A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz

This book is a spin-off from Hansel and Gretel, and I gave it a rating of four out of five. Hansel and Gretel are twins born to a king and queen. Due to some curses and prophecies, the kids decide it's best if they run away. They meet up with the witch from the fairy tale, a warlock who eats children, and the Devil. At one point, Hansel is terrorizing a forest as a half boy, half beast and is killed by a duke. The children finally return to the kingdom of Grimm to be reunited with their parents, but the kingdom is being ravaged by a dragon. The children must find some way to unite the citizens against it, but they're only kids. Hansel and Gretel must also find some way to forgive their parents for the terrible thing done to them that caused them to run away.

I enjoyed the point of view used in the telling of the story; it had a Lemony Snicket ring to it. The narrator warned the reader that the plot would be scary, gross, and bloody, and it was. The narrator advised that young children should leave the room. The plot had many twists and turns as the children tried to find adults who weren't mean and cruel. Young adult readers will probably enjoy the book, because it takes a familiar story and makes it shockingly different. Many of the events were hokey (Hansel is killed a couple of different times), but that's also what made it amusing.