Book Review - Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu

(See, I told you I'd actually post these. I'm so on top of things this year.)


Challenge 1 - Read a fairytale retelling.
 

The cover art is gorgeous, isn't it?

Once upon a time, Hazel and Jack were best friends. They had been best friends since they were six, spending hot Minneapolis summers and cold Minneapolis winters together, dreaming of Hogwarts and Oz, superheroes and baseball. Now that they were eleven, it was weird for a boy and a girl to be best friends. But they couldn't help it - Hazel and Jack fit, in that way you only read about in books. And they didn't fit anywhere else.

And then, one day, it was over. Jack just stopped talking to Hazel. And while her mom tried to tell her that this sometimes happens to boys and girls at this age, Hazel had read enough stories to know that it's never that simple. And it turns out, she was right. Jack's heart had been frozen, and he was taken into the woods by a woman dressed in white to live in a palace made of ice. Now, it's up to Hazel to venture into the woods after him. Hazel finds, however, that these woods are nothing like what she's read about, and the Jack that Hazel went in to save isn't the same Jack that will emerge. Or even the same Hazel.

Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen," Breadcrumbs is a story of the struggle to hold on, and the things we leave behind.

Breadcrumbs was a surprise read for me. My little sister got it from the library and I found it on her shelf. The cover art was pretty, so I read it. I'm so glad I did.

I related to the story and to the characters quite a bit--more than I expected from a middle grade novel. I think that's partly because it isn't really a middle grade story. The writing style might be difficult for a fifth grader to get through, but I loved every word of it. It sounded like it was written by someone like Hazel--someone who'd read more books at the age of ten then most adults ever would. The book is full of quotable lines, and if it had been my copy, I would have highlighted like crazy.

The plot is a bit slow. The book is split into two parts: part one covering Hazel and Jack's "normal" life, part two moving into Hazel's quest into the woods. Because it takes so long to get into the woods, I feel like there should have been a third part--or at least an extra chapter!--as the ending was a bit rushed.

 Another thing I really enjoyed about the story was the way Ms. Ursu handled some tougher topics, such as Hazel's parents' divorce. It wasn't a "book about divorce," yet it portrayed the situation very accurately and delicately. 


Overall, I'd give the story four out of five stars. If you're looking for a fantasy with lovable, relatable characters, I would recommend it.



(I'm so fab at book reviews aren't I. We'll see how long I can keep up the formality before I find a book that has me completely fangirling and/or ranting over it.)