My library copy has a little “HORROR” sticker on the spine, which was making me a wee bit nervous. However, the book did not give me the creeps too much, and the horror sticker was probably mainly referencing the hugely graphically gory final confrontation. Which in all honestly, was just gross and leant not a bit of value to the book as a whole. Ah well.
What if Hansel and Gretel weren’t the only children in the woods? What if Gretel (or Gretchen as she’s called here) had a twin sister? And what if that sister never made it safely back?
Ansel and Gretchen were just children when their sister was lost to something in the woods. Now they are 19 and 18 and have been asked to leave their stepmothers home. They cross the country, in search of a new life, a fresh start, and end up stranded in a small town. In order to earn some extra cash, Ansel takes a job doing odd jobs for Sophia, a beautiful young candy maker. He is mesmerized by her beauty, while Gretchen feels safer, bolder after eating her candy.
It’s not long before Gretchen finds that woods are woods no matter where they are and that the things that lurk in the dark are just as terrifying on the other side of the country. As Ansel becomes more enamored of their young hostess, Gretchen becomes more wary. Befriending a local outcast, Gretchen seeks to make herself stronger and safer, just in case.
And true to that little sticker on the spine, there will be a point of reckoning, and it will be mighty violent. While I wouldn’t mark this as solely mature teen, I would mostly leave it to teenagers. The final scenes are pretty bloody and when you throw in all the implications of sex and sexual activity earlier in the book, it’s something I’d say was for older readers. Also important to know, there is a lot in this book about how owning and operating a gun properly makes you safer. It’s something I think many parents would want to know about in a day and age when gun violence is becoming so widespread.
Sex, Nudity, Dating – There are some references that make it clear Ansel is interested in a girl. Ansel asks a girl out to dinner. A couple has a date. A girl has never had a boyfriend. Some people have dated. A girl spent the night with a boy. Nothing further is said about it. A boy was in love with a girl. A boy takes his shirt off in front of a girl to get changed and she admires what she sees. An old woman tells a couple “no shacking up,” and advise the male that if he is going to “take a lady friend” to wear something better than a t-shirt. A woman refers to a girl as “that brunette one you were hot for”. An old woman says a girl ought to get “knocked up.” A boy kisses a girl on the forehead. There is additional kissing. We learn that a couple is having sex and sleeping beside each other in bed. Evidently, wolves can’t have mortal lovers. There’s an implication that a girl is being held for the sexual pleasure of others. A girl wakes up in a boy’s bed and “pulls on fresh clothes” after kissing him.
Profanity – “damn,” Ansel says a “string of curse words” which is not further elaborated upon, “Hell/hell,” “ass/asses,” “dammit,” “jackass,” “goddammit,” “Christ,” “pissed off,”
Death, Violence and Gore – The children’s mother dies. Their father has passed away too. A girl’s father died, possibly torn to pieces by wild animals. The report on his death says he was “shredded”. A girl hits her head on a tree trunk, it bleeds. A man shoots a creature and the aims the gun at a person. Another girl’s mother died of cancer. A girl wants to learn to shoot a gun. A girl bites a boy. There are multiple scenes involving the shooting of guns. A wolf attacks, knocking a girl to the ground while “blood from a bullet wound on his shoulder spouts like a grotesque fountain” and splatters things. A boy accidentally shoots a girl in the arm while aiming at something else. The final facedown with the wolves is very bloody with humans and animals both bleeding profusely and violence being described in detail. Many people/wolves are shot with guns; there are some accompanying descriptions of blood spurting. A wolf is shot, bleeding heavily. A boy fights wolves. A wolf eats a girl, chomping on something that was once wearing a party dress, he bites her hand, he has strings of blood and tendons hanging out of his mouth. A wolf has scratched a boy, he is bleeding. A wolf is punched and his jaw breaks. A wolf bites a boy’s side. A wolf is hit in the head with a wrench and it cracks his skull open. A wolf bites a boy’s leg and arm. A wolf’s teeth slip between the bones of a girl’s shin. A wolf’s blood is splattered on a girl. A wolf is shot, fur and flesh are scattered. A wolf clamps his jaws on a boy’s chest and shakes him like a rag doll. A wolf grabs a girl’s shoulder, blood trickles down her dress. A girl is shot in order to also kill a wolf. Blood soaks someone’s shirt. A person is buried. A main character dies. Evidently, girls’ blood tastes best when the girl is close to 18 years old.
Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking – Gretchen and Ansel’s father took to drinking after their sister vanished. A girl is handed a beer, which she drinks. I believe she is of legal drinking age, but not positive. A girl’s grandfather has moonshine in a flask. A girl drinks a lot of rum, by the shot. Gretchen and her brother are offered mimosas even though they are underage. Gretchen declines, her brother does not.
Frightening or Intense Things – From the start, children are lost in a forest where a witch lives. They are concerned she might catch one of them. They return home without one of their group. Their mother blames them for the loss of their sibling. A person transforms into a monster. There are many missing people. There are werewolves.
