The Sisters Grimm
Menna van Praag
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Once upon a time, a demon who desired earthly domination fathered an army of dark daughters to help him corrupt humanity . . .
As children, Goldie, Liyana, Scarlet, and Bea dreamed of a strange otherworld: a nightscape of mists and fog, perpetually falling leaves and hungry ivy, lit by an unwavering moon. Here, in this shadowland of Everwhere, the four girls, half-sisters connected by blood and magic, began to nurture their elemental powers together. But at thirteen, the sisters were ripped from Everwhere and separated. Now, five years later, they search for one another and yearn to rediscover their unique and supernatural strengths. Goldie (earth) manipulates plants and gives life. Liyana (water) controls rivers and rain. Scarlet (fire) has electricity at her fingertips. Bea (air) can fly.
To realize their full potential, the blood sisters must return to the land of their childhood dreams. But Everwhere can only be accessed through certain gates at 3:33 A.M. on the night of a new moon. As Goldie, Liyana, Scarlet, and Bea are beset with the challenges of their earthly lives, they must prepare for a battle that lies ahead. On their eighteenth birthday, they will be subjected to a gladiatorial fight with their father’s soldiers. If they survive, they will face their father who will let them live only if they turn dark. Which would be fair, if only the sisters knew what was coming.
So, they have thirty-three days to discover who they truly are and what they can truly do, before they must fight to save themselves and those they love.
The Sisters Grimm was almost an ode to the fairy tales we grew up with. Whilst each sister has an element of one of Grimm’s fairy tales, I wouldn’t call this a retelling because it feels so uniquely different to the original tales (both dark Grimm ones and the Disney classics).
Goldie has an earth element power and as her name suggests is our Goldilocks. I found that Goldie’s story was the most focused on and had a lot of depth. We see her struggle through her mundane life as she is the sole carer for her brother, and works in a local hotel. But as the book progresses she grows into a stronger character with the help of her sisters, and love interest.
Liyana has the element of water – and my first thoughts were that she was the little mermaid (but stuck on land). Ana is definitely the hardest to pin down for which story she represents, however after Goldie she seems to get the most attention. Her story with her aunt Nyasha organising an arranged marriage for her, whilst she just wants to be with her girlfriend Kumiko was so well written. We really saw why she was conflicted, and why she would want to return to Everwhere.
Scarlett is our resident red riding hood, with grandmother and all. She holds the element of fire and has a bit of a tragic backstory (as do all the girls). Scarlett’s storyline outside of Everwhere fits very closely with the original tale and is almost immediately recognisable. However, I think because of this she got a little bit less depth than her sisters and leant heavily on assumed traits.
Bea is Beauty and uses the air element. Bea is unique out of the sisters as her mother was also a Grimm, therefore she knows about Everwhere in the real world and hasn’t forgotten. Bea has also been primed by her mother to “turn dark” and join Wilhelm Grimm. This to me made her the most interesting character because we see how conflicted she is about her true self and living up to both her parents wishes.
The Big Bad in this story is Grimm. I don’t fully understand him as a character or what his motivations are, but I think that was the point. He’s meant to be the personification of evil and not one person on their own is able to overcome that.
A lot of the story focused on the mundane lives of the four girls, so it can get quite slow. But the book is so focused on developing these characters that I didn’t really mind too much. I really enjoyed how we watched each of them interact with other people but also each other. As we know more about them than they do for most of the book – you feel anticipation when they come across each other on Earth in case something happens.
The book time jumps between the girl’s childhoods and current lives which can get a bit confusing. At first I believed the scenes in Everwhere were the girls at their current age, which wasn’t the case. Although once you get used to the switching it’s not too bad! It may also read better in a physical book as I was reading on a Kindle.
Positives of The Sisters Grimm
- Character depth
- Unique retelling
Negatives of The Sisters Grimm
- Slow pacing
- Confusing time jumps
I received The Sisters Grimm by Menna van Praag from the publisher. This is an unbiased and honest review
