100 Pages A Day...Stephanie's Book Reviews

Another for halloween bingo!  You would think this would be for the witches square, but with only one short story of a witch, I will use this for genre: horror.

The Witch and Other Tales Re-Told is a short story collection of reimagined fairy tales in modernized settings with a twist. Many of the stories are barely recognizable until I found a few telling points or a certain phrase came up.  All of the stories were rooted in the real world, but had a creeping darkness around the edge or a sense of something not quite right.  The writing conveyed a sense of knowing many different characters and being able to get into their heads.

One of my favorite was the first story, The Witch, a modern Hansel and Gretel where siblings Kerry and Jo are taken in by the Department of Children and Family Services to a foster home run by Mrs. Kojo.  Outwardly, Mrs. Kojo appears perfect, for the children, however, things are different. Jo quickly picked up on how Mrs. Kojo operated and when there was an opening, she channeled her inner Gretel.

Another favorite was Prince, a very turned upside down Cinderella.  In this version, Ellen has a slight and manageable mental health issue and a very controlling sister.  Ellen finds a stray dog and names him Prince, Prince is very grateful for Ellen's care and he tells her that-in words.  Prince was definitely the most charming story, but true to the fairy tale, the sister does not come out on top.