Wednesday, May 30, 2018

GRUMP The (Fairly) True Story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves by Liesl Shurtliff / Blog Tour: Book Review #Grump


I'm thrilled to team up with Penguin Random House to celebrate the release of GRUMP by Liesl Shurtliff. Today's blog tour stop features my 5 star review. This is a middle grade read, readers of all ages will enjoy!

ABOUT THE BOOK

By: Liesl Shurtliff
Published by: Knopf 
Released on: May 29th, 2018
Ages: 8-12
Purchased fromPublisher | Amazon | B&N
Add it to Goodreads
Rating: 5 Owlets
Thank you to PRH for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review

From the New York Times bestselling author of Rump, comes the true story behind another unlikely hero: a grumpy dwarf who gets tangled up in Snow White’s feud with the wicked queen.

Ever since he was a dwarfling, Borlen (nicknamed “Grump”) has dreamed of visiting The Surface, so when opportunity knocks, he leaves his cavern home behind.

     At first, life aboveground is a dream come true. Queen Elfrieda Veronika Ingrid Lenore (E.V.I.L.) is the best friend Grump always wanted, feeding him all the rubies he can eat and allowing him to rule at her side in exchange for magic and information. But as time goes on, Grump starts to suspect that Queen E.V.I.L. may not be as nice as she seems. . . .

     When the queen commands him to carry out a horrible task against her stepdaughter Snow White, Grump is in over his head. He’s bound by magic to help the queen, but also to protect Snow White. As if that wasn’t stressful enough, the queen keeps bugging him for updates through her magic mirror! He’ll have to dig deep to find a way out of this pickle, and that’s enough to make any dwarf Grumpy indeed.

A fun, entertaining twist on a beloved classic. Shurtliff once again works her writing magic, and has created a whole new story with all the original components. We absolutely love her twists on the classic fairytales, and GRUMP was no different. This book is just what we'd excepted to be, a new Shurtliff classic!

One of my favorite fairytales growing up was Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. This retelling is one I would have devoured as a kid. Told from the point of view of Grump, it wasn't hard to fall in love with this entraining character. His grumpiness is part of his charm, but it also provides some laughable moments too. He plays a much bigger, more important role in this story than the original. He definitely doesn't shy away from taking action when it's needed. I liked that he and Snow White formed a bond in this story. 

While I may not have been Snow White's biggest fan in this story, though I did like her, I was definitely intrigued with the richly detailed world building. It also adds an element to Grump's personality when you know the dwarves history, and the choices Grump ends up making. The dwarves is this story are born underground, have no interaction with humans, and eat precious stones. 

The storyline is fast paced, highly entraining, and completely unpredictable. The later is a huge feat in and of itself, giving the fact we all know how Snow White's story goes. I loved that Shurtliff was able to create a whole new story, while still staying true to the key elements of Snow White's story. 

GRUMP is full of hilarious moments, surprising twists, a little bit of action, and a character whom you can't help but like. Even if he is a Grump. I feel like this book has all the elements that first made us fall in love with Lisel Shurtliff's first book. I think her fans will really enjoy jumping into Grump' story. This book is perfect for those summer reading lists.

I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves. ~ Anna Quindlen

Good children's literature appeals not only to
the child in the adult, but to the adult in the child.
~ Anonymous ~