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Trigger warnings
Positive tags
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Synopsis
**Once upon a time, fairy tales were grim.** Cinderella’s stepsisters got their eyes pecked out by birds. Rumpelstiltskin ripped himself in half. And in a tale called “The Mouse, the Bird, and the Sausage,” a mouse, a bird, and a sausage all talk to each other. Yes, the sausage talks. (Okay, I guess that one’s not that grim…) Those are the real fairy tales. But they have nothing on the story I’m about to tell. This is the darkest fairy tale of all. Also, it is the weirdest. And the bloodiest. It is the grimmest tale I have ever heard. And I am sharing it with you. Two children venture through forests, flee kingdoms, face ogres and demons and monsters, and, ultimately, find their way home. Oh yes, and they may die. Just once or twice. That’s right. Fairy tales Are Awesome.
Is The Grimm Conclusion (A Tale Dark & Grimm) appropriate for my child?
Suitable for most readers 10 and up.
This darkly humorous fairy tale retelling features classic Grimm violence (eyes pecked out, characters dying and potentially coming back) presented in a meta, self-aware narrative style that acknowledges the darkness while maintaining middle grade sensibility. The bloodshed is real but not graphically described.
What to know going in
This book has moderate violence, no sexual content, and clean language. Content notes include death, death of child, and violence (see the full list above).
Who'll love this
Kids who love dark humor and twisted fairy tales will eat up this adventure where the heroes face monsters, might die (more than once!), and encounter the grim realities behind sanitized Disney versions.