Book Review

Book: The Witch's Boy by Michael Gruber

This was one of the books I picked to read for school. I'm really glad I read it. It's similar to Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier in the fact that it takes a lot of different fairy tales and weaves them into the story seamlessly. There are elements of so many tales it's difficult to name them all. There's Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood, Rumpelstiltskin, and others. Since most of them are told from the witch's point of view you'll find the stories are turned on their ears and the witches, of course, are not at fault at all, merely hapless bystanders who are trying to do their best.

The story is about a "witch" who finds a disfigured boy left for her. It's about the struggles of a witch raising a human and all that goes with it. On second thought, this is a very hard story to describe because the plot spans a long time and tells the life-story of the boy she found, who she names Lump. Lump is not an altogether likeable character. He's selfish and mean and NEVER does what he's told. The witch still loves him though and tries to do her best by him. Did I mention there's a talking cat? Well there is and he's pretty funny. Anyway, you should read it. I would say that Marcus and Carlye would be about the age for it, but only because they're a little advanced.

What I learned about writing: Even stories without the traditionally "hook" on the first page can be addicting, can't-put-it-down type of books. An unlikeable protagonist can be readable, although not sympathetic. The twists and turns this novel took to get to the finale were amazingly well thought out and it's inspired me to try to be more of a plotter than a pantser. Lastly, I was inspired, yet again, to continue on with my fairy tale writing. Affirmation that's nice to get from myself every once in a while.