little Red Riding Hood," or any of these other adapted tales, the bare plots should be familiar to most readers. But like any good story, it's the details that make them all work. Scenes such as the young boy on crutches in "The Pied Piper of Hamelin" hobbling to keep up to the enchantments of the piper's music or the wicked stepmother in "The Cinder Wench" forcing her daughters to cut off their toes to fit the glass slipper are gloriously grisly and take readers to places they don't normally see. As author of the dark fantasy comic-book series "Jennifer Wilde," McHugh really capitalizes on her experience in the genre to spin these old yarns in ways that are surprising, dramatic, and even enlightening. She does an especially good job in developing the characters. In her version of "Snow White," for example, the queen looks in her magic mirror every day, seeing herself not just aging but losing favor with her husband as Snow gains in beauty and influence nearly every day. She becomes obsessed with maintaining her power by any means necessary, magical or otherwise. This Gothic, almost Poe-esque sense of character drives her to terrible actions and adds compelling layers that stretch her beyond the bounds of being merely evil. Laurie's highly gestural use of dark inks, bold reds, and almost sickly yellows creates a frenetic, late-night horror feel that emboldens the already strong Gothic tone throughout. While not for the weak of heart, these darkened versions manage to bring back the most important magic of fairy tales: showing readers how they can face horrible things and still survive.—Matthew L. Moffett, Fairfax County Public Libraries, VA